Category Archives: Pastries

Don’t Look a Gift Horse…

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My neighbors gave me a BIG bag of oranges from their trees. The navel oranges in the markets have been very disappointing this year, but these are wonderful.

Usually I give them something made with their oranges in appreciation of their generosity. This time I made chocolate/orange tarts with a vanilla custard base. They tasted good, but looked poor to fair. They baked well with all the components done perfectly. The problem is the top, and therefore the appearance has no “snap.” They would not catch your eye in a patisserie (I will re-make them on the next rained out golf day.)

A 1/8” layer of vanilla custard was poured into the bottom of each tart shell. The tart was baked for 10 minutes at 450° F to set the custard. A layer of chocolate filling was piped over the custard followed by a spiral of the orange crème. A toothpick was used to feather the orange crème.

Before Baking
After Baking

Chocolate Orange Tart with Vanilla Custard


Yield: Five 4” tarts.
INGREDIENTS
Tart Shell
• 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 60 g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 egg – 1 for the dough and the other 1 egg white reserved for an egg wash
• 200 g all-purpose flour
Chocolate Filling
• 75g butter
• 115g dark chocolate (no more than 60% cocoa solids), finely chopped
• 115g caster sugar
• 55g AP flour
• 4 medium eggs
Orange Crème
• 25g butter
• 50g white chocolate
• 1 orange, finely grated zest only
• 35g caster sugar
• 25g AP flour
• 2 medium egg yolks
Cream Custard
• 1 ½ cups (350 ml) whole/full fat milk (1 ¼ c 2% plus ¼ c heavy cream)
• 6 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup (45 grams) granulated/caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

METHOD
Tart Shell

  1. Mix butter with sugar
  2. Add salt then vanilla
  3. Add egg and mix until incorporated
  4. Stir in flour. Mix by hand like you are kneading bread until incorporated
  5. Pre-heat oven to 350° F
  6. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 min
  7. Butter tartlet pans, or use non-stick pans
  8. Roll dough to about ⅛” thick
  9. Lay over tart mold and press into all crevices
  10. Roll top to cut off excess
  11. Prick holes in bottom and sides of formed dough
  12. Fill tarts with pastry weights. For mini tartlet pans I put beans in a cupcake paper. For large pans use crumpled parchment paper filled with beans. Remove 5 minutes before the end of the bake.
  13. Paint edges of the tartlet with the egg wash.
  14. Bake in preheated oven 350° F (175 C) for 15 min
  15. Immediately remove from pans and cool on a wire

    Chocolate Filling
  16. Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and flour. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and leave to stand.

    Orange Crème
  17. Melt the butter and white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest, sugar and flour. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time and pour the mixture into a jug.

    Cream Custard
  18. Add the milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Just heat until it starts to lightly simmer, do not boil. Turn off the heat.
  19. Add egg yolks and sugar to a separate mixing bowl, vigorously whisk (or use a hand blender) until pale and bubbly. Remove the milk from the heat and very slowly drizzle into the egg yolks while whisking. Whisk in the vanilla if using. Transfer the mix to a container with a spout.

    ASSEMBLY
  20. Pipe a ¼” layer of custard into each tar shell and smooth
  21. Pipe a ½“ layer of chocolate crème on the mousseline layer and smooth
  22. Pipe concentric ⅛“ wide circles of orange cream and feather the orange cream with a toothpick
  23. Bake tarts 14-16 minutes at 350°F. (Start checking at 10 minutes.)

The Life of Pie

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You can take the boy out of science, but you can’t take science out of the boy.

Blackberries were on sale this week and, of course, I couldn’t resist. I had no idea how to use them, but knew something would come to me.

I also had some plain yogurt left over from a Blueberry Cake I made recently and wanted to use it up. I also had a pie crust frozen in the freezer left over from a Banana Cream Pie and a piece of puff pastry that was ending its useful life.

I decided to make Berry Hand Pies – half with pie crust (for the first time) and half with puff pastry. I also made half of each with fillings made with yogurt or cream cheese.

I preferred the puff pastry version while QC liked the pie crust variety. Both the yogurt based and cream cheese based filled were equally delicious.

Berry Hand Pie

INGREDIENTS
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 sheet Trader Joe’s puff pastry, thawed but cool.
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar or decorating sugar
• ¼ cup white chocolate chips
• 3 ounces berries
• 2 tablespoons coarse white sugar or decorating sugar

METHOD

  1. Stir the cream cheese and granulated sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the white chocolate chips.
  2. Cut large berries in half.
  3. Sprinkle the flour on the work surface. Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Using a round cutter, cut into as many 4 -inch circles as you can.
  4. Brush the edges of the pastry circles with the egg mixture. Place about ½ tablespoon cream cheese mixture in the center of each. (Don’t overfill.) Top each with about one small or two halves of a large berry. Fold the circles in half, pinching the edges together. Crimp both edges with a fork. If you don’t seal them adequately or have to much filling it will leak out of the sides of the finished pastry.
  5. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Using a sharp knife cut small slits in the tops of the filled pastries. Place the pastries onto a silicone or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Key Lemon Tarts

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You may remember from a previous post that a friend gave me a dozen small lemons from her tree and I made Lemon-Honey Madeleine cookies for her in return. That prompted her to give me two dozen more lemons. I made some gluten free tartlet shells for QC’s mahjong group (one of whom is gluten intolerant) and 5” tart shells for the neighbor QC Corps.

I did a search for different meringue/tart piping ideas and liked this one. After torching, I sprinkled some lemon zest on the top and will ultimately add a blueberry to each small tartlet and two or three to each large one.

Key Lemon Pie and Tarts

INGREDIENTS
Filling
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 1 can
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
• 2 teaspoons fine lemon zest no white
• 1 graham cracker crust gluten-free if desired
• optional whipped cream lemon zest and lemon slice(s) for garnish
Graham Cracker Crust
• 1 ½ cups finely crushed regular or cinnamon graham crackers (24 squares)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 beaten egg white
• 3 tablespoons sugar

METHOD
Filling

  1. Zest, then juice lemons, to get 2 teaspoons of zest and 1/2 cup of juice.
  2. Whisk together sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, zest and lemon juice (add half at a time) until well combined.
  3. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake for 15 minutes at 350 F. Cool pie completely on rack, then chill for a minimum of 1-2 hours (filling will continue to set as it cools). Store covered.
  4. Optionally, before serving, top with whipped cream rosettes, lemon zest and lemon slice(s)

Graham Cracker Crust

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a food processor pulse the crushed graham crackers several times, then add the rest of the ingredients until well mixed.
  3. Reserve 3 tablespoons crumb mixture for garnishing top of pie before serving, if desired. Press remaining mixture firmly and evenly against bottom and side of pie plate.
  4. Bake at 350 F for 10 min. Set aside to cool

OPTIONAL Tartlet Shell
INGREDIENTS
• 50 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 100 g all-purpose flour
• 30 g icing sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 egg – ½ for the dough and the other ½ reserved for an egg wash

METHOD

  1. Mix butter with sugar
  2. Add salt then vanilla
  3. Add egg and beat until incorporated. It may not be smooth.
  4. Stir in flour. Mix by hand until incorporated
  5. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 min
  6. Butter or spray tartlet pans, or use non-stick pans
  7. Roll dough to ~ ⅛” thick, then lay over tart mold and press into all crevices and roll top to cut off excess. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes
  8. Prick holes in bottom and sides of formed dough
  9. Fill tarts with pastry weights (I put weights in a cupcake paper for small tartlets and crumpled and form fitted to the larger tart molds.)
  10. Paint edges of the tartlet with the egg wash.
  11. Bake in preheated oven 350 deg F (175 C) for 15 min (Remove wights and papers 5 minutes before the end of the bake.)
  12. Immediately remove from pans and cool on a wire rack

ITALIAN MERINGUE

INGREDIENTS

  • 150g (or ¾ cup) granulated sugar
  • 60ml (or ¼ cup) water
  • 60g (or ¼ cup) egg whites (about 2 large egg whites)

METHOD

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat to medium-high and allow the syrup to come to a boil.
  2. In the meantime, add the egg whites to a medium-sized, heatproof bowl and mix (with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment) until foamy and the whites are almost able to hold soft peaks.
  3. Once the syrup is boiling, clip on a candy (or sugar) thermometer.
  4. Cook until the syrup reaches 116°C/240°F, then take the pan off the heat and slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the bowl with the foamy egg whites, mixing continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Don’t pour the syrup onto the whisk, or the syrup may splatter against the sides of the bowl (or into your face!). Instead, aim for a spot close to the whisk.
  5. Once all the syrup has been added, keep mixing until the bottom of the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue has cooled down to body temperature.
  6. Use immediately or keep in the fridge (covered) until ready to use. It’s a very stable meringue, so it won’t start weeping, leaking or collapsing.

NOTES

Italian meringue can be made two days in advance and stored in the fridge until needed (covered with plastic wrap).

Blackberry/Yuzu Meringue Tarts

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I am trying to remember how these tarts made it into Dede’s baking schedule. I didn’t have any leftover ingredients from another bake, or some ingredient that was about to expire. Most likely a picture caught my attention, and as I have no will power…

I used my go to short crust pastry for the tart shell and a standard Italian meringue to top the tart. The blackberry/yuzu curd was a new recipe but again, pretty standard. The final result was an outstanding synergy between all the parts. A real keeper.

Blackberry/Yuzu Meringue Tarts

INGREDIENTS
Plain flour, for rolling

Shortcrust pastry
• 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 60 g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 egg – 1 for the dough and the other 1 reserved for an egg wash
• 200 g all-purpose flour
Meringue
• 150g (or ¾ cup) granulated sugar
• 60ml (or ¼ cup) water
• 60g (or ¼ cup) egg whites (about 2 large egg whites)
Curd
• 450g blackberries
• 2 Tbl yuzu juice
• 4 Tbl corn starch
• 325g caster sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, cubed
• 4 egg yolk
• 1 large egg

METHOD

  1. For the Shortbread Pastry – Cut the butter into the sugar
    a. Add salt then vanilla
    b. Add egg and mix until incorporated
    c. Stir in flour. Mix by hand like you are kneading bread until incorporated
  2. For the pastry case – Roll out the pastry to ¼” thick. Gently push the pastry into the tart case leaving a little overhanging the edges.
    a. Trim the excess pastry but leave a little overhang. Chill for 30 minutes.
    b. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line the pastry with baking parchment, fill with baking beads and blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans; bake for a further 5-6 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF.
  3. For the curd – put the berries and yuzu juice in a food processor, blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a large bowl (you should have 1 ½ c). Discard the seeds.
    a. In a large, heavy-based pan, mix the corn starch and sugar, then stir in the blackberry mixture. Cook over a medium heat, stirring with a balloon whisk, until thick and smooth.
    b. When it starts to bubble, take it off the heat and whisk in the butter until melted. Leave to cool slightly, then whisk in the egg yolks and the whole egg. Return the mixture to the heat, whisking for 5-8 minutes until it becomes a very thick dropping consistency. Set aside.
  4. For the meringue –
    a. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat to medium-high and allow the syrup to come to a boil.
    b. In the meantime, add the egg whites to a medium-sized, heatproof bowl and mix (with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment) until foamy and the whites are almost able to hold soft peaks.
    c. Once the syrup is boiling, clip on a candy (or sugar) thermometer.
    d. Cook until the syrup reaches 116°C/240°F, then take the pan off the heat and slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the bowl with the foamy egg whites, mixing continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Don’t pour the syrup onto the whisk, or the syrup may splatter against the sides of the bowl (or into your face!). Instead, aim for a spot close to the whisk.
    e. Once all the syrup has been added, keep mixing until the bottom of the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue has cooled down to body temperature.
    f. Use immediately or keep in the fridge (covered) until ready to use. It’s a very stable meringue, so it won’t start weeping, leaking or collapsing.
  5. Assembly –
    a. Fill the tart case with the warm curd and let cool.
    b. Pipe the meringue as stars covering about half of the top and add a raspberry or other decoration.

Christmas ‘23 – Like No Other

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Covid sucks. No sense in beating around the bush, Covid just plain sucks. It totally disrupted our holiday today, and tomorrow and…

We were invited to a family dinner tonight and I was asked if I could bring my dinner rolls and one of my desserts, to which I said “Of course!” I decided to make rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree and eclairs suitable for a Christmas dinner.

When I contacted our relative and begged off due to possible Covid exposure she said I shouldn’t bring the rolls and dessert. I told her how I was looking forward to baking and making them and would be very disappointed to not be able to. (I dropped them off this afternoon.)

I know her husband loves the my eclairs so I modified my usual ones to be “Christmasy.” I glazed a few with my normal dark chocolate and made colored white chocolate for the rest, I reserved some of the white chocolate glaze and colored it using oil based food coloring. I “painted” the faces etc and realized in the future I need to make the eclairs larger to have a larger “canvas” to paint on. I call this “Tim Burton’s Eclairs for Christmas” eclairs.

Christmas Tree Dinner Rolls

INGREDIENTS
• 488 g (2 cups) warm milk
• 2 tablespoons instant dry yeast
• 50 g white granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons salted butter softened
• 2 large eggs
• 750-850 g (6-7c) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 egg and 1 Tbl water for an egg wash
• ½ c fresh cranberries – choose the most uniform
• Several sprigs fresh rosemary.
• ½ c water
• 1 ½ c sugar, divided 1:½

METHOD

  1. In the Pro600 stand mixer bowl, combine and mix all ingredients except the flour. (This is to remind me to use my larger mixer.)
  2. Add in 5 ½ cups of flour. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on and increase speed slowly to keep the flour from flying all over. Slowly add the remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (I watch the bottom of the bowl and add flour until the dough just comes clean from the bottom.) Once the dough clears, knead for 8 minutes. The dough mixture should be sticky and soft.
  3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. (I dump the dough on the counter, spray the stand mixer bowl with some olive oil and return the dough, cover and let rise 45 – 60 minutes, until doubled.)
  4. Form the the dough into into 45g balls.
  5. Arrange the balls into 8 rows, 3 for the base of the tree, then 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
  6. Reserved one ball to shape the star. (I used a star cookie cutter.)
  7. Cover and let rise 45 – 60 min.
  8. Preheat oven to 375⁰F 15 minutes before the end of the final proof.
  9. Mix egg and water to make an egg wash and lightly brush the rolls.
  10. Bake the rolls for 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly browned.
  11. Remove rolls from oven and brush with melted butter. Best when served warm. To cool, let rest in the pan for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Once cooled completely, store in a plastic bag.

Sparkling sugar cranberries and Rosemary

  1. Wash cranberries and put in a heat proof bowl
  2. Bring the water and 1 c sugar to a simmer
  3. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes then pour over the cranberries
  4. Cool for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
  5. Strain the berries and let dry
  6. Roll in granulated sugar, spread on parchment paper and let dry
  7. Repeat with the rosemary

Ever the Scientist

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You would think having been out of the chemistry laboratory since 1978 (please don’t do the math) I would lose some of my scientific method mentality, but I haven’t.

I made rough puff pastry for the first time this week. Also for the first time, I bought an exorbitantly expensive commercial puff pastry (Dufour’s.) For price comparison, the Dufour was $11.99 for two sheets about 8”x9”. Trader Joe’s at $4.99 are only available in October and November. (Buy a bunch and stock up… I do!) Pepperidge Farms is $6.25 for 2 sheets, and my rough puff pastry is $1.65 for an equivalent size and number of sheets. Yes, not a typo, $1.65. It does take a little elbow grease to roll the cold dough out, but aside from the sore wrist, it is nearly free.

As for performance: Trader Joe’s puffs the least, which for a number of applications is an advantage. Dufour’s puffs more than Trader Joe’s but not as much as Dede’s Rough Puff, which in turn was less than Pepperidge Farms. All four tasted excellent, but as humble as I am capable of being, my rough puff was outstanding. It was as flavorful, puffed as much and was as easy to roll as any of the other three.

(I have made so many pastries with both Trader Joe’s and Pepperidge Farms I didn’t include them in today’s head to head analysis.)

Pre-measured ingredients
First row of chocolate in the Pain Au Chocolate strips
Second row of chocolate rolled into a strip
Rolled Pain Au Chocolat ready to chill, then egg wash and sprinkle with decorating sugar and baked
Pan Au Chocolate
Rolled puff pastry with circle cutter and roller
Cut puff pastry and cream cheese/white chocolate filling
Filling on the bottom of the pie
Filled pies with blackberry
Crimping the edges
Finished hand pie and pain au chocolat
Blackberry Hand Pies and Pain Au Chocolate.
(Dafour’s in the back, Dede’s in the front.)

Pain au Chocolate

INGREDIENTS

  • Puff pastry
  • Chocolate
  • Confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 egg

METHOD

  1. Roll out puff pastry
  2. Dust with confectioner’s sugar
  3. Cut into 2” wide (cut 5 long strips, then cut each in half)
  4. Lay chocolate at one end, roll one time, press down gently and roll again, press gently again
  5. Add second row of chocolate and roll one last time, press gently
  6. Chill overnight or at least 2 hours.
  7. Make egg wash with 1 egg and 1 Tbl water. Beat well with a fork.
  8. Brush with egg wash
  9. Paint the inner end of the roll to seal the end. Press firmly.
  10. Bake 360 deg 20-25 min on parchment lined baking sheet

Berry Hand Pie

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but cool.
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or decorating sugar
  • ½ cup white chocolate chips
  • 6 ounces berries
  • 3 tablespoons coarse white sugar or decorating sugar

METHOD

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
  2. Stir the cream cheese and granulated sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the white chocolate chips.
  3. Cut large berries in half.
  4. Sprinkle the flour on the work surface.  Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Using a round cutter, cut into 24 (2½ -inch) circles.
  5. Brush the edges of 12 pastry circles with the egg mixture.  Place about ½ tablespoon cream cheese mixture in the center of each.  Top each with about one small or two halves of a large berry.  Place the remaining pastry circles over the filling.  Press the edges firmly to seal.  Crimp the edges with a fork. If you don’t seal them adequately the filling will leak out of the sides of the finished pastry.
  6. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.  Using a sharp knife cut small slits in the tops of the filled pastries.  Place the pastries onto a silicone or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.
  8. Eat. They are small. Eat again.

Puff the Magic Rough Pastry

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It’s really rough puff pastry and it’s magic that I made it! Usually, I buy either Pepperidge Farm, or Trader Joe’s puff pastry. Pepperidge Farm puffs up at least twice Trader Joe’s and I choose depending on what I am baking.

While significantly more work than driving the couple of miles to the supermarket, this is significantly less expensive and more self satisfying. I was pleasantly surprised with the resulting puff pastry and even more amazed at the resultant baked pastries.

Rough Puff Pastry has been in my “What’s Up in Dede’s Bakery” for months and to give you an idea how bored I was this morning, I decided today is the day!

I had good lamination (left) , resulting in a flaky pastry.
Blackberry Hand Pie (top) and Pain Au Chocolat, bottom.

I found an excellent blog (theflavorbender.com) with detailed, clear instructions. Her instructions, with minor edits, are below. The hardest part is grating the frozen butter (without skinning a knuckle) and the last few rolls of the laminated dough.

Rough Puff Pastry

INGREDIENTS
• 60 g unsalted frozen butter grated and kept in freezer while the flour chills
• 200 g unsalted frozen butter grated and kept in freezer while the flour chills (weigh the butter after grating it)
• 350 g AP flour that has been kept in the freezer for a couple of hours
• 1 tsp salt
• 120 – 150 g ice cold water I used about 9.5 tbsp (142ml)
• ½ tsp lemon / lime juice / white vinegar

Costs
• Butter ~ $1.50
• Flour ~ $0.15

METHOD

  1. In a bowl, sieve the flour, salt and freeze for about 2 hours
  2. Add the 60 g of frozen, grated butter. With your fingers quickly rub the butter into the flour.
  3. Add the lemon and water, a tablespoon at a time, while mixing with a wooden spoon or your fingertips to bring the dough together.
  4. Add enough water to form a firm dough (that is not tacky or too wet).
  5. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about a minute and leave it to rest for about 5 minutes (in the fridge).
  6. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle (about 6 – 7 inches wide, and 15 – 16 inches long).
  7. Sprinkle 100 g of frozen, grated butter on 2/3rds of the area of this rectangle.
  8. Fold over the portion without butter, towards the middle.
  9. Then fold the first fold over the still butter exposed end. You completed one-fold (while laminating butter).
  10. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out to form another long rectangle (about 5 – 6 inches wide, and 15 – 16 inches long).
  11. Repeat with the rest of the butter and fold over, (completed 2nd fold with second lamination) and turn 90 degrees. Now you have incorporated all the butter in two folds.
  12. Complete 3 more folds so you have folded the dough about 5 times. You shouldn’t need to refrigerate between folds, if you work quickly, HOWEVER if it’s a hot day and the butter starts to seep through, keep the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden the butter and continue.
  13. After the fifth and final folding, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until needed.
  14. Let it rest for at least 2 hours before using. (I prefer to leave it longer, even overnight for best results.)
  15. If you’re not using it right away, cut the dough in half, wrap individual pieces in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.

Whipped Key Lime Pastries

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I love key lime. I saw a recipe that inspired me to make two pastries featuring whipped key lime (like a chiboust with key lime curd mixed with stabilized whipped cream.)

My first attempt used Pepperidge Farm puff pastry to form the pastry cups. This puff pastry “puffed” up too much. My second try used Trader Joe’s puff pastry which only puffs about 25% of Pepperidge Farm’s. This pastry worked better.

Pastry in pan with cupcake papers and beans
“Sandwiched” puff pastry, cupcake papers, beans and second cupcake pan
Baked puff pastry

Cut the puff pastry into circles (I use hexagons as they don’t waste as much pastry) about 2” larger than the diameter of the cupcake pan pocket. Fit the circles into each pocket. Try not to fold them over along the sides and more than necessary. Place a mini-cupcake paper in each and fill with baking beans (not baked beans,) then cover with an identical cupcake pan. This will retard the “puff” of the pastry.

Raspberry coulis
Coulis filled bottom of shell
Key lime whipped cream piped into shell

Bake about 15 minutes at 400F. Remove the upper pan, the cupcake paper and beans, turn the oven off and return the baked shells to the over to dry the bottoms. This should take ~5 minutes.

Raspberry drizzled profiteroles
Raspberry drizzled pastry shells
Final pastries
I could have done a better job drizzling (should have!) When the first attempt failed I made profiteroles as well.

Key Lime Cream Puff Pastry

INGREDIENTS
• 1 sheet puff pastry (Trader Joe’s preferred)

Whipped Cream Key Lime Curd:
• ½ c white sugar
• 2 Tbl cornstarch
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp lime zest
• ⅔ c key lime juice
• ⅔ c sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Tbl butter
• ¾ c heavy whipping cream

Key Lime Drizzle:
• 3 c confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 4-6 Tbl key lime juice
• ¼ tsp Agar agar.

Alternative Raspberry Drizzle
• 12 oz raspberries – fresh or frozen; about 320g
• ~4 to 6 Tbl granulated sugar – to taste
• ~1 tsp lemon (or lime) juice
• ¼ tsp Agar agar.

METHOD

  1. Curd: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
  2. Whisk in the egg yolks, lime zest, and juice. Bring to a boil, over medium-high heat. Whisk constantly and cook for about 1 minute.
  3. Remove from heat, whisk in sweetened condensed milk, and bring back to a boil.
  4. Remove from heat again and strain the mixture through a sieve. Add in butter and whisk until smooth.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
  6. Puff Pastry Shell: Cut defrosted and pliable puff pastry into circles 2” larger than the cupcake pan pocket. I use hexagon cutters as they are more efficient and don’t waste as much pastry dough.
  7. Fill each cupcake pan pocket with pastry, put small cupcake paper in each pocket, fill with beans and cover with an identical cupcake pan.
  8. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Remove the upper pan, beans and cupcake papers and bake another 5 minutes to dry the bottoms of the shells.
  9. Cool pastry cups to room temperature.
  10. Drizzle: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, key lime zest, and lime juice. Add more powdered sugar/lime juice if needed for the right dripping consistency.
  11. Assembly: Spread a thin layer pf curd in the bottom of each cup.
  12. Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the the balance of the curd.
  13. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
  14. Transfer the whipped cream key lime curd to a piping bag, with a large star tip.

Alternative raspberry drizzle:

  1. Add the raspberries, sugar, agar-agar and lemon juice to a saucepan and bring to a boil while mashing the raspberries to break them down. Once it boils, turn off the heat and adjust with more sugar or lemon juice as needed.
  2. Strain the raspberry sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Press firmly to extract all of the pulp as that is what thickens the sauce.
  3. Thin with a teaspoon of water at a time, (if desired) keeping in mind the sauce thickens as it cools.
  4. Use in place of lime curd where desired.

Apple/Pear Tarte Tartin

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With perfect timing this recipe crossed my FaceBook feed a while ago when I needed a dessert like this for a reception coming up in a couple of weeks.

The first rendition of the original recipe was sampled by QC and me and was subsequently “binned.” There was too much caramel and it was too runny. As I was making in accordance with the recipe I felt, and even told QC that this was wrong, but I persevered and it failed.

Next, I researched several other recipes, combining the parts that I thought were sensible and voila!

Fruit basting in caramel
Puff pastry covering tart with edges tucked under,
Finished tarte tartin, still in frypan

I cut the pears in halves and cut out the cores. I cut the apples in eighths to position three thick slices between each pear half. I did siphon off a half cup of caramel as I felt it was too “soupy”and if I cooked it down too much more the apples would disintegrate.

Apple And Pear Tarte Tatin

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup granulated sugar
100 g butter
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cut in eighths
1 large Bosch pears, peeled, quartered
2 sheets frozen butter puff pastry, slightly thawed
1 egg-yolk, beaten
½ cup water
¼ cup caster sugar
thickened cream, to serve

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to very hot, 425°F.
  2. Heat an 8-inch frying pan on medium. Add sugar and water and heat, stirring, until it starts to bubble.
  3. Then, simmer without stirring, for 4-5 minutes, until it begins to turn golden.
  4. Add butter and swirl to mix.
  5. Add apples, cut side up, firmly packed. Simmer, gently stirring and basting for 12-15 minutes, until beginning to caramelize.
  6. Add pears and simmer an additional 3-5 minutes. The pears will break down faster than the apples so should be caramelized for a shorter time. (I removed some caramel at this point to remove some liquid.)
  7. Brush one sheet of pastry with a little egg yolk. Place second sheet on top and press firmly to sandwich together. Roll out slightly. Place over fruit to cover, tucking excess overhang inside pan.
  8. Cover handle of pan with foil, if necessary, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until pastry is golden and crisp.
  9. Place a rimmed serving dish over pan. Invert pan and carefully lift pan off (remember to use an oven mitt).
  10. Add the water and extra sugar to same pan. Cook, stirring, until sugar and caramel residue dissolves.
  11. Bring to boil and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes, until thickened and golden. Drizzle over tart. Serve warm with thickened cream.

Thickened Cream

  1. Mix cold water with equal parts cornstarch to form a paste-like substance
  2. Blend the mixture with a hand whisk to avoid clumping.
  3. Heat your cream to just below boiling
  4. Add the cornstarch mixture, constantly whisking.
  5. Let it simmer for a few minutes until the desired thickness of the cream.
  6. It will require about 2 tablespoons of the water and cornstarch mixture for about 1 cup of cream to be thickened.

Orange Tart

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Oh, there is so much I could say about an orange tart, but this is neither the time nor the place.

I saw this recipe and decided to give it a try. I changed out the orange custard for another recipe I had, and used my standard tart shell recipe. Actually, all I kept was the orange filling. It intrigued me because it seemed like it would produce an orange jelly without any gelatin (which I never use) or agar-agar (which is my go to “gelling” agent.)

Once one of the small tartlets was submitted to QC we both thought it needed something else. I made a quick batch of basic meringue and piped stars around the perimeter of the large tart. I should have taken the time to make Italian meringue. It would have been firmer and kept its shape longer.

Orange Cream Tart

INGREDIENTS

CUSTARD FILLING
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks (Save the whites for meringue)
• 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

ORANGE FILLING
• 1 cup (250ml) orange juice, strained
• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• ⅓ cup (50g) corn starch
• 2 Tbl (30g) unsalted butter

SHORTCRUST PASTRY
• 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 60 g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 eggs – 1 for the dough and the other reserved for an egg wash

METHOD
For the pastry shell:

  1. Mix butter with sugar
  2. Add salt then vanilla
  3. Add egg
  4. Stir in flour. Mix by hand until incorporated
  5. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 min
  6. Butter tartlet pan, or use non-stick pan
  7. Roll dough to about ⅛” thick
  8. Lay over tart mold and press into all crevices
  9. Roll top to cut off excess
  10. Prick holes in bottom and sides of formed dough
  11. Fill tart with pastry weights (I put beans in crumpled, then flattened parchment paper and remove 5 minutes before the end of the bake.)
  12. Paint edges of the tartlet with the egg wash.
  13. Bake in preheated oven 350 deg F (175 C) for 15 min
  14. Immediately remove from pan and cool on a wire rack

    For the custard filling:
  15. Heat milk in medium saucepan until hot but not boiling.
  16. While milk is heating, add sugar and cornstarch to mixing bowl. Whisk together.
  17. With an electric mixer or by hand, whisk egg yolks into sugar mixture until pale yellow.
  18. Whisk in orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla.
  19. Remove milk from heat.
  20. While whisking/mixing on low, very slowly pour heated milk into egg mixture. Mix slowly until combined.
  21. Pour mixture back into saucepan and place over medium heat.
  22. Heat and whisk continuously for 5 minutes, until custard has thickened to consistency of thick
    pudding.
  23. Once thick, remove from heat and whisk in butter.
  24. Pour custard into large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic wrap onto top of custard to prevent skin from forming.

    For the orange filling:
  25. Place 1 cup (250ml) water, orange juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to just below the boil.
  26. Whisk cornflour and ¼ cup (60ml) water in a bowl and add to orange juice mixture. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes or until thickened.
  27. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then add butter, whisking to combine. Slowly pour into tart, over cold and set custard filling.
  28. Chill for 1 hour or until firm.
  29. Cut into wedges to serve.

Meringue – Basic

INGREDIENTS
• 3 egg whites (90g), at room temperature
• ¼ tsp ( 1.25 mL )cream of tartar
• ¼ cup ( 60 mL )granulated sugar
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METHOD

  1. Beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer until frothy.
  2. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.
  3. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form.