I love Kouign Amann

Paris has a delightful array of pastry to try. The chefs are constantly competing with each other to come up with the best croissant or the best new surprising cake. Things can get pretty "innovative" and sometimes it adds up to a disappointment but when you find a pastry chef that does a classic perfectly...well, its lovely.

Kouign Amann has been popping up around the city this winter, probably because its heavy, warm and full of delicious, comforting salted butter. I remember trying one when I first arrived in Paris (not knowing what it was or what to expect) and I didn't really enjoy it. Clearly, I did not know pastry at all then! Because this pastry is so wonderful I just can't live the rest of my life without it. And I think I love them event more because they are a regional pastry from Brenton (aka: Brittany).

Thank goodness for David Lebovitz coming through with a working recipe for me to try when I get home. I take back what I said before, David.

I bought myself some individual kouign amann yesterday so I could treat myself for breakfast today and clearly enjoyed it too much to take a photo for you all. So here are photos from the shop where I bought them. I don't really recommend the shop for his chocolate or anything else (even though he is an MOF) but if you are in the city looking for a treat, stop in and pick up some kouign amann. I recommend the salted caramel. You'll die a little and go to butter heaven. *Heat these babies up in the oven for a few minutes before you eat them and it will be even more amazing.

You're welcome.

Georges Larnicol, MOF
132 Blvd. St. Germain 75006
33 1 43 26 39 38
http://www.chocolaterielarnicol.fr/

*he has many boutiques throughout Paris, this is just one location.

Home Baking: Linzer Cookies

Simple and comforting - you can whip up these cookies in just about 30 minutes and with very little mess. Use your favorite jam, it doesn't have to be raspberry (my fav!). These are also really great to make with kids because you can make them into any shape or design you like! Happy baking!

Pate Sucreé

250g flour
100g butter (room temperature)
100g icing sugar
1 egg
20g water

sift the flour.
cream the butter and icing sugar together.
add the egg. mix until smooth and homogeneous.
add the sifted flour.
if using a mixer, beat until the dough comes together.
if using your hands, use your hands or a scrapper to "frasage" the dough. basically, take a handful of dough and press it into the table while sliding your hand or scrapper so the dough smears. once all the dough has been frasaged, gather it. wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.


Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the shapes that you want your cookies to look like! You use two cut outs per cookie so make a lot of them! Cut out the center of half of the cookies and then lay them all on out of a sheet with baking paper and bake until golden brown. Let cool and then spread your favorite jam on the bottom piece and place the top (with the cut out center) on and voila! Bon appetit!

La Pêche

This summer season I rediscovered my love for peaches. White peaches in particular. They are so much more sophisticated than those canned and cubed yellow peaches I used to eat as a kid in my lunch box. Not that I didn't love those too.

I wish I had started eating them earlier in the season so I could have enjoyed even more but of course my stubborn mind thought I didn't really like them and didn't want to give them another try. Stupid. I love them! They are so beautiful too so I just had to make something with them.

The fruit deserves to be the star of the show so I went with a simple baked peach tart and nestled the juicy slices of peach into hazelnut cream. Wow, was it good. I wish I had some whole roasted hazelnuts to scatter on top for some extra flavor and crunch but I guess I'll have to wait until next time.

What is your favorite summer fruit or dessert?? Now its the time for apples, pears and figs!

last day of school

This happened a while ago (like two months ago) which shows you how far behind I am on blogging. Oh goodness.

Looking back now, I miss our crazy and silly class. We had so much fun and I miss seeing my friends every day. I'm definitely happy in my internship too so I can't really complain. On our last day of class we all got to make whatever we wanted and then we had a little feast together. It was a fun day of us just goofing around, singing, cooking and baking and having a good old time. I made peanut butter cookies because the rest of the world does not eat enough peanut butter and raspberry truffle brownies. My friend Alvin made his famous, delicious and too-spicy-for-me-but-i-eat-it-anyway curry. Its an amazing dish! Patricia made some amazing Polish dumplings and bread. It was all delicious!

I am lucky to have met some pretty great people here in Paris and wish we still got to play around like this every week. Have you had any fun cooking or baking parties with friend lately? What is your latest recipe?

peanut butter cookies
Oven: 350F/177C

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (185 grams) peanut butter(smooth or crunchy, I use smooth)

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat the butter, brown and white sugars until light and airy. About 3-5 minutes. 

While that is beating, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Beat in peanut butter to the butter/sugar mixture.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and combine. Add nuts, optional.

Let sit in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll 1'' balls of dough and place on baking sheet.

Using the end of a fork dipped in granulated sugar, press the fork across the ball to flatten and make indented lines in the dough. Repeat at a perpendicular angle to make the criss-cross pattern.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are browned.

home baking with summer strawberries

In my fabulous new apartment I am happy to report that I now have a real, live, functioning oven! It is such a luxury here in the city. I am really excited to start using it once I am settled. In my last apartment I had this old microwave-oven that I had written off as a useless piece from the beginning. One night when I was waiting for my brother and his friends to get to my apartment I decided to give it a go and try to make a simple strawberry tart.

Lo and behold, the appliance wasn't useless after-all. When they arrived we had some wine, bread, meat and cheese and topped it off with this little dessert. It was a really nice evening with family and friends.

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try. You don't have to use strawberries either. Just pick your favorite fruit!

Pate Sucre

250g flour
100g butter (room temperature)
100g icing sugar
1 egg
20g water

sift the flour.
cream the butter and icing sugar together.
add the egg. mix until smooth and homogeneous.
add the sifted flour.
if using a mixer, beat until the dough comes together.
if using your hands, use your hands or a scrapper to "frasage" the dough. basically, take a handful of dough and press it into the table while sliding your hand or scrapper so the dough smears. once all the dough has been frasaged, gather it. wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Creme d'amande

250g butter (softened)
250g sugar
250g almond powder
200g eggs
50g flour
40g rum (optional)
5g vanilla extract

cream the sugar and butter together.
add the almond powder and cream together.
add the eggs, one by one.
beat the mixture to "blanch" it. (make it white in color)
add sifted flour, mix.
add rum and vanilla. mix to combine.
cover and fridge.

roll out your pate sucree, poke the dough to make holes for steam while it bakes. line your tart ring or pan with the dough and bake until golden. let the shell cool. pipe the creme d'amande into the bottom of the shell and top with strawberries. you can put the strawberries in whole or cut them in half and lay them in a spiral design. top with a sprinkle of icing sugar. store in fridge.

bon appetit!