Recipe: Mille Feuille

Mille Feuille (1,000 leaves/layers) is still my favorite pastry. Specifically Mr. Pierre Herme's version filled with chocolate and praliné. Oh wow, I need to go get one of those soon.

I had dinner with a friend a few weeks ago at my apartment. She made delicious Korean BBQ ribs and I made the classic version of a vanilla mille feuille. The key to having a good mille feuille is to show off the two contrasting textures - crispy puff pastry with light and creamy vanilla cremé.

Want to give it a go? I think you should! It is a perfect surprise for Thanksgiving or Christmas! The best part is that you can make the pastry dough a day or two in advance. Just freeze the dough until its ready to be baked! OR if you really are pressed for time or simply don't want to attempt this somewhat daunting recipe - go ahead and buy frozen puff pastry from the market. Lets be honest, sometimes there is just NO time.

Pate Feuilletage Inverse (Puff Pastry dough)
Oven: 450F or 230C


400g Butter
130g Flour


In your mixer, combine butter and flour until smooth and homogenous. Form this into a cube and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

270g Flour
10g Salt
140g Water (approx.)


In your mixer, combine all ingredients to create a firm detrempe (read:dough). This is a French culinary term for the first stage in the process of making puff pastry, which requires only flour and water. After, form into another cube, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


Onto a floured surface, roll out your butter dough in a rectangle just enough so that you can wrap the detrempe inside of it. Place the detrempe in the bottom half of the butter dough and fold the butter over the detrempe to enclose it as if it is a giant ravioli. Note: don't be afraid to use flour on the counter and the top of the dough, butter is easily melted and sticky so you will need to use flour to prevent the sticking and if the dough gets too warm and soft stick it in the refrigerator to firm up again. 

Press together the ends of the butter to close everything up. Place the dough with the longest seam to your left, as if it is a book (an upside down one). Roll the dough out to about 10 cm x 35 cm long. Now you will give the dough its first "turn". Visually divide the dough into thirds. Fold the top third down and fold the bottom third up. It will end up looking like this. 

Repeat this three more times to total four turns keeping the long seam to the left. Remember, if the dough gets too warm and starts sticking to your table wrap it and refrigerate it until firm again (15 mins-30 mins).

PHEW! The hard part is over. Now let your dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour or so. When you are ready, roll out the dough to the size of a baking sheet (normally 40cmx60cm). This size will give you enough servings for about 12-13 people. The thickness should be about 1 cm and it should be even in thickness all the way through. After you have rolled it out, let the dough rest in the fridge again for an hour because it is elastic and will retract a little. (This is when you would want to freeze the dough if you want!!)

Bake at about 190C/375F until golden brown and crispy. (If you can manage, flip the pastry half way through - probably about 30 minutes).

BRAVO!! 

Now, pastry cream.



750g milk
250g cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
200g sugar
80g corn starch
220g egg yolks (about 6)
50g butter, unsalted, cut into pieces

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, cream and vanilla to a boil. In another bowl mix the sugar, starch and egg yolks together. When the milk boils, pour half of the milk onto the egg mixture and mix immediately. 

Put the milk back on the heat and add the egg mixture into the pot. Put on medium heat and mix constantly until the cream is thick and reaches a boil for 1 minute. Always mix! You don't want to burn the bottom of the cream :)

Scoop out onto a tray covered in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. You can also put it in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to cool it faster and then store in the fridge.

Now, combine the cooled pastry cream with about 25% whipped cream. 

Assembly:

Cut the puff pastry into three even sections lengthwise. Fill a pastry bag with the cream and pipe the cream on top of the first layer of puff pastry. Spread the cream with a spatula so it is evenly distributed and without holes. Place second layer of puff pastry on top. Repeat the layer of cream and top off with another layer of puff pastry. Top with a sprinkle of icing sugar or anything else you would like! In this photo I used the extra bits of puff pastry and crunched them up into small pieces to put all around the outside. Just cover the sides with left over cream and then press the crunchy bits into it.

VOILA! Phew, now go have a drink!

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!

Remember to DANCE & a recipe!

The best message I got on my birthday was an e-mail from Mike with a link to a you tube video. He said "its your birthday babe, remember to dance..."

Couldn't have said it better myself. I love this song and adore this video. Perfect way to wake up on my first day of 25!

Here is the recipe for the peach and hazelnut cream tart! Enjoy!!

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 noisette

250g butter (softened)
250g sugar
250g hazelnut powder
200g eggs
50g flour
5g vanilla extract
50g cooled pastry cream
cream the sugar and butter together.
add the hazelnut powder and cream together.
add the eggs, one by one.
beat the mixture to "blanch" it. (make it white/lighter in color)
add sifted flour, mix.
add rum and vanilla. mix to combine. 
fold in pastry cream.cover and fridge.

2 white peaches, sliced.

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 (decorate the edges if you want!) and bake until lightly golden (you are baking it again so you want it to be under baked at this point so it doesn't burn later). 

Let the shell cool for a few minutes (use this time to cut your peaches?) and then pipe or spread a layer of cream in the bottom of the shell. The cream will puff/rise a little in the oven so leave space for that. Place your peaches on top and bake again for about 20 minutes or until you see the cream browning around the edges. Let cool and bon appetit!

home baking: chocolate!

Is there a problem when I spend my whole morning baking at work and then the afternoon baking at home? Maaybe? eek! Don't judge me!! :)

I warned my friends when I moved into my new apartment that I was going to go all "Julie and Julia" on their asses. Well, I wasn't lying. I made Julia Child's chocolate mousse recipe last week and it was delightful. Especially because its composed of Valrhona chocolate and Illy coffee. This is pretty simple to make and great for dinner parties. After you make it and before it is chilled, scoop it into little individual ramekins to serve your guests! Top it with some fresh whipped cream right before you bring them out. Your friends will be so impressed!

Recipe

Makes 6-8 servings

6 ounces semisweet chocolate (the better the quality, the better the end result!)

4 tablespoons strong (good!) coffee

1.5 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup orange liqueur (I omitted this because I didn't have any)

3/4 cup sugar

Roughly chop the chocolate into pieces

Pour the hot coffee over the chocolate (as if making a ganache)

Leave to sit for a minute or two then mix and add the butter.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, liqueur, and gradually add the sugar while beating

Beat until thick, pale yellow and it forms a "ribbon" when it falls from the whisk

Place the egg yolks over a double broiler of just simmering water and whisk for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is foamy and warm to your touch

Remove from the heat and beat over a bath of cold water (rest the bowl in another bowl full of cold water) until it is cool, thick and forms a ribbon

Once the chocolate is cooled, fold the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate.

In a metal bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually at two tablespoons sugar and continue beating to stiff peaks

Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and then delicately fold in the rest of the whites.

Scoop the mixture into a serving dish (or individual pots de creme)

Cover and chill for several hours or overnight

Will keep (while covered) for several days

Serve with lightly whipped cream or creme anglaise.

Another little creation from last week. Chocolate and caramel tartlets. 

Until the next one...bon appetit! 

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.

Pastry School: C'est Fini!!

Today was officially the final day of my schooling at Ferrandi. Five months of pastry school is already behind me! I actually can't believe it. I know after everything ends you think about how time flies but it amazes me every time how very true that really is. Even though the days may seem long every now and then, the weeks, months and years just continue flying by.

I am so grateful for my time at Ferrandi and all the wonderful people I have met here in Paris. We have an incredible group of individuals and I will really miss seeing them every day. We had some really fun times in the lab together, especially with our crazy chef. It was filled with a lot of "TMI"(or TIM or MIT as our chef gets confused), bursting out in random songs (usually Beyonce inspired) and slowing stealing Valrhona chocolate from the cupboard. Oopies! It's too good to resist.

 best pastry class in history

 best picture of chef ....ever.

celebrating at a Ferrandi alumni's amazing restaurant - l'Epi Dupin

As for us students, we are now moving onto our internships. This is the scary part. We are all working in different restaurants, hotels, and patisseries throughout the city and we are all getting pretty nervous. Biggest issue? Um...je ne parle pas frances! The language barrier (and pressure to learn) aside, I am really excited to put my skills to the test. It is a fresh challenge and I am very ready for it! Where will I be working? At the newly established Sébastien Gaudard in the 9eme.

My first day will be July 3 so until then, I will be traveling! Tomorrow our class takes a three day trip to Strasbourg and then I meet my family back in Paris for the weekend (they are now in Berlin). Next Tuesday my brother and I head to Amsterdam and then Germany! It's going to be an amazing two weeks! I will have loads to tell you when I get settled in again.

Did anyone get around to making the lemon cake this weekend? How did it turn out?
Here is the chocolate cake if you are in need of another decadent treat. Bon Appetit!

Line 3 small loaf molds with baking paper.
Oven at 200C/390F to start, then 150C/300F
convert here

140 g unsalted butter
125 g heavy cream
360 g granulated sugar
125 g eggs
200 g flour
7 g baking powder
85 g cocoa powder
240 g milk

Cream the butter, heavy cream and sugar together.
Add the eggs at room temperature
Sift the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add into the butter mixture.
Beat until completely combined.
Add the milk little by little until absorbed and you have a smooth batter.
Fill the molds halfway and bake at 200C/390F for 10 minutes then continue baking at 150C/300F for 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
(To get a nice appearance, run a knife down the loaf when you change the temperature. There should be a light crust that formed but the rest will still be liquid. Run the knife long ways once and put back in the oven. This is form a nice pyramid/dome shape on the cake)

Decorate and serve! Or just dig right in :)

Feelin' popular slash a recipe!

First thing, thank you to Elizabeth for officially making me feel like a cool kid by being my 100th follower! I didn't think when I started this blog that I would really get into it. I figured it would be fun for a little while and then I would drift away from it but turns out, I really enjoy blogging. It is an amazing way to connect to other people. I have learned so much from other people's posts, seen so many incredible photos and I think its such a positive space. People support and encourage each other, share life experience, give advice, discuss real issues and make people laugh and smile. I'm so thankful that I have been a part of it all through this little corner of the internet. Thanks for being here!

My family is here visiting from California this week and it is just amazing. It feels really good to be with my family even if we have been sightseeing like crazy people and my hips feel like those of an 80 year old woman. I will walk until my feet are broken off if it means getting to have them here. They are headed to Rome right now and I will be meeting them there tomorrow. Today, I am headed to class for our final exam! I can't believe this is my final week of school! I am half way through my time here in Paris...so weird! There will be more on that later :)

For now, here is the delicious recipe for the Citron Gâteaux de Voyage. Let me know how this turns out for you! :)

Makes for 2 - 19cm loaf molds
Oven: 180C/ 350F
Convert grams here

375 g Eggs
525 g Granulated Sugar
225 g Creme fraîche
400 g Flour
8 g baking powder
Zest of 3 lemons
150 g Clarified butter 

Soaking Syrup
100 g Water
100 g Sugar
200 g Lemon Juice

Prep your molds with butter and flour.

Cream the eggs and the sugar together.
Mix the lemon zest into the creme fraîche.
Mix the creme fraîche mixture into the egg mixture to combine.
Add the sifted flour and baking powder.
Add the clarified butter and mix completely.
Fill molds 2/3 full and bake until a knife comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare your soaking syrup.
Bring the water and sugar to a slight boil to make the syrup.
Combine with the lemon juice.
Soak the still warm cake in the syrup and then leave to cool.

Decorate the cake with a glaze/fondant or an icing sugar frosting (add lemon juice to taste). You can use candied lemons slices to make an impressive presentation!

Bon Courage! Send me photos! :)

the day the ATM ate my card. and a recipe.

There are a lot of challenges when moving abroad. Even making the official decision to bite the bullet and come here was tough, but then the drives to Los Angeles to work out my Visa application, finding an apartment, getting 6 suitcases up 6 flights of windy stairs, getting a French phone, learning a new (and impossible) language and the worst of all...opening a French bank account. *cringe*


Opening a bank account sounds pretty simple right? At home, you walk in and sit down with someone and 30 minutes later you walk out all smiles because it was painless and your card will be in your possession shortly. Whoooole different story on this side of the planet. I will spare you my ranting and just say that after three weeks of back and forth I finally was ready to go down and use the ATM to "activate" my card so I could finally pay my tuition and rent that was two weeks past due...oops. 


Thats when it happened. 
First mental breakdown since moving here.
You knew this was coming didn't you?


The ATM ate my card and spit out a receipt saying "Carte Capture".  I've got enough language skills under my belt to understand that. I turn around to walk in the bank to see they have taken their "lunch break" which lasts from noon until three. 


The result? Running back up the 6 flights to my apartment to enjoy my full fledged mental breakdown in peace. The ATM machine brought up every stress and issue I've had since I moved!

sad sad puppy

After a while I found my big girl panties and decided I needed to do something to turn this day around. I got out and just walked around the city along the Seine. It is amazing how sunshine and good music can turn your day around. By the end of my hour walk, I was feeling much better and remembered no matter if the bank system here might be out to get me, things can get stressful and I might get homesick sometimes, I couldn't ask for a more awesome life. Here are some of the sights I saw on my therapy march. Having a tough day? Get out and talk a walk, I promise it works :)

all better :)

Are you ready for some Palmiers?? I hope so. Here is the recipe. It is in grams. I know, pretty inconvenient but my life has been shoved into the metric system and it is the "professional" way of doing things so I am told. If you don't have a scale, you can convert the measurements here. Also, it might look intimidating but I am just trying to be descriptive so don't be discouraged and go for it my love!


Bonne Chance et Bon Appetit!


Pate Feuilletage Inverse (Puff Pastry dough)
Oven: 450F or 230C


400g Butter
130g Flour


In your mixer, combine butter and flour. Should feel like a dough. Form this into a cube and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate until ready to use. 


270g Flour
10g Salt
140g Water (approx.)


In your mixer, combine all ingredients to create a firm detrempe (read:dough). This is a French culinary term for the first stage in the process of making puff pastry, which requires only flour and water. After, form into another cube, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.




Onto a floured surface, roll out your butter dough in a rectangle just enough so that you can wrap the detrempe inside of it. Place the detrempe in the bottom half of the butter dough and fold the butter over the detrempe to enclose it as if it is a giant ravioli. Note: don't be afraid to use flour on the counter and the top of the dough, butter is easily melted and sticky so you will need to use flour to prevent the sticking and if the dough gets too warm and soft stick it in the refrigerator to firm up again. 

{photo via} 

Press together the ends of the butter to close everything up. Place the dough with the longest seam to your left, as if it is a book (an upside down one). Roll the dough out to about 10 cm x 35 cm long. Now you will give the dough its first "turn". Visually divide the dough into thirds. Fold the top third down and fold the bottom third up. It will end up looking like this. 

{via}

Repeat this three more times to total four turns keeping the long seam to the left. Remember, if the dough gets too warm and starts sticking to your table wrap it and refrigerate it until firm again (15 mins-30 mins).


Phew, now you have perfect puff pastry! You can use this for many different recipes and I hope you try some out. But I told you I would tell you how to make Palmiers so you can have them with jam and experience heaven in the mornings.


Now, trade your table flour for sugar (regular granulated sugar). Take your dough and give it a fifth turn in the sugar (I know, your arms will be stronger for it!). There should be an even coating of sugar over the dough. After the 5th turn, roll your dough out to about 10 cm x 80 cm. Fold the dough in half to mark the center. Fold the top half down to meet the center mark and fold the bottom half up to meet the center mark. Then fold the dough in half. Roll over the dough gently with your rolling pin to secure.

{via}

Now take a sharp knife and make clean slices of about 2 cm thick. Place them on a buttered baking sheet in the shape below and make sure to give them plenty of room to expand. Bake for 5-6 minutes until the bottom of the palmier is caramelized and then flip them over and bake for another 3-4 minutes until the other side is nice and golden caramelized. Transfer to a wire cooling rack. You did it!!!

Tres, tres Bien!