Monday, August 3, 2015

Summer Baking: Sweet and Savory Tarts {Class 5}

This summer I'm enrolled in the Culinary Lab: Baking course as part of my graduate program - the Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University. For 6 weeks I'll be spending 2 nights a week in the professional kitchen learning all about baking. The course requires students to keep a journal of the experience and I've decided to record my adventures here on the blog. I hope you enjoy! You'll get the calorie-free version of my decadent baking experience. 
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One word can sum up this class - butter. Butter, butter, and when you think you have enough, add a little more butter. Of course don't forget about the sugar and brown sugar.... Isn't it amazing that there are so many recipes that start at the same place - cream the butter and sugar together - and end up in wildly different directions?

First on this week's baking menu were tarts. Tarts can be sweet or savory and we tackled both in our time together. Pate sucree provides a sugar sweetened butter and flour tart shell. Pate brisee omits the sugar for a flaky buttery shell. Pate sucree provided a flaky base for a smooth, tart, brilliantly yellow lemon curd. Calling on our newly learned custard making skills we whisked, tempered, and whisked the ingredients into a luscious filling for a lemon almond tart. Not only is this curd perfect for filling a pie it would also be delicious as ice cream or mousse. One exciting learning from these classes is knowing that many of these recipes are quite versatile.



The next task of the evening was tartalettes aux pommes - individual apple tarts. Pate sucree is prepared and divided into four equal portions. A filling of sliced apples is sauteed with sugar until just browned in color. The pate sucree is gently folded around the apples, wrapping them like a little gift. Of course this couldn't be complete with out an additional sprinkling of brown sugar after coming out of the oven. The beauty of this recipe is in it's rustic appearance. Afraid that you can't make a perfect crust? Worried about rolling out the crust into an amoeba instead of a perfect circle? With this is doesn't matter - just fold, pinch, and tell you guests that you made them a rustic apple tart. They will think you are a baking genius and they will forget all about the appearance after they take a bite.



For both the pate sucree and pate brisee (sweet and savory) kitchen appliances are your friend. A few quick pulses will evenly distribute the butter into pea sized pieces. Although if you hit pulse one too many times, you might go too far. The idea is to have noticeable sized pieces of butter throughout to produce a flaky crust. The butter melts during baking and releases steam, giving the crust its flaky texture.

If butter was the theme of the week, it was included in all its glory in Julia Child's basic quiche recipe that we prepared. A buttery pate brisee was filled with caramelized onions and Gruyere. A rich, decadent filling of heavy cream and eggs was poured over the top. As if that wasn't enough the quiche gets dotted with 1-2 tablespoons of butter before baking. Wow. This is not a light lunch at all - usually you think quiche and a salad is a good choice! After baking the custard is light in texture but the taste is quite the opposite.  The additional butter caused our quiche to look like it was topped with an oil slick. It was quite decadent with the cream, eggs, Gruyere, butter, and butter crust.



Some of the takeaways from tonight's class:

  • It's not too early to plan for the holidays. Well wrapped pie crust can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.
  • Making the pie crust into a ball doesn't have to be a messy procedure. Dump the crumbs from the food processor directly onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the plastic wrap to push it together until it forms a ball. Flatten slightly and chill in the plastic wrap (or freeze) until ready to roll out.
  • With a little care it is easy to roll out an even crust. Roll just until the edge leaving a small lip. Turn 1/4 and repeat until the dough is the desired size.


  • Always make sure the crust is securely in the pie pan. If there are air pockets under the crust it could cause it to bubble up or crack. It is also important to seal any cracks and holes when making a tart with a liquid filling. Say goodbye to a crispy bottom if you don't do this! We tried using white sandwich bread to plug a few holes in our quiche crust and it worked quite well. 


This was a fun class and made tarts seem more accessible. There are a lot of techniques to remember but nothing so challenging that it can't be done at home. Do you have a favorite pie crust recipe? Any tips and tricks?



What is your favorite pie? I'm partial to fruit pies, pecan pies, and chocolate banana cream.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Summer Baking: Custards, Meringues, and Pate a Choux {Classes 3 & 4}

This summer I'm enrolled in the Culinary Lab: Baking course as part of my graduate program - the Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University. For 6 weeks I'll be spending 2 nights a week in the professional kitchen learning all about baking. The course requires students to keep a journal of the experience and I've decided to record my adventures here on the blog. I hope you enjoy! You'll get the calorie-free version of my decadent baking experience.
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Classes 3 and 4 introduced the class to some classic dishes. The menu for our third class included Pavlova, clafouti, and almond orange bread pudding. These three recipes provided us with an introduction into the world of custards and meringues. How interestingly different egg yolks and egg whites can be! 

Before we headed to the kitchen we learned about all the different options for puddings (starch thickened, baked, steamed), custards (stirred or baked), Bavarian cream, mousse and souffles. Similar ingredients - very different results!

The Pavlova was first on the prep list. This graceful dessert is named for a ballerina and her signature role as a white swan. These are not a traditional meringue that crumbles when you bite into it. The addition of vinegar makes the inside chewy while the outside is crisp. The whipped egg whites are spread into circles on parchment with a slight well in the center. These don't puff up when baked and the well is the perfect spot to layer in fresh berries with raspberry sauce and fluffy whipped cream. The individual size bakes in half the time and also makes for an elegant presentation. Imagine a summer luncheon with these individual Pavlovas - no one has to share! 


The next recipe is courtesy of Julia Child, one of the founders of the program at BU. Clafouti is a custard dessert traditionally made with cherries. Custard and fruit are cooked together until it puffs and browns. A sprinkle of powdered sugar is added before serving. The dish is pretty straight forward, but Julia has a great technique that she incorporates. Rather than just dump and bake, she instructs the reader to pour 1/4" of batter in the bottom of a pie plate and hold over moderate heat until the batter has just set. The cherries are set on top before the remainder of the batter is poured in. This prevents the cherries from sticking to the bottom of the dish. Another interesting note - the cherries are added whole (don't serve this to children!). The pits contain a chemical that when baked have the scent of almonds. I have to admit, this one was not my favorite. The soft custardy texture is not my preference. But it was easy to make and would make for a great party dish as it can be served at room temperature.


A last minute addition to the night was Zabaglione. We each got a double boiler, egg yolks, sugar, sweet Marsala, and a whisk. Over a slight simmer, we whisked and whisked and whisked until the mixture was aerated and slightly thickened. It took more than the 4 minutes called for in the recipe and I felt the burn! Proper whisking technique is definitely a learned art. Thankfully my eggs didn't scramble and I ended up with a delightfully smooth custard to pour over fresh berries.


Here's a look at the group at our end of class tasting. The casserole dishes contain David Leibovitz's recipe for almond orange bread pudding. Pictures and then tasting!



It was hard to contain my excitement over class four - Pate a Choux! This is the base for some really great pastries. Pate a Choux is one of those things that I thought was going to be a real challenge to make. We used a recipe from Jacques Pepin that was easy to follow and produced fantastic results. We elevated these with a craquelin topping and a generous filling of pastry cream and nougatine. Making Pate a Choux requires a lot of observation. Adjustments have to be made depending on the size of the eggs, the dryness of the flour, or how much the dough dries when you cook it (and even the weather). The beauty of these profiteroles is how the eggs and steam puff them up leaving a perfectly hollow inside waiting to be filled with something creamy.

Before we baked them we topped them with craquelin - butter, sugar and flour that is rolled out and cut into circles to top the profiteroles. These bake into a crisp, sugary topping. This reminded me of Japanese melon bread - a delicious airy bread that is topped with a sugar cookie like crust. Now that I made these I see the resemblance and I am inspired to see if I can recreate them.


Gougeres are made in a similar way, though these got a dash of bacon, thyme and Gruyere before being piped into adorable little blobs on the baking sheet. They baked up light and fluffy and perfect for any occasion. Knowing that all of these freeze well is dangerous. I might be eating up all my frozen vegetables and filling my freezer with profiteroles and gougeres to have whenever the urge strikes!


It is a lot of fun to learn the basics and building blocks of pastry - from the doughs to the pastry creams to even just a good whipped cream. The good news for my family is that I'll have to keep making these so I don't lose the knowledge!

What dessert have you always wanted to learn how to make?

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Summer Baking: Cookie Night {Class #2}

This summer I'm enrolled in the Culinary Lab: Baking course as part of my graduate program - the Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University. For 6 weeks I'll be spending 2 nights a week in the professional kitchen learning all about baking. The course requires students to keep a journal of the experience and I've decided to record my adventures here on the blog. I hope you enjoy! You'll get the calorie-free version of my decadent baking experience. 

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Cookie night! There are infinite cookie recipes out there. Probably many in your family and an endless array of choices in cookbooks and online. Tonight's task in class was to tackle some of the more variety of cookie techniques and produced a set of delicious delicious results. From mix and drop cookies to precisely piped cookies. We produced a delicious sampling of cookies to taste.


First up was cookie that was pretty much just chocolate and macadamia nuts. These drop cookies are exactly as they sound  - mix and drop! Start with smooth melted chocolate and butter, stir in a minimal amount of flour (3 tablespoons), a little sugar, and then a generous amount of macadamia nuts. Drop on the tray, cook for about 10 minutes and eat immediately.


 They almost had a brownie like consistency with that shiny exterior. These could last a day or two, but realistically you'll finish them off pretty quickly with no need for storage.


Our next task was a sheet of cantuccini - or what we think of as biscotti. These are from the Tuscany region and traditionally would be dunked. They are twice baked and especially hard and crunchy. 

It was hot in the kitchen - we opted out of our formal chef coats for the night.

One thing to note on these cookies - notice the different colors of almonds in the photo below. Even though the instructor ordered raw almonds, the supplier delivered a batch that included both raw and roasted notes. While that might not be a problem in some recipes it was a problem here. Because you are baking these twice, by the time the final cookie is done the roasted nuts are overcooked. This leaves a bitter flavor behind. As a result these cantuccini were not as good as they could have been. The bitter flavor was just too much.



My absolute favorite cookie of the night started off not looking like a cookie at all. These Jan Hagels combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, an egg, flour, and vanilla and almond extracts. The dough is pressed into a jelly roll pan, topped with frothy egg whites and sprinkled with sliced almonds. A generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar completes the cookie.



According to the recipe, these are a traditional Dutch holiday cookie that is light, thin, and flaky. After baking the cookies are cut into diamond shapes before eating. It was hard to stop eating these! These were simple to make but would impress as a gift for the holidays. 


The last cookie of the night was a late addition to the menu. We had worked so fast that we had time to try out one more cookie type - piped cookies! This is one type of cookie I have not had any experience with and was a little nervous about. It turns out that it wasn't as hard as I thought. The recipe we used was from Pierre Herme. The Viennese Sable Cookies are shaped into a W in homage to the Wittamer Pastry Shop from Brussels.

We decided on this recipe at the end of the night but it calls for very soft butter (in order to have pipe-able texture). A great tip we learned - grate the butter! By grating it on a box grater cold butter will soften very quickly and be ready for a spur of the moment baking urge.


Not bad for a first attempt!


It was a lot of fun to make 4 different cookies that I have never made before. When I make cookies I usually make something from my tried and true recipes. I experiment with a lot of different savory dishes, but when it comes to cookies I usually have a specific craving. How about you? Do you try a lot of new cookies?

After tonight, I'm looking forward to adding these Jan Hagels to my cookie recipe rotation.

Delicious take home work.

What is your favorite cookie? Do you have a tip that helps you be more efficient in the kitchen? I'd love to know!

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