The second phase of the baking segment has begun! This half of the term finds us mastering the sweet subtleties of pastries and tarts! We started the week off by learning how to make all different kinds of creams and fillings. Pastry cream is a very rich (and delicious) blend of milk, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla. We were primarily in preparation mode during the earlier days of this week. In addition to creams and fillings we learned how to compose the crumble that sits on top of the tarts. We also made dough for the tart shells. This is called pate sucree, which quite simply translates to “sugar dough.” It is very easy to make and freezes really well. We ended up making a lot of it in class and I got a chance to take some home with me. After we finished creating these building blocks we spent the rest of the week assembling and fleshing out our little masterpieces…
We made a plum crostata and a pear gallete. We also created an assortment of different fruit tarts using plums, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. But the cavalcade of sweet things did not stop there. We had a very productive foray into crème puffs, éclairs, and paris-brest. These were all made from this one basic dough, pate a choux. It combines flour and butter with boiling water and cooks until it stiffens. Eggs are then added to make a pasty consistency come alive. When hot, it is piped onto a baking sheet and placed in the oven. It eventually puffs up and becomes very airy inside. It is the ideal vessel for French cream to sit ever so lusciously. And again, a fairly simple dough to make! Another baking technique that will surely come in handy in the future…
omg - that post title. i'm dying.
and the pictures look great.
you're so cute
Posted by: ricky hoyt | May 04, 2007 at 12:10 PM
what a charmer! :)
nicole
Posted by: the.wild.geese | June 27, 2007 at 07:44 PM