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Desserts:
- Puff pastry
- Turnovers ( apple, berry, pastry cream)
- Palmiers (jam, nutella)
- Croissants
- Fruit tarts
- Pate a choux dough
- Churros
- Éclairs
- Donuts, fritters
- Pastry bag use
- Éclairs, churros
- Cake decorating, piping
- Tips
- Star
- Closed star
- French tip
- Plain round tip
- Dual opening tip
- Ribbon tip
- Phyllo dough desserts
- Handling
- Baklava
- Galaktoboureko-traditional phyllo with vanilla custard
- Fruit and/or cheese streudel (berry, apple, honey ricotta)
- Fruit tartlets (seasonal fruit, marscapone, ricotta
- Seasonal fruit list
- See attached sheet
History of Pate a choux
According to legend, the dough was first invented by French chef Panterelli in the year 1540. He was the chief baker at the courts of Catherine De Medici. When Catherine was forced to leave Florence along with her court, her chef wanted to make a pastry which could be made quickly while traveling. As a result, he came up with the idea of heating butter and water with flour to make pastry dough with a high water content. He then used the dough to make small cakes called as Pâte à Panterelli. Over time, the name of these small cakes changed to Pâte à Popelin or Popelins. Other chefs like Avice adopted the recipe to make choux buns which were baked, split open and stuffed with sweet or savory fillings. However, the exact method of making choux pastry was not well known until the recipe was published by the French chef Anotoine Careme in 1815, in his famous cookbook Pâtissier Royal.
Cream puffs and éclairs are airy pastries made from a French dough called pate a choux or choux pastry. The pastry can be formed into a variety of sizes by being dropped from a spoon or by being piped from a pastry bag. The baked puffs are used for desserts as well as appetizers. Cream puffs and éclairs get their puff from the steam that is produced from the water, eggs, and fat in the batter. Choux pastry does not use a leavening agent. The high water content in the pastry creates steam which acts as a leavening agent to puff up the dough.
When baking the dough, its important not to overcrowd the baking pan. Leave about 3 inches of space around each puff or éclair. The dough needs room to expand during baking and needs air to circulate so the steam gives off and evaporate.
For best flavor, serve cream puffs and éclairs the same day they are made, If necessary they can be prepared a day in advance. Store the unfilled pastries in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and fill just before serving.
For longer storage, arrange unfilled pastries in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once they are frozen, transfer to a heavy duty resealable plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before using. If the thawed pastries are a little soggy, reheat them in the oven for a few minutes.
Demo: We will demo pate a choux, pipe out éclairs, puffs, and demo churros.
Pate a choux Recipe (Culinary Fundamentals, ACF) Yield 6 lbs.
1 qt of milk
1 lb. butter
1.5 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp salt
1 lb. bread flour (ap flour also can work)
2 lb eggs
Bring the milk, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat, add the flour all at once, and stir vigorously to combine. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 mins.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat briefly on medium speed with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs two at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. The pate a choux is ready to be piped and baked.
Begin baking the 375-400 degrees then reduce the heat to 250 degrees once the pate a choux begins to take on color. Bake the items until they swell to several times their original volume are golden brown, and have no moisture beads on the sides. Baked shells should be hollow with a dry, delicate texture. You can fill the éclairs or puffs with pastry cream, crème chantillly, or ice cream.
Pastry Cream (Culinary Fundamentals, ACF) Yield 2 lbs.
21 fl. Oz of milk
6.5 oz sugar
4 oz A.P flour
2 each eggs
3 each egg yolks
Splash of vanilla
Combine 6 fluid oz. of the milk with half of the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Meanwhile combine the flour with the remaining sugar. Stirring with a wire whip, add the remaining 15 fluid oz . of milk. Add the eggs and egg yolks, stirring with a wire whip until the mixture is completely smooth. Temper the egg mixture by adding about one third of the hot milk, stirring constantly with a wipe whip. Return the mixture to the remaining hot milk in the saucepan. Continue cooking, vigorously stirring with the whip, until the pastry cream comes to a boil and the whip leaves a trail in it. Pour the pastry cream onto a large shallow container or bowl. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly again the surface of the cream, and cool over an ice bath. Sore the pastry cream covered, under refrigeration. Once cooled you can pipe into éclairs or fill tarts with cream.
Crème Chantilly (Julia Child and Jacques Pepin) Yield 2-3 cups
1 cup of heavy cream, well chilled
1.5 T granulated sugar
.5 T vanilla extract
1 T cognac (you can also use rum, grand marnier, or other flavored liquor)
In a mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the cream, sugar, vanilla and cognac (or other liquor) until the cream thickens into soft peaks that hold their shape. You can also make this cream by hand. Start with a chilled bowl and a flexible wire whisk. Beat the cream by whipping the whisk in a back to forth motion. Do not whip in a large circular motion, as with egg whites, as this can lead to overbeating and turn the cream to butter. Add the sugar and flavorings as you begin to beat. Beat the cream until the cream thickens into soft peaks that hold their shape.
Churros
500 grams of flour
40 grams of sugar
200 grams of eggs
15 grams of salt
1 litre of water
Sugar and cinnamon to coat fried churros
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Bring the water to boil in a sauce pot. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water after it boils. Add the flour once the salt and sugar are dissolved in the water. You mix it 3 or 4 minutes and remove from the heat. Add the eggs to the batter in two batches using a mixer or a wooden spoon. The dough should feel hard and come away from the pot. Add the dough to the pastry bag fitted with a star tip. In a separate pot or deep fryer bring oil to 350 degrees and fry churro rounds or sticks. Once golden brown turn hot churros into a bowl of sugar and cinnamon mixture to coat. Serve hot.
Puff Pastry
Puff pastry is a laminate dough that is a light, flaky, unleavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20 °C (68 °F). In raw form, puff pastry is a dough which is spread with solid fat and repeatedly folded and rolled out. It is sometimes called a "water dough" or détrempe. The gaps that form between the layers are a result of the puff pastry rising as the water evaporates into steam during the baking process. Piercing the dough will prevent excessive puffing, and crimping along the sides will prevent the layers from flaking all of the way to the edges.
Frozen Puff pastry dough is available in sheets or individual shells. It has dozens of paper thin layers of dough separated by butter. As the pastry bakes, steam created from water in the dough makes the layers rise up and pull apart, resulting in a crisp, flaky pastry.
To use, thaw the pastry at room temperature for about 20 minutes before handling. Handle as little as possible, to avoid stretching, and tearing.
Preheat the oven as directed. Cut pastry with a sharp knife or cutter to get a clean edge. Only brush an egg wash on top of the dough, not the edges. If the edges are brushed, they will stick together and the pastry won’t rise during baking.
Unbaked puff pastry dough may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or frozen for up to a month. Baked pastries are enjoyed best the same day they are made and don’t refrigerate well. Baked unfilled pastry may be frozen in airtight containers for up to 6 weeks.
Demo: We will roll croissants using frozen puff pastry, and make honey ricotta turnovers.
Phyllo dough
History of Phyllo Dough
Phyllo dough has a very ancient history. According to historians, the very first recorded versions of phyllo dough are in Turkish cuisine. However, it is possible that the dough was prepared even earlier during the 8th century BC by the Assyrians. The Assyrians were the first to use rolled out bread dough to form thin sheets. These thin sheets where then layered with nuts and honey and baked to from a crunchy pastry. Over the years, the same paper like thin sheets of dough were adapted into Turkish cuisine. During the 11th century, very early form of phyllo was popular in Central Asia and it is mentioned in the Diwan Lughat al-Turk, a Turkish dictionary. In Turkey, the dough was referred to as yufka or thin dough. The dough was further adapted by the royal chefs of the Topkapı Palace to form the modern paper thin sheets that are used in nowadays in Greek and Turkish cuisine.
Phyllo is a tissue-thin dough generally sold in the freezer section of grocery stores. It is used for desserts, appetizers, and main dishes.
Thaw phyllo according to the package instructions. Generally you leave it out for a few hours in refrigerator still in package. You do not want to leave out the phyllo otherwise it will dry and crack. Always have all other ingredients assembled and ready to go before unwrapping the dough. Because phyllo is thin, fragile, and tears easily, work on a smooth, dry surface. Phyllo dries out quickly. So once the dough is unwrapped and unrolled, cover it with plastic wrap and then a damp kitchen towel. Work with one sheet at a time and keep the other sheets covered.
Refrigerate unopened phyllo dough for up to three weeks, or freeze up to 3 months. Opened dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Baked phyllo should be stored in airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen.
Demo: Handling of phyllo dough, preparation of Honey ricotta turnovers and preparation of baklava.
Honey Ricotta Turnovers (Martha Stewart) Yields 4
3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest (optional)
1 large egg
Coarse salt
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, vanilla, zest (if using), egg, and pinch of salt. Mix well to combine. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and honey on high until butter melts, 30 to 45 seconds. Stir well to combine.
Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a work surface (cover other sheets with a lightly damp towel). Using a pastry brush, gently brush with honey mixture. Lay 2 more sheets phyllo on top, brushing each with honey mixture. Cut crosswise into 4 rectangles. Place 2 tablespoons ricotta mixture at one end of each rectangle; gently fold phyllo around ricotta like a flag (see below). Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 3 sheets phyllo. Bake until golden brown and shiny, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm, drizzled with more honey.
Forming the turnovers: Place filling at one end of rectangle, leaving top corner empty. Fold corner of dough over filling. Continue, alternating corners, making sure filling is enclosed, until you reach the end. Trim excess dough with a knife.
Rolled Baklava (Martha Stewart) Yield 21 pieces.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups coarsely ground almonds (7 ounces)
1 1/2 cups coarsely ground walnuts (7 ounces)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 sheets phyllo dough
2 cups cool Honey Syrup for Rolled Baklava (see recipe below)
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 9-by-9-inch pan with melted butter. Set aside.
Combine almonds, walnuts, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Place one sheet of phyllo on a flat work surface. Brush with melted butter. Fold the long sides in to form a 9 1/2-by-15-inch rectangle. Brush folded edges with butter. Place a second piece of phyllo over first sheet, and gather it like a curtain to fit inside rectangle. Brush with butter.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture over the bottom one-third of the phyllo rectangle. Fold phyllo over to cover nuts. Brush folded phyllo with butter. Spread 1/4 cup nuts in a 1-inch-wide line parallel to, and about 1 inch from, the edge of pastry. Fold over once to cover nuts. Roll like a cigar almost to the end. Fold in ragged edges, and brush them with butter. Finish rolling, and fold ends under. Place seam-side down in prepared pan. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling, laying each roll next to the other so they are touching. Cut rolls crosswise into 21 pieces total (drag knife through a second time to assure a clean cut).
Transfer to oven, and bake until crust and nuts are evenly golden, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and cool for 10 minutes. Pour cool Honey Syrup over pastry; it will come about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed and nuts are saturated, about 30 minutes.
Note
Phyllo is tricky to work with: Once it's unwrapped, the tissue-thin layers must be kept from drying out. Lili suggests taking out only what you need, covering the rest with plastic wrap, and then wrapping a damp towel around the plastic. Even after the rolled baklava is sitting in the pan waiting to go in the oven, Lili brushes the dough lightly with melted butter to keep it moist.
Honey Syrup (Martha Stewart) Yield makes 3 cups
2 cups sugar
4 teaspoon lemon juice, plus zest from half a lemon
4 cinnamon sticks
3 tablespoons honey
Combine sugar with 2 cups water in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve. Add lemon juice, zest, and cinnamon sticks to pan. Place over medium-high heat, and cook to 221 to 222 degrees on a candy thermometer. Add honey and stir to combine.
Baklava (Gourmet Magazine) Yield 32 servings.
For syrup
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 lemon, halved
1 orange, halved
1 1/2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2/3 cup honey
For baklava
3 1/4 cups whole almonds with skins (1 lb), finely chopped
2 1/3 cups walnuts (1/2 lb), finely chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 (1-lb) package phyllo dough (17 by 12 inches; about 28 sheets), thawed if frozen
Make syrup:
Combine sugar and water in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan. Squeeze juice from lemon and orange into sugar mixture. Add fruit halves and cinnamon sticks. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, then simmer 10 minutes. Stir in honey and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing hard on, then discarding, solids. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.
Assemble and bake baklava:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until combined well.
Generously brush a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, then brushing every second sheet generously with butter, until you have used 10 sheets of phyllo total. After brushing top layer of phyllo with butter, spread a rounded 1 1/2 cups of nut mixture over it. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter.
Repeat layering 3 more times. Top with 10 more sheets of phyllo. (You will use 50 sheets of phyllo total.) Butter top and let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly (to facilitate cutting), 10 to 15 minutes.