This has been a heck of a week…truly nerve wracking. How would you feel if somebody told you that your paycheck (you know, the thing that makes your blog look good) is somewhere out there…but 3 days late… Yep, I thought you might react the way I did and picked up a spatula, some chocolate, cracked up some eggs and made brownies…Had to work out my nerves on something and when things don’t go right I bake, I stir, I knead and I know I am not the only one. The world could have crumbled and fallen…I would not have cared…Maybe I need to take these to the bank tomorrow and they might be more understanding of a slight chance of an overdraft…!
I don’t use white chocolate that much but here it truly worked magic and gave a great fudgy brownie. Oh yes, these are great. Really…I used my "mental" brownie recipe but reduced the sugar as white chocolate is already very sweet to my taste. I am surprised I liked these that much as I did. Yes, I know "white chocolate" is not remotely close to chocolate but that velvety smooth confections is known around the world as "chocolate", so indulge me with this one before calling the chocolate police.
White Chocolate Brownies:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces white chocolate
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan, or line with foil.
Melt butter and 4 oz of white chocolate together in top of double boiler over hot water. When melted remove from heat and add the remaining white chocolate. Stir to blend well. Set aside. Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick.Add white chocolate and butter mixture, vanilla and flour. Beat just until smooth. Add chocolate chunks and mix in by hand, being careful not to overmix.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Cut into squares or bars.
They made me feel so much better that I am virtually sending them to Myriam for her second Browniebabe Of The Month event. Check out the round up sometime after June 10th.
We can all thank Beverly for this gorgeous mirabelle clafoutis, fit for A Taste of Yellow, the event ran earlier in the month by Barbara. I know, I know, the roundup is done and your eyes can feast upon more than one hundred creations, but keep reading, it’s important.
Beverly has been a member of my gym for over ten years, a soft and at the same time outspoken woman, she’s always had a comforting word when things were not going easy. She has that way of saying one phrase, with the perfect poise, perfect look and body language and you know things are going to be ok. Her gym time is her social time with a small group of women 55-75, and it is not uncommon for her to stay 2-3 hours between the cardio, chit-chat, some weights…and more chats in the sauna. A couple of years ago, she stopped showing up and after a couple of weeks I picked up the phone only to hear her daughter say that she was undergoing chemo to treat an advanced colon cancer. Beverly has come to know a lot of things about me, but what she does not know is how much I cried staring at the receiver that afternoon when I got the news. This nonchalant, life loving, sensitive and caring woman was down…but trust Beverly to put up a fight, beat the odds and become a survivor.
She knows about my geeky blogging obsession and when I told her about the LiveStrong Day Event, she vowed to bring me little yellow plums, "mirabelles", from her garden. A few days before the due date, she came to me panicking because they were not ripe enough to be pulled from the tree yet. This monday afternoon she brought me a basket full of the juiciest little yellow plum, apologizing for missing the event. I told her I would make a yellow dessert again anyway, unfortunately cancer knows no deadline. The first dessert that came to my mind is my grandfather’s favorite, clafoutis.
Clafoutis is another traditional home and bistro dessert in France. Traditionally made with cherries, it is the dessert your grandmother was most likely to serve to comfort you and probably the first one you would learn how to make with your mom. It is best served at room temperature and it is the perfect cross between a cake and a custard. Oh goodness, did I eat my share growing up in Provence on a property with 2 humongous cherry trees.
I can’t speak for all French families, but in mine we never pitted the cherries or plums we used in the dish, it truly adds depth of flavor. The dish is so simple to make and eat, it is nice to stumble on the pith and take the time to savour each bite.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, flour, cornstarch, sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, melted butter. Slowly pour the liquids over the dry ingredients, whisking well making sure there are as little lumps as possible.
Divide among 4 dishes and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
See what I mean about easy and satisfying? You can change the fruits and the liquor everytime you make one. You can even skip the liquor as does my grandfather: clafoutis has been on his breakfast menu for many many years. He might be on to something as he is 97 years old, still drives short distances, 20/20 vision and all his mental faculties ( I dare say better than mine!). Thank you Beverly and thank you Papi for putting this dessert on our table tonight!
The first dessert that came to my mind when Tara of Seven Spoons announced the Sugar High Friday 31 theme Shades of White was this quintessential French bistro dessert: Iles Flottantes or Floating Islands.
The choice was obvious for me on many levels. The dessert itself is composed of pillowy soft white meringue set on a pool of soft almond cream colored vanilla bean speckled custard sauce, also known as creme anglaise.
The main reason however spuns from a conversation I had many years ago with my grandmother, Paulette. The village where my parents and grandparents reside now is the traditional French village where the church sits prominent in the middle of the town center, surrounded by local artisan shops, pastry shops, a couple of cafes and in our case located close to the "chateau". I disgress…
We are neighbors (literally) so one day we were going to get bread at the bakery we passed the church while a wedding was taking place. The bride and groom were just coming out and my grandmother reacted the way she always did in that case, she frowned and mumbled…She was a modern woman in many ways and was aware that most brides knew pre-marital sex, but as a true product of her generation it was inconceivable that the bride would wear white. Wedding white or pure white as she would say was a badge of honor (slightly tinted with envy I think) for women her age.
That particular day, I did not feel like letting her get in a bad mood over this so I decided to play with her and indulge her sweet tooth: "If not white, and definitely not red, then what shades of white would be allright to wear for a wedding dress?" We kept on walking while describing shades of pale almond creme anglaise taffeta, caramel speckled meringue petticoat, nutty beige creme dacquoise undergarnment (she surprised me with this one), soft pink marshmallow lipstick, champagne veil and vanilla creme shoes. Gosh, did we make ourselves hungry while getting to the shop! She stopped right in front of the bakery and exclaimed: "Iles Flottantes is a dessert fit for a bride, in all its shades of white and soft meringue!"
Floating Islands are indeed a staple dessert in French households and bistros/cafes. They are easy to make, do not require a whole lot of time and make for a show stopping presentation. They are so light and airy that it makes them the perfect dessert choice during the warmer months or at the end of multi-course dinner. The meringue is almost always drizzled with caramel, and out of respect for the traditional I give you the steps to do so, but when you don’t feel like messing around with hot sugar syrup, a simple topping of toasted nuts (I used pistachios) is perfectly fine. The meringues are poached into hot milk, which helps preserve their texture and form while you put everything together.
Floating Islands – "Iles Flottantes":
Serves 6
For the creme anglaise:
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 whole vanilla bean, split or 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Heat the milk with the vanilla bean to boiling point. In the meantime, in a bowl whisk the sugar and egg yolks until thick and pale. Slowly pour in some milk to temper the yolks, whisk and pour the remaining milk. Stir. Pour the whole batter back in the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until it coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
For the meringue islands:
2 cups milk
4 egg whites
1/4 sugar
Spread a clean kitchen towel on your counter near the stove and have a large slotted spoon nearby.
In a large saucepan, heat the milk to a simmer over low heat in a large saucepan.
Whip the egg whites to a soft meringue and slowlt incorporate the sugar, one tablespoon at a time until you get a stiff , satin like and glossy meringue.
Using an ice cream scoop ar a large spoon, form rounds of meringue. Gently lower them down into the milk, without overcrowding the pan. Poach the meringues one minute on each side. With the slotted spoon, remove them from the milk and lay them down on the kitchen towel.
When all are poached. Put them on sheet pan lined with baking paper and refrigerate one hour.
To assemble:
Divide the creme anglaise among 6 dishes, top with the meringue islands and drizzle some caramel on top or sprinkle with toasted nuts.
For the caramel: (optional and right before serving)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
In a heavy saucepan, stir the sugar and water together and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and cook until the caramel gets golden brown. Remove from the pan and let it cool a little. Spoon over the meringues.
I don’t particularly enjoy ice cream drips on my coffee table, but by the time I shot some pictures and we finally decided what flavor we wanted, there were tiny ice cream puddles and lots of slurping, licking and "humhumhums" heard around. Both ice creams are good together, both are good on their own and both are better shared with friends.
In my case, I liked them equally (a lot) and I played around having small scoops of both in a bowl. I even drizzled dulce de leche on one of them, then both…Thanks Marce for the bottle!
How I came to make the cheesecake ice cream is actually quite funny, at least to me but I am easily amused. I started with the cinnamon to take to the neighbors for our weekly cookouts, but I wanted to bring another dessert in case some did not like it. I had my elbow on this cookbook and realized I had not made anything from it yet. My brother gave it to me when he came to visit last year and thought that bringing Alain Ducasse, chef of chefs, and Sophie Dudemaine, queen of cakes, into my kitchen would make me feel closer to home. And what do I do? I close my eyes, grab the recipe section with both hands and open the book on the only American inspired recipe, Cheesecake Ice Cream…ahahah!!! I took it as a sign that I was perfectly integrated in my life (sometimes homesick but who is not?) and happy in my shoes.
Both ice creams were equally loved and quickly disappeared. In the meantime I have nothing planned for dessert tonight but I have enough ice cream recipes to fill my stomach virtually: check out my fellow Daring Bakers' creations: mascarpone, chocolate, rhubarb…is your ice cream churning yet?
Cheesecake Ice Cream, adapted from Alain Ducasse:
2 cups milk (50 cl)
1/3 cup heavy cream (10 cl)
3/4 cup sugar (170 gr)
2 egg yolks
3 oz cream cheese (90gr)
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
In a saucepan set on medium heat, bring the milk and the cream to boiling point, slowly pour a small amount on the egg yolks to temper. Pour the remaining over the yolks and sugar. Stir well then pour back in the saucepan and cook over medium low heat until the cream thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until completely melted and incorporated.
Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Process in an ice cream maker according to your machine’s manufacturer’s instruction.
Number of servings: if I apply the rules of reason and moderation, I would say 6…but if you want your friends happy, more like 4!
I use a counter top style ice cream machine as well as an hand held immersion blender when the former is already at work.
4 egg yolks
2 cups half and half
4 oz sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, add the vanilla.
In a saucepan, on medium heat, bring the half and half and cinnamon to boiling point but do not let it boil.
Slowly pour the hot cream onto the egg yolks mixture and stir to combine (tempering). Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise".
Let cool completely, strain and refrigerate until cold. Process the custard according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions or use a hand held immersion blender.
Some of you are probably wondering if I am growing banana trees in my backyard…Every time I turn around there is a banana or two ready to be used. I even found a big bag of them in the freezer…We are being invaded and I have to come up with the recipes faster than I can run. I hope that this is my last banana installment for a while, not that I am getting tired of the taste but it’s time to move on and play with other things in the kitchen.
I looked at pages after pages of banana centered recipes, and although they were all fine and dandy, there seemed to be something missing. After reading so many recipes for muffins and cupcakes, I already had formulated a basic recipe that would allow me to play with the ingredients and the spices.
I quickly scribbled this one on a piece of paper, using some of my sad bananas and extra roasted rhubarb. Then, I added two of my favorite spices, ginger and cardamom and to round things out I included some orange zest. The frosting used is a cream cheese one I have used severaltimes on this blog before and could eat with a spoon on m morning toast.
Rhubarb Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting:
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cardamom
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil ( I used apricot)
1 tsp. vanilla
grated zest of one orange
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup roasted rhubarb
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour through cardamom). In a separate bowl, stirr the eggs and the oil. Add the bananas, rhubarb and orange zest. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Divide into muffin lined tins and bake 35-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
In bowl of electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter, on low speed, until very smooth with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Pour into a piping bag and decorate the cupcakes.
First of all, I would like to thank all of you for wishing me a Happy Birthday (32 for the curious). You sure know how to make a girl feel special!
Late wednesday night I was cleaning the kitchen after an afternoon of baking and macaron making when I gave a serious look into the fruit bowl: the bananas I had bought two days earlier were already having a mini meltdown. It is quite amazing how fruits wilt faster than you can use it over here. At first, I thought of the usual: bananatartelettes, bread puddings, muffins, cakes, breakfast treats…
It was hot you see, so I went for a cold treat instead and I am glad I did. I was tempted to make ice cream but changed my mind for something a little bit more elaborate when I learned we might have company on thursday night. Our dinner party did not take place but I was able to serve this to B. and the neighbors tonight while playing cards.
These parfaits were adapted from my other Sugar Daddy, Richard Leach. I have been mesmerized by his creativity, techniques and use of seasonal produce. His book might seem daunting at first but there is not one recipe that did not turn out delicious and even if one dish is made out of 4-5 elements you can definitely make them separately, like I did with these Banana Parfaits. I made the original recipe (post later this week) then had enough leftover parfait batter to make individual servings without guilding the lillies like he did (nothing wrong with that but I have more than one job and less than one day to do them all!).
Banana & Mascarpone Mousse Parfaits, inspired by Richard Leach:
Serves 8
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pureed bananas
1/2 cup mascarpone, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
In an electric mixer bowl, whisk the egg yokls and 1/4 cup of sugar until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir the banana puree and mascarpone until smooth. Fold the yolk mixture into the banana mixture. Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 Tb. at a time and continue to whip until glossy. Fold the whites into the banana mixture. Whip the cream to soft peaks and add to the banana mix. Spoon into different shape molds. I used silicon pyramid shaped ones. Freeze overnight.
Chocolate Glaze:
Heat 3/4 cup heavy cream to boiling point. Remove from heat and add 1 cup dark chocolate chips. Let stand for 2 minutes ten whisk until incoporated. Let cool to room temperature
To assemble: Unmold the banana parfaits and drizzle the chocolate ganache on top, sprinkle with pistachios if desired.
Tomorrow is my birthday (30 something and rocking…) and Kate’s (20 something and rocking…)
I had no idea when I started this blog over a year ago that blogging would come with benefits. Not only did I become part of a wonderful group of talented, supportive and Daring Bakers (if you knew how fantastic they are you’d get teary-eyed too), I have also been asked to be one of the co-administrators of the Daily Tiffin by my dear friend Meeta….and last but not least I have met a funny and talented young lady, Kate of Applemint while I was hosting HHDD 11.
After exchanging emails we realized we shared the same birthday: May 13th…. We decided to celebrate this coincidence that we would both bake each other a cake.
Euh…Helen, today is May 12th….Ah maybe here in northern America but in Hong Kong where Kate lives it is already the 13th and I want her to see my birthday cake as soon as she turns her computer on. She has made me an awesome lemon sponge with lemon grass and lime leaf mousse with mango compote jelly. I love it! I asked what her favorite flavor(s) was and the answer came in one sweet sentence: "anything with dark chocolate".
In her honor I made a deep dark Devils Food Cake with Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Ganache.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup boiling water
4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients). Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. Cut 8 4-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
For the glaze:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 ounces white chocolate
Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Gently stir in the vanilla. Transfer glaze to a small bowl and cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and let cool for 5 minutes at room temperature before using.
Place the chilled cakes, still on the cake round, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the hot glaze onto the center of the cake. Smooth the glaze over the top and sides, letting the excess drip onto the baking sheet . Melt the white chocolate and srizzle over the cake.
Kate, I wish you all the best for this new year and wish for the day that you can show me the sights of Hong Kong!
Since I’ll be celebrating my birthday out somewhere tomorrow, I take this opportunity to wish all mothers out there a wonderful Mother’s Day tomorrow. My mom will get her own special post June 3rd when they celebrate Mother’s Day in France.
This is not only a tasty and refreshing spring dessert but a very healthy one to boot. I am going to let you in on a little habit of mine: I drink acai juice everyday….what is it? It is the juice from the acai berry, a palm fruit, originally used by the tribes of the Amazon. The fruit contains great health properties and the juice is actually quite tasty once you get acclimated to a little grassy palate.
I started drinking it when I was told to increase my levels of vitamin Bs and essential fatty acids. I hate taking pills, I almost always choke or gag and frankly I could do without all the coating additives around them…plus 1/2 cup of juice a day beats a handful of pills. I have grown to like the taste and have been trying to get B. to drink some in the morning but the man is like a tornado throughout the house..always on the go..until we both crash (yes, it is exhausting watching him!).
I figured I would try to sneak it in desserts to make sure he would enjoy the same benefits, so I came up with these "verrines" or "dessert in a glass". The blueberries have a strong enough flavor to mellow the acai juice taste if you have a reluctant tester or a picky eater, and the crushed up macaron on top, well, it’s just like the cherry on the cake!
Blueberry – Acai and Pineapple Verrines:
Serves 4
2 cups of fresh pureed or diced pineapple
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/3 cup acai juice
1/2 cup sugar
For the blueberry-acai layer:
In a saucepan, heat the blueberries,ginger, cinammon, lemon zest with 1/4 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the blueberries start to break down and get juicy. Remove from heat, stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Add the acai juice. Let cool and divide among glasses. Refrigerate until slightly thickened.
For the pinneapple:
In a saucepan, heat the pureed pineapple with the remaining 1/4 sugar. When hot, remove from heat and stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Let cool and pour over the bluberry-acai layer.
To finish: crush up a few macarons, meringues or cookies on top of each glass and serve.
Well, the same says it all. This was an impromptu dessert made last night. The boys were working on the boat and I decided to have T. stay over for dinner. There was plenty for 3 but I did not have any dessert fixed up….ok I am lying, there was ice cream but only for one and if we did not want to fight over it I’d better come up with something fast. I had half of the inside-out puff pastry chilling in the fridge and some banana that were getting a little too yellow for B. so there you have it:
Bananas Foster Tartelettes:
(serves 4)
Inside Out Puff Patry (or store bought)
2 bananas
2 Tb. butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
Roll enough puff pastry to cut out 4 3-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchement paper, cover with another sheet of parchement paper and set another baking sheet on top. They will puff up but won’t get wild on you. (I did not press them flat after baking like I did with the Mille-Feuille)
Bake at 375 (F) until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the bananas:
Cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices.
In a sautee pan, over medium heat, melt the butter, add the brown sugar and the rum and sloow the sugar to melt and the mixture to thicken up a little. Put the slices in a single layer in the sauce and cook 2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Once cooled, place them in a decorative pattern on top of the tart shells, and serve.
Oh man that was good…so good I am glad I made extras….!
See…I can do uncomplicated sometimes!!!
Well, Lisa and Ivonne are never going to forgive me but it seems like I have an affair with Pierre Herme almost every weekend, at least on sunday afternoons when I finally can sit down and fantasize about him..ok, maybe not "him" but his culinary ventures and creations. Every macaron, gateau, pastry is a poem in itself…so does the man. As I tried to put into words what I felt for and thought if Pierre Heme, I remembered a post I had bookmarked from ubber talented pastry chef Shuna at Eggbeater. Read this and you will understand why we are infatuated!
Instead of my traditional "internet fantasies by P.H", I became completely engrossed in a book my mom gave me for Christmas years ago… I love the book and yet I probably only made a handful of recipes from it, rice pudding, a couple of sorbets, creme brulees, chocolate mousses,etc. I am afraid to touch gold…I am afraid to mess with perfection…Oh what the heck?! I am far from his level so why not…after all, he put his recipes in book, he’s got to be thinking about us and (please say so) can’t be completely narcissistic….
I always read a cookbook from the end first: the materials and ingredient sources, the index, the ingredients and above all the techniques and tips from which I can always learn.
As I was reading the book, my eyes stopped at this recipe : "pate feuilletee inversee"…or…Inside Out Puff Pastry. Yes, you read right. In regular puff pastry, the layers are created by folding pastry dough over a butter block and folding and turning it several times. Well, leave it Pierre Herme to fold the butter block over the pastry dough, folding and turning. The result is fabulous, layers upon layers of soft, airy buttery goodness. I was really curious to see how that butter block (with a minimum of flour) would behave being on the outside. Things turned out perfectly and if I could have kissed my butter right then I think I would have, but the neighbors were around and I did not want to scare anybody off.
I don’t know if Herme created the concept but it would not surprise me a bit given his ability to re-invent classics and techniques.
One particular recipe in the book caught my eyes, a "mille feuilles" also known as "napoleon" with gorgeous red strawberries, rhubarb and vanilla pastry cream. I had the dough, fresh plump raspberries and freshly roasted rhubarb. I favor simple whipped cream with raspberries and I was short on time, trying to put together an impromptu dessert for our weekly friday evening al fresco dinner with the neighbors. In other words, I skipped the pastry cream, and I am glad I did because the finished dessert was light, tart and let the dough shine through instead of taking supporting role.
Raspberry Rhubard Mille Feuilles, adapted from Pierre Herme:
Inside Out Puff Pastry: (enough for 4 napoleons and 1 large tart)
Butter Block:
190 gr soft butter
75 gr flour
Dough:
175 gr flour
7 gr. salt
60 gr melted butter
70 ml water
For the Butter block: mix together the soft butter and the flour and form into a ball, in between two sheets of plastic or parchment paper, roll into a disk 3/4 inch thick. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours
For the dough: mix all the ingredients together, adding the water little by little until you get a smooth dough. Pat into a square 3/4 inch thick and refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.
Roll the butter block into a 1/2 inch thick disk, put the dough block on top and enclose it with the butter block (by pulling the extra butter dough over the pastry dough).
Roll into a rectangle 16×9 inch. Fold the top and bottom toward the middle, fold the dough in half. Put the folded edge toward your left, lightly press the dough with your hand and refrigerate for an hour.
Repeat one more time and refrigerate 1 hour.
For the third and final turn, roll out the dough into a rectangle again, visually dive your dough in 3 and fold the bottom and top thirds toward the middle tier. Refrigerate another hour before using in your recipe.
The dough makes more than what you might need for one tart or severl Napoleons, but it is easier to work a large quantity of puff pastry and refrigerate or freeze what you don’t use.
Remaining components:
1/2 Inside Out Puff Pastry
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks with 2 Tb sugar
1 pint fresh raspberries. Roasted Rhubarb:
Heat oven to 375. Cut 2 rhubarb stalks into 1 inch slices. Put them in a medium sized roasting pan, sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar over it and roast until the rhubarb get caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and slightly mash with a fork.
Roll the dough to a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Line a baking sheet with parchement paper, lay the puff pastry on it, cover with another sheet of parchment paper, put a baking sheet over it and bake at 375 until golden brown. The top baking sheet adds enough weight for your dough to remain under control and yet allows for the layers to puff up during baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Once cooled, cut the dough into equally sized triangles (decide the size according to your taste. I went for a base of 3 inches).
To assemble:
Put a pastry triangle on a plate, pipe or spoon some whipped cream over it, cover with raspberries. Top with a sheet of pastry, spoon some roasted rhubarb, cover with a final sheet of pastry and dust with powdered sugar.
