Fat Friday #35 Croissants

First of all, Happy Friday! When this blog post gets published, I'll be in the middle of my synoptic test, which is a pastry test that I need to pass for college. So wish me luck. I'll be making Danish pastries, Florentines, Baked Alaska and Croissants! All of which will most likely be featured on the blog soon. This week we're looking at flaky, buttery croissants. This is a failsafe recipe, ONLY IF, you measure everything in pounds and ounces. I prefer grams, but I've been told by my pastry tutor that its best to weigh it in pounds.

Recipe: Makes loads for breakfast (Kindly provided by my pastry tutor):

·       1 1/2 lb Strong Flour / (680.39g)
·       ¼ lb butter/(113.40g)
·       8oz butter/(226.8g)
·       ½ pint of water
·       1oz milk powder/(28.35g)
·       ¼ pint of egg
·       1 ½ oz sugar/(680.39g)
·       ¼ oz salt/(113.40g)
·       1 ½ oz yeast/(680.39g)
·       Plus extra beaten egg wash

Equipment:

·       Sieve
·       Saucepan
·       Bowl x 2
·       Clingfilm
·       Rolling Pin
·       Croissant cutter (you can get one here)
·       Pastry brush
·       Baking sheet lined with silicone

Method:

1.    Sieve the flour, salt and milk powder. Add the smaller amount of butter and rub into the flour mixture.
2.    Warm the water to body temperature and add the fresh yeast and sugar. Add the eggs to the yeast mixture.
3.    Combine the wet mixture to the dry mixture to form a dough. Put in a clean bowl, cover with cling film and place in the fridge to rest for 10 minutes.
4.    Roll out the dough vertically and place the larger amount of butter in the middle. Fold the dough into thirds to cover the butter. Roll out and perform 1 double turn. Place in the fridge.
5.    Repeat 2 more double turns.

6.    Roll out the dough to about 2 ½ mm thick and cut using a croissant cutter.
7.    Preheat oven to 200c/400f/Gas Mark 6.
8.    Roll up each croissant to form a crescent. Place on a lined baking sheet, egg wash, and place in a warm place to prove until doubled in size.
9.    Bake until golden brown. Serve cool, with jam or cheese and ham or whatever you fancy!
Have an excellent weekend!

Fat Friday #32 Camembert Brioche

Last week we looked at basic brioche dough to make a basic loaf. This week its something a little more complex in the form of Camembert Brioche. This is a great lunch dish or as a snack and its simply delicious. Its creamy, cheesy, sweet and savoury. Lunch perfection. You can make this with a whole brioche dough or do what I did and use half of the dough. Its great hot or cold with a side salad. Or just stuffed into your mouth.

 

Serves 8 (or 4 greedy people Recipe adapted from Great British Bake Off Showstoppers by Linda Collister):

·1 quantity of brioche dough
·1 x 350g camembert cheese (13cm across approx)
·5 tablespoons of chutney (I used spiced apple and raisin)

To Finish:

·A little beaten egg to glaze

Equipment:

·Pastry brush
·Baking sheet lined with baking paper
·Knife
·Cling film
·Wire rack

Method:
1. Cut off ¼ of chilled brioche dough and cover and set aside for later use.
2. Roll out a larger portion of dough to a round 23cm circle. Make sure it isn’t sticking to the surface, dust with flour if needed.
3. Spread the top of the cheese with the chutney and put it upset down on top of the flat dough.
4. Using a knife, trim 1cm off the from the edge of the circle.
5. Add the trimming to the reserved dough. Then roll this dough out to about 14cm across.

6. Brush the exposed surfaces of the cheese and the outer 1cm exposed boarder with beaten egg.
7. Lift the dough boarder in small sections, and wrap over the cheese. The top should be exposed.
8. Use a little more beaten egg to stick the smaller dough circle on top. Pat gently to seal together.
9. Carefully, move the cheesy bread over to the baking sheet. Smooth out any lumps.
10. Cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes until doubled in size.  Towards the end of rising preheat the oven to 190c/375f/Gas Mark 5.
11. Brush the dough lightly with more beaten egg. Score the top of the bread with a knife. Bake for 30 minutes, glaze with more beaten egg and bake again for a further 10 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 45 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Have an excellent weekend!

Fat Friday #12 Rice Pudding Soufflé served with Candied Pecans

This weeks Fat Friday is quite special because its one of the first desserts that I've made in my pastry class. It will be need to be made at least the night before. Don't worry it sounds a little complex but it makes a good dinner party dessert. Its a twist on a traditional soufflé, its made with rice pudding rather than crème patisserie (but if you want a traditional recipe here it is from a couple of weeks back!) (sometimes called pastry cream). Its very impressive sounding and looking but easy to make. Its worth making the French spiced breadcrumbs and the rice pudding in advanced.  Serve with the candied pecans, for an additional crunch to the light and airy soufflé.

Recipe: Makes 6 souffles with lots left over
1 batch of Pain D’Epices (French Spiced Bread):

Candied Pecans:

·       500g pecans

·       114g granulated sugar

·       30g water

Rice Pudding:

·       50g Butter

·       110g pudding rice

·       500ml double cream

·       500ml whole milk

·       90g caster sugar

·       2 bay leaves

·       1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

Souffle:

·       200g egg whites

·       80g sugar

Equipment:

·       Chopping Board

·       Heavy-based saucepan (that can be used in an oven)

·       Saucepan

·       Wooden Spoon

·       Measuring Jug

·       Teaspoon

·       Tablespoon

·       Foil

·       Timer

·       Liquidiser or blender

·       6 Ramekins

·       Tray with a damp teatowel

·       Baking sheet

·       Pastry Brush

·       Whisk

·       Fork

·       Loaf tin lined with silicone paper
·       Piping Bag

·       Scissors
·       Bowls x 3

 

Candied Pecans:

1.    Roast the pecans on a baking sheet for about 1 minute.

2.    Dissolve the sugar in water a pan and add warm pecans and mix until crystallize.

 

Preparation for the Ramekins:

1.    Chill ramekins in the fridge for as long as possible.

2.    Melt a little butter in a saucepan.

3.    Meanwhile get a tray lined with a damp teatowel ready.

4.    Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the ramekin and the sides using vertical strokes. Chill the ramekins in the fridge.

5.    Line the ramekins with the pain d’epices crumbs and place in the fridge until needed.

 

For the Rice Pudding:

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 170c fan/190c/375f/Gas Mark 5.

2.    Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan. Sauté the rice for about 30 seconds in the heavy based saucepan.

3.    Add the milk, cream, sugar and bay leaves. Scrape the vanilla seeds and the pod into the pan. Bring to the boil and turn the heat down. Simmer for about 20 minutes stirring frequently.

4.    Cover the top with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stopping every 15 minutes to stir the rice pudding.

5.    The rice pudding should be thick and glutenous when done. Pick out the bay leaves and vanilla pods out of the pudding.

6.    Transfer the pudding mixture to a blender and blend to a smooth puree. Place into bowl, cover with cling film and place in fridge to cool down.

To Complete the Souffle:

1.    Whisk 200g of egg white with 20g of sugar. Continue to whisk and gradually add the remaining sugar until the egg whites are very fluffy.

2.    Place 250g pureed rice pudding into a bowl and carefully fold in the egg whites.

3.    Divide the mixture into the prepared ramekins using a piping bag, level with a palette knife, then pinch the sides to create an even soufflé bake.

4.    Bake at Gas Mark 4/350c/180c for 9 minutes, turning carefully once after 5 minutes they should be golden and very fluffy. 

What do you think about this new twist on a French classic? Have a great weekend!

Fat Friday #9 Traditional Souffle

 

Welcome to the start of the weekend, but before that its that time of the week! NO, NOT BATH DAY! Its Fat Friday! This week we're looking at a traditional pastry cream soufflé. I've been practicing this with my pastry class. The recipe below features a spiced crumb which is worth making a couple of days before as it can be a lot for one day. This makes a good airy dessert, and also fairly impressive sounding at dinner parties. Mind you, you still wont get 10/10 on Come Dine with Me, because you forgot to match the wine....



Recipe: Makes 4 souffles (Recipe provided by my tutor)

Pain D’Epices (French Spiced Bread):

·       125g Strong flour

·       125g Plain flour

·       20g Baking powder

·       50g sugar

·       1 teaspoon cinnamon

·       1 teaspoon nutmeg

·       1 teaspoon star anise

·       30g candied peel

·       Seeds from one Vanilla pod

·       Grated orange zest

·       Grated lemon zest

·       250g warm honey

·       125ml whole milk

·       165g (about 3) eggs

Pastry Cream/Crème Patisserie

• 40g sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 25g soft flour
• 30g corn flour
• 300ml milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split

Souffle:

• 4 egg whites
• 40g sugar

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Whisk/hand-held electric whisk
• Chopping Board
• Saucepan
• Knife
• Wooden Spoon
• Measuring Jug
• Teaspoon
• Tablespoon
• Timer
• 4 Ramekins
• Baking sheet covered with a damp tea towel
• Cling Film
• Piping bag
• Scissors
• Blender
• Loaf tin lined with silicone paper

Pain D’Epices Bread

1.    Preheat the oven Gas Mark 2/ 300f/150f .

2.    Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl, along with the zests, peel and vanilla seeds. Mix briefly.

3.    Add the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Place in the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

4.    Leave to dry for at least 24 hours or until very dry.

5.    In a blender, blend until fine breadcrumbs.
 
For the Pastry Cream

  1.    Pour the milk in a saucepan. Add the vanilla seeds and the pod, bring the milk to the boil.  2.    Beat the sugar and egg until a pale yellow, thick and cream. Whisk in the flour and cornflour.

3.    Remove the vanilla bean from the milk, and stir ½ of the milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk well to combine.

4.    Return the all of the mixture to a saucepan on a low heat and whisk continuously until the pastry cream is thick and yellow.

5.    Place the pastry cream in a clean bowl and cover the surface with cling film. Put aside to cool and refrigerate until needed.

Preparation for the Ramekins:

1.    Chill ramekins in the fridge for as long as possible.
2.    Melt a little butter in a saucepan.
3.    Meanwhile get a tray lined with a damp teatowel ready.
4.    Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the ramekin and the sides using vertical strokes. Chill the ramekins in the fridge.
5.    Line the ramekins with the pain d’epices crumbs and place in the fridge until needed.

To Complete the Souffle:

1.    Whisk 400g of egg white with 20g of sugar. Continue to whisk and gradually add the remaining sugar until the egg whites are very fluffy.
2.    In a clean bowl, whisk the pastry cream to loosen.
3.    Mix the egg whites with the pastry cream until combined.
4.    Divide the mixture into the prepared ramekins using a piping bag, level with a palette knife, then pinch the sides to create an even soufflé bake.

5.    Bake at Gas Mark 4/350c/180c for 16 minutes, turning carefully once after 6 minutes they should be golden and very fluffy.

Have you tried a soufflé before? Have a great weekend and Happy Baking!