Where to begin?

Sitting here trying to think of what to write about is tough! Where do I start? Do you want to hear about the end of my time in Paris? Coming back to the US? Moving to Colorado? Recipes?

Eventually, they will all come to this blog but lets just start simple with a recipe for my most beloved pastry. If you were around for my previous blog then you may have seen this before but its such an amazing treat that it needs to be shared here as well.

Beautiful, caramelized, flakey puff pastry separating creamy layers of creme moussline.  It is a delicate, special dessert and it remains my favorite even after a year in Paris. I love making it as much as I love eating it. It is definitely one of those flavors that transports me straight back to Paris.

I made it for my family when I got home and I've made it a few times since then. I think it has become Mike's favorite as well.

Next time you need a perfect dessert, give this a try. You won't be disappointed!

Pate Feuilletage Inverse (Puff Pastry dough)
Oven: 450F or 230C


400g Butter
130g Flour


In your mixer, combine butter and flour until smooth and homogenous. Form this into a cube and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

270g Flour

10g Salt140g Water (approx.)In your mixer, combine all ingredients to create a firm detrempe (read:dough). This is a French culinary term for the first stage in the process of making puff pastry, which requires only flour and water. After, form into another cube, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.Onto a floured surface, roll out your butter dough in a rectangle just enough so that you can wrap the detrempe inside of it. Place the detrempe in the bottom half of the butter dough and fold the butter over the detrempe to enclose it as if it is a giant ravioli. Note: don't be afraid to use flour on the counter and the top of the dough, butter is easily melted and sticky so you will need to use flour to prevent the sticking and if the dough gets too warm and soft stick it in the refrigerator to firm up again. 

Press together the ends of the butter to close everything up. Place the dough with the longest seam to your left, as if it is a book (an upside down one). Roll the dough out to about 10 cm x 35 cm long. Now you will give the dough its first "turn". Visually divide the dough into thirds. Fold the top third down and fold the bottom third up.

Repeat this three more times to total four turns keeping the long seam to the left. Remember, if the dough gets too warm and starts sticking to your table wrap it and refrigerate it until firm again (15 mins-30 mins).

PHEW! The hard part is over. Now let your dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour or so. When you are ready, roll out the dough to the size of a baking sheet (normally 40cmx60cm). This size will give you enough servings for about 12-13 people. The thickness should be about 1 cm and it should be even in thickness all the way through. After you have rolled it out, let the dough rest in the fridge again for an hour because it is elastic and will retract a little. (This is when you would want to freeze the dough if you want!!).  You can let the dough rest in this state overnight if you need. Bake at about 190C/375F until golden brown and crispy. (Carefully, flip the pastry half way through - probably about 30 minutes and sprinkle with granulated sugar, and continue baking it off with a second baking sheet on top of your pastry. Your dough will be sandwiched between to baking trays to keep it from puffing up too much.)

For the pastry cream:
750g milk
250g cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
200g sugar
80g corn starch
220g egg yolks (about 6)
50g butter, unsalted, cut into pieces

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, cream, 1/3 of the sugar and vanilla just to a boil. In another bowl mix the remaining sugar, starch and egg yolks together. When the milk boils, pour half of the milk onto the egg mixture and mix immediately to temper your yolks.

Put the milk back on the heat and add the egg mixture into the pot. Put on medium heat and mix constantly until the cream is thick and reaches a boil for 1 minute. Always mix! You don't want to burn the bottom of the cream :)

Scoop out onto a tray covered in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. You can also put it in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to cool it faster and then store in the fridge.

Now, combine the cooled pastry cream with about 25% whipped cream. Fold in the whipped cream very delicately as to keep as much air in the cream as possible!

Assembly:
Cut the puff pastry into three even sections lengthwise. 

Option1: Fill a pastry bag with the cream and pipe the cream on top of the first layer of puff pastry. Spread the cream with a spatula so it is evenly distributed and without holes. Place second layer of puff pastry on top. Repeat the layer of cream and top off with another layer of puff pastry. Top with a sprinkle of icing sugar or anything else you would like! In this photo I used the extra bits of puff pastry and crunched them up into small pieces to put all around the outside. Just cover the sides with left over cream and then press the crunchy bits into it.

Option2: Like the first photo (at the top of the page), you can pipe the cream into little balls starting at the edges and filling in to the middle. For this it is important to make sure your cream is thick enough to keep its shape. Pipe it and then gently place the puff on top of the balls and repeat for the next layer.

If you have made it this far, congratulations! You have an amazing dessert to enjoy. It can be a complicated pastry so please e-mail me with questions! And definitely send me your success photos!

Bon Appetit!