Raspberry Palmiers and Red Currant and Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches

If you have been following my blog for quite some time, you might have noticed that I love laminated doughs. There is something about the whole process that I love, just like making bread. Not necessarily difficult, but it does require some attention, neatness and dedication.

After I tried experimenting with the tomato pate feuilletee, I started thinking about other ways to incorporate flavors into the dough. I came back from Europe with a bag of raspberry powder and I have been trying to incorporate it into different recipes. I thought, puff pastry would be another great way.



I followed the same pate feuilletee inversee recipe from Pierre Herme that I have been using and incorporated some of the raspberry powder into the butter lock. The final result was good, but I think I have to give it another try and perfect it. Once baked, the raspberry flavor was there but it was not intense enough for me. It was good, but I was hoping for me.



I have been anxiously waiting for red currants all summer long. Unlike other berries, it is not a fruit I like to eat fresh. Really makes me pucker up. However, it is one of my favorites to bake with. Tarts, ice cream or sorbet, inside cakes, combining it with other fruit for jams... So versatile really that when I get my hands on some, I use them in everything. Literally, in everything.

I decided to combine one of C.'s favorites, palmiers, with one of my favorites, red berry swirl ice cream. The perfect balance if you ask me.




Raspberry Palmiers

Follow the tomato pate feuilletee recipe but use 15 grams of raspberry powder instead of the tomato paste. As I said, I don't think it's enough, so you might want to increase it.

Roll the pastry to 1/8"-1/16" thickness and cut a rectangle that is 16" wide by 9" high. Let the pastry rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes after rolling.

Dust the work surface with sugar and press the pastry lightly against it. Sprinkle sugar on the top as well. Work quickly to prevent the pastry from getting warm.

Fold the left edge to the middle and do the same with the right edge. Now, bring the folded left edge to the middle again and repeat with the right. This creates a fan-like log. Cut this log into 1/4" to 1/2" palmiers.

Place these on a baking sheet and bake at 375F for 10 minutes. Flip the palmiers over and bake for another 7 minutes or so until they are slightly golden but not too brown.

Raspberry and Red Currant Swirl Ice Cream

500 ml whole milk
140 ml heavy cream
40 grams glucose
150 grams sugar
6 egg yolks
100 grams raspberries
75 grams red currants
30 grams sugar

Place the whole milk, heavy cream, glucose and half of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a light simmer.

In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl. Temper the hot liquid into the egg yolks. Return this custard to the pan and cook until it coats the back of the spoon or about 184F. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Chill it over an ice bath and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

In the meantime, cook the raspberries, red currants and sugar for about one minute until the fruit breaks down slightly and sugar dissolves. Strain the fruit through a fine sieve and chill this fruit syrup until ready to use.

Churn the custard in the ice cream machine. When done, swirl in the red berry syrup, pour into container and freeze.

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Raspberry Palmiers and Red Currant and Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Dreaming of Paris, Croissants and Bonbon

Today I am a guest blogger at Deb's. She went to Paris for a little trip and all I wanted to do was to sneak in her luggage. I am dreaming of Paris, Spring, the last time I visited the city and the amazing croissants we had every morning for breakfast. Please visit here to read the full story.

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Dreaming of Paris, Croissants and Bonbon

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https://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2009/03/dreaming-of-paris-croissants-and-bonbon.html

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Rosca de Reyes and Galette des Rois

Holidays can be difficult for me since I am so far away from my family and many traditions that I miss. Although today is no longer a holiday in the US, it is a big day in many countries around the world. It is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Epiphany.

On this day, we got to eat Rosca de Reyes, which is a brioche dough, that is shaped in a circle, topped with candied fruits and it comes with a surprise mini figurine inside. In our family, whoever got the slice of rosca with the figurine had to do the dishes for an entire day. It was a fun day that wrapped up the Christmas season.




A few years back, my French chef Sebastien introduced me to the "Galette Des Rois", which is a traditional tart composed of puff pastry and frangipane also eaten on Epiphany. I couldn't resist making this since I had some leftover puff pastry in the freezer. For the filling, I went with a pistachio frangipane because if you have not noticed, I have a bit of an obsession with pistachios.

My friend Helen told me that in the South of France where she is from, they also have a similar cake called "Couronne des Rois". Check out her version here.



This year, we celebrated Epiphany a few days early because life was going to go back to normal after a couple of busy weeks. A slice of sweet pastry and good coffee is all I really wanted.

For the recipes, please click on all the links I provided. I hope you are enjoying the new year!

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Rosca de Reyes and Galette des Rois

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Chocolate Mille-Feuille

I came back from my vacation thinking about recipes that require attention. I am eager to learn, touch, feel doughs, know temperatures... Recipes in which the environment plays a role, the way I handle the dough will make a difference. I have been dreaming of cheese making again, bread with levain and of course, pâte feuilletée or puff pastry.

Ever since the Daring Bakers danish challenge, I couldn't stop thinking about making laminated doughs again. I have been obsessed with it. Call me crazy. Laminated doughs in the middle of the Florida summer can be a challenge but for some reason, this recipe was uncomplicated, much more so than the danish recipe. I didn't rush it and that made a difference.




As you might know, I come from a family of pastry chefs. I grew up in the family pastry shop where puff pastry was made from scratch almost everyday. There were no freezers used back then and there are none today. My uncle Jose is a master at the art of pâte feuilletée and watching him work is a true pleasure. To this day, I believe a good pastry shop distinguishes itself by the quality of their laminated doughs such as mille-feuilles and croissants.

This dough only has six ingredients but it requires about 2 days worth of mixing, rolling and folding. There are six letter folds that make this one of the flakiest pâte feuilletée I have ever made. The dough is elastic and if chilled enough in between rolling, it is quite easy to handle.

I wish I could have taken photos of the process since that is the most important task with this recipe, but unfortunately, I couldn't because lighting was poor and because I had a toddler running around in the kitchen. Please visit Fanny's blog for great photos on how to roll and fold puff pastry.

I made the dough, rolled it into two large rectangles and froze them until I was ready to bake them. With the first sheet I made the chocolate mousse and raspberry napoleons and reserved the second sheet to make palmiers, which are C.'s favorite pastries.



Chocolate Pâte Feuilletée

adapted from Pierre Hermes' "Chocolate Desserts"

420 grams all purpose flour
185 grams cold water
2 tsp salt
70 grams, unsalted butter, melted and cooled

425 grams butter, slightly softened
50 grams cocoa powder, sifted

Place flour on a working surface and make a well in the center. Dissolve the salt into the cold water and add this to the center of the flour well. Slowly start mixing the flour and the water together with circular motions and always working in the center so the water is absorbed by the flour and we work neatly. When they are mixed, add the melted and cooled butter.

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. It will not be a super smooth dough at this point but don't worry because we will keep developing the gluten as we roll the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap forming a rectangle that is approximately 6 inches long on one side. Refrigerate overnight.

To make the lock-in butter, cream the butter with the paddle attachment until smooth but still cold. Add the sifted cocoa powder and cream until the cocoa is absorbed by the butter. Wrap in plastic wrap also forming a rectangle that is a bit smaller than the previous one. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, pull the dough out of the refrigerator and roll to a rectangle that is about 1 cm thick (1/3 inch) and about 30x18 cm long (12x7 inches). Remove the lock-in butter out of the fridge. It will be harder than the dough but we need to have both right about the same consistency, so pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it slightly.

Place the slightly softer butter on top of the right half of the dough rectangle. Fold the left side of the dough over the butter creating a packet. Seal in the edges. If necessary, press the dough down so the butter reaches every corner of the dough. We want the butter to spread evenly all over to create even layers. Place the dough on a sheetpan, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it to a rectangle that is 3 times wider than tall, about 52x18cm (7x21 inches). Fold the dough like a letter, bringing the right third over the middle third and folding the left on top of it. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours. This was the first turn and make sure to mark it somewhere so you don't lose track of how many folds you have done.

Repeat this procedure 5 more times for a total of 6 letter folds, always rolling the dough with the open edges to the left and right of you. Refrigerate the dough after each turn. Use flour when rolling but brush off any excess after each turn to avoid getting too much flour on the dough. If the dough rips a bit and the butter is exposed, don't worry, try to patch it as well as you can but keep going. After all the folds are done, it will not matter that much.

After the last fold, refrigerate the dough overnight. You can use it the next day or what I did was roll it into two sheets and froze them until I was ready to use them. This dough will be good in the refrigerator for a couple of days and up to one month in the freezer.

Caramelized Chocolate Mille-Feuille with Chocolate Mousse and Fresh Raspberries

Place a sheet of puff pastry on a sheetpan lined with parchment paper. Pre-heat oven to 450F. Sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the puff pastry and place it in the oven. Reduce heat to 375F and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, place a cooling rack on top of the puff pastry to stop it from rising too much. Bake for an additional 10 minutes with the cooling rack on top of the pastry.

Remove the sheetpan from the oven. Cover the puff pastry with a sheet of parchment paper and with the help of another sheetpan, flip it over. Remove parchment from the top and now, the sugared side will be on the bottom and the plain side will be facing you. Place this sheetpan back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the puff pastry cool.

Cut the pastry into same size rectangles. Pipe two rows of chocolate mousse on top of a rectangle, place a row of fresh raspberries in the center and top with another layer of puff pastry. Decorate with fresh berries.

Chocolate Palmiers

Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of a sheet of chocolate puff pastry. Fold it just like a fan. Take the left side and fold it in the middle and the same with the right side. Then fold these two against each other creating a fan. Roll this log in granulated sugar and refrigerate for 15 minutes until it chills some more.

Cut 1/2 inch pieces vertically. Press each palmier gently into granulated sugar (both sides). Place these on a sheetpan lined with parchment and bake in a 375F oven for 8 minutes. Turn the palmiers over and bake for another 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let the palmiers cool.

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Chocolate Mille-Feuille

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https://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/08/chocolate-mille-feuille.html

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Daring Bakers: Danish Braid and the Patience for Laminated Doughs

When I learned that this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was Danish dough, the first thought that went through my mind was, "how in the world am I going to be able to keep my son home for at least 4 hours straight so I can roll the dough?". And then my second thought was, "I better lower the air conditioning right now!". So yes, in that sense this was a true challenge.

It has been a while since I have made laminated doughs. As a matter of fact, I believe this is the first time that I have ever made laminated dough at home. Laminated doughs require a cold environment, cold surfaces and a long, long time. I had to reserve this task for a weekend so I could have some help with my little boy. He will not stay home all morning or afternoon so I can bake, so having an extra set of hands was crucial for me to finish this challenge.

Since timing is everything I decided to start about mid-afternoon so I could let the dough rest overnight and shape, proof and bake the following morning. It has been hot, hot, hot here lately so I had to make sure the air conditioning was turned down and that no cooking needed to be done while I was rolling the dough. I worked as quickly as I could and given that this was a small batch, it was not too terrible to handle. I remember the large batches of croissant dough that I had to make in past lives and that's when I really had to work fast so the dough never got warm. But I also had a sheeter back then.



This dough is soft and very, very aromatic with all that orange zest, vanilla bean and of course, cardammon. I struggled during the rolling process trying to keep the lock-in butter cold. It was getting sticky at times. Streching the dough so it relaxed was difficult because my hands were melting the butter a bit, but I finally made it.

I divided the dough in half and decided to make a large braid and some individual pastries. I filled the large braid with hazelnut frangipane and some black cherry preserves that I have from back home. With the other half of the dough, I made some mini cinnamon sugar snails that I topped with pistachio crumble and some frangipane diamonds that I topped with fresh strawberries.



Thank you very much to Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? for hosting this month's challenge. Please visit their blogs for the recipe. For other Daring Bakers' creations, please visit the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

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Daring Bakers: Danish Braid and the Patience for Laminated Doughs

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