pastry recipes for class November 29th 2007

Mille-feuilles with red fruit (summer class)
Picture by Yetunde Oshodi

Marinated Strawberries
Serve 6
2 cup Strawberries
2 TBS Sugar
1 TBS of Good ''Aged'' Balsamic vinegar


Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a large stainelss still bowl and reserve in the fridge for at least one hour, but 4 hours max, the strawberries could get ‘’mushy’’

Chocolate and vanilla Crème Brulée
Serve 4
4 egg yolks
1 cup of heavy cream 35%
2 oz sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 oz Chocolate (70%, semi sweet)
4 TBS sugar for caramelization

Method:
1) Warm the cream with the vanilla in a saucepan,
2) In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar
3) Poor the cream on top of the egg yolk, don’t stop mixing
4) Add the chocolate and mix well.
5) Poor the cream in your 4 little Ramequin,
6) Cook in a pre-heat oven at 100 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes.
7) Let cool down before you put them in the fridge.
8) After at least 4 hours in the fridge, you can caramelized the crème,
9) Add 1 tablespoon of sugar on each ramequin and put it on the broiler of your oven for 3 mn.

Honey Madeleine
To make 36 big Madeleine:
# 8oZ flour
# 5 eggs
# 7oz butter
# 5oz honey acacia or orange blossom
# 5oz sugar
# 1 teaspoon Instant yeast
# 1oz soft butter for the mold

Method:
1. Heat the oven at 350F (thermostat 7).
2. Buttered the mold and dust some sugar on top of the butter
3. On low heat, on a small sauce-pan, let heat the butter with the honey
4. Beat the eggs with the sugar in a large bol
5. Add the flour and the baking powder slowly to the eggs
6. Add butter and honey when hot and foamy to the preparation, mix well.
7. Let cool down for a few minutes, then filled up the mold
8. Cook the Madeleine in the middle of your oven for 5 mn at 350F, and 5 more minutes at 250F.
9. Take them out of the mold and let cool

Mille-feuilles with Spicy Caramelized Pears
1) Crème pâtissière
2 cups Milk
4 oz g sugar
4 eggs yolk
1.5 oz cornstarch (corn flour)
2 Pears
Spices; (cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper) 1/4 tsp of each
1 oz Butter
1 oz Sugar
Puff pastry

Method:
Cut the puff pastry in big square (2 per person), make whole with a fork, then
Heat your oven at 300F and cook the puff pastries for 10 to 15 minutes. (till is it golden brown)
Let make the cream by heating the milk
Then in a bowl add the egg yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch and whisk well.
Poor the boiling milk on top of the eggs, don’t stop mixing.
Put back in the saucepan and cook on low heat for 2 minutes, don’t stop mixing.
Reserve in a bowl and let cool down completely.
Peeled and cut the pears in dices.
In a non-stick saucepan, on medium heat, add the butter and the sugar and let caramelized, when you have a great golden brown color caramel, you add the pears, the spices and you sautéed for a few minutes. Reserve and let cool down a few more minutes.
Do it like a napoleon, in each plate
1) puff pastry square
2) crème (one spoon),
3) 2 spoons pears,
4) puff pastry square

Moelleux au chocolat
Serves 6-8
5oz light brown sugar
4 oz butter
4 oz good dark chocolate (70%)
6 eggs
2oz flour
1 oz soft butter for the mold

Method
1. In a bowl, Melt slowly the chocolate with butter (double boil)on the stove (use a casserole with water)
2. Mix flour and sugar in a bowl
3. Beat the eggs in a bowl
4. Add the eggs (not on the stove) to the chocolate, mixed well, add the mix of sugar and flour
5. Butter the moulds (use aluminum)
6. Add the preparation and let rest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.(you can keep them 3 days in the fridge)
7. Cook before serving in a hot oven (350F), for 10 to 12 mn.

Avocado and banana sauce
Serves 6
Avocado ripe 1
Banana ripe 1
Sugar 2 TBS
half orange juice
half lemon juice
Cold Water 1/4 cup

Method
1. Put a blender the banana and the avocado
2. Squeeze half lime and half orange juice and add it into the blender
3. Add the sugar and the water and mix well
4. Reserve in the fridge till is time to use it with the chocolate cake