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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Gateau Marjolaine

I laughed, I cried, I ended up with a cake…not an uncommon sequence of events in my world.


When I’m in the middle of baking a recipe involving lots of finicky components (like some sort of layer cake), I will likely reach a point when I debate scrapping the whole messy project and heading downstairs to the Whole Foods Bakery instead.

Cakes that include lots of layers and fillings almost always look bad before they look good, at least mine do. The Gateau Marjolaine, a cake with multiple layers, is a perfect example.

The Gateau Marjolaine is a cake for special occasions, and the recipe I’m familiar with consists of layers of Dacquoise (a meringue that is baked like a cake) that is then layered with chocolate ganache, coffee buttercream (or hazelnut praline buttercream) and almond cream. It is covered with rich chocolate ganache and toasted almonds or hazelnuts. Sounds delicious…and really, it is…but it’s creation isn’t always pretty…


I started losing faith in my Gateau Marjolaine fairly quickly…the cake layers were crumbling before me as I tried to smooth the fussy fillings into place. Instead of setting up as I had envisioned, the buttercreams created a sort of slip and slide with the cake. And then, there was the matter of the ganache. It had become a magnet for my clothing and was getting all over the place. I even found some in my pocket.


Luckily, I regained control of my Marjolaine mishap by putting the entire thing into the fridge and taking some deep cleansing breathes. The fridge is a good sort of time-out for unruly baking projects. It straightens things out a bit and gives the baker some more control.

After much mayhem, frustration, and eventual delight, the Gateau Marjolaine was deliciously worthwhile.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Banana Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Walnut Crunch



I am in a strange sort of limbo this week. I felt so clever when I put in my two weeks notice so that my last ho-hum day at my ho-hum office job would be one week before my first happy day at my first happy pastry place.

Having this time off seemed utterly divine and blissful as I was looking forward to it. I envisioned myself spending my days lounging on the couch, enrobed in fine linens while nibbling bonbons, with not a care in the world…

But, when Monday actually rolled around, the reality of it all was quite annoying. I realized that my couch isn’t very comfortable, I don’t have fine linens to wrap myself in, and eating too many bonbons gave me a splitting headache and made me cranky. Oh yeah, and I was lonely.

So, I did what makes me feel better…I baked something. And for me, there is really nothing cozier than baking muffins.



I had some over-ripe bananas and some lovely pink lady apples around, so I decided to put that combo together and sprinkle the top with a tasty cinnamon-walnut crunch. Luckily, these muffins cheered me up and were just as wonderful as I had imagined.

Banana Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Walnut Crunch
Makes 12 muffins

For the muffins:
3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1 pink lady apple, chopped into ¼ inch dice (I like the skin on, but do whatever makes you happy)
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cinnamon apple instant oatmeal (or any flavor you like…if you don’t have this around, you can just add an additional ¼ cup of flour instead)
¾ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ stick of butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Walnut Crunch:
*This makes more than you’ll need…use the rest to much on or put on top of yogurt.
1 egg white
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts

To make the Cinnamon Walnut Crunch:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Whisk egg white until frothy, then whisk in sugar and cinnamon. Fold in the nuts. Spread on parchment-lined sheet tray and bake for ~12 minutes, until beginning to dry. Stir to break up nuts. Continue to bake until nuts and coating are dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool and finely chop.

To make the Banana Apple Muffins:

Turn up the oven to 350 degrees (after the walnut crunch is done). In a large bowl, combine the flours, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and salt and whisk to mix well. In another large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, melted but cooled butter, milk, eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the banana mixture into the well and stir gently with a rubber spatula. Mix only until there are no more streaks of flour or pools of liquid and the batter looks fairly smooth. A few small lumps scattered throughout are fine. Gently fold in the apple pieces until evenly distributed.

Grease muffin tin or line with 12 paper liners. Fill each spot ¾ full with batter. Sprinkle Cinnamon Walnut Crunch evenly on top. Bake muffins for ~17-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Pastry School Graduation



The past week was a whirlwind of flying sugar and flour. Amidst it all, I somehow got it together enough to present my final pastry project (champagne in hand) and graduate from pastry school.

The final project was a neat assignment. Each student came up with an idea for a dessert table they felt represented their pastry persona, and then got to create it and present at graduation. Fifteen hours of baking later, there were a lot of beautiful cakes and lovely set-ups.



Because I have completely fallen for tarts, I knew I wanted my project to be a sort of ode to these lovely sweets. I also decided to have a fruit or nut (or both) component in every one of my tarts to express my love for these ingredients. One of the hardest things for me was narrowing down my tart menu. I finally figured it out…
Plum Tart
Peach and Raspberry Tart
Raspberry Frangipane Tarts
Bittersweet Chocolate Tarts with Almond Crust
Lemon Poppy Seed Tarts
Coconut and Peach Tarts with Rum Whipped Cream
Caramelized Banana Pecan Linzer Tarts
Gingersnap-Peach Poptarts



Before starting in on the baking, I created a timeline for my tart project. I knew that it was going to be a challenge to get everything finished in time, and that I would likely be cursing my own name. I was right…I was still in the back of the kitchen with a torch in hand bruleeing bananas when the first guests started arriving.

In a tart fervor, everything (except for a Lemon Poppy Seed Tart I forgot in the fridge) made it to the front table.



I feel oh, so bittersweet about graduating. It’s sad to leave the comfort and warmth of my San Francisco school where I got to play with ingredients and test recipes. But, I’m also excited to take the next step.

So here I go, off to bake full time...

Oh, and I'm including the Plum Tart recipe in case you care to join in on the fun.

A Plum Tart Indeed

Almond Tart Dough:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
~2 tablespoons ice water

Blend flour, almonds, sugar and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in almond extract and enough water to form moist clumps. Knead dough briefly on work surface to combine; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until firm before rolling, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out crust dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press dough into tart pan; trim excess and dock the bottom of the dough with a fork. Freeze crust 15 minutes.

Bake the crust 10 minutes. Continue to bake until crust is pale golden, about 12 minutes. Cool crust for about 15 minutes.

Filling:
3/4 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick room-temperature unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 Tbsp flour
2-3 drops almond extract
4 large plums, pitted and cut into thin slices

Grind the almonds with the sugar and salt in a food processor until the almonds are finely ground. Add the softened butter and process (scrape down from food processor sides if needed). Add eggs one at a time, making sure first egg is thoroughly mixed before adding the next. Add the flour and almond extract and mix well.

Fill cooled tart shell with almond filling, leaving 1/4 inch margin on the rim of the pastry (this leaves room for filling to expand). Then, push plum slices into the filling and bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until nicely browned. Transfer to a rack.

Glaze:
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 teaspoons water


Stir apricot jam with the water in small saucepan over medium heat until mixture boils. Strain the glaze into small bowl. Brush glaze generously over plums. Cool tart completely.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Plating Desserts - A Sugar Plum Tartlet and a Nectarine Tea Cake


Plating desserts is such fun! You get to experiment with different textures, flavors, temperatures, colors, and shapes with results that are delicious and make people happy. All in all, I suppose it’s really just playtime with sweets.

It’s incredible how the same dessert component can morph depending on how it’s plated. Take a simple piece of chocolate cake for example…it could be cut in a triangle, or a circle or a rectangle…could be filled or not, have a sauce or not, be on a square plate or an oval plate or in a glass…and so on…forever.

However fun it can be, plating desserts is challenging. Although it might be easy to think up a bazillion plating ideas, when it comes to the actual dessert architecture, well that’s an entirely different story. The plate is too big, the cake isn’t the right shape, the sauce is too thick, ARGH.

Last week in class, we were given a stocked pantry (full of fruits, nuts and sauces) and were told to create two plated desserts.


The first dessert I put up was a Sugarplum and Chocolate Meringue Tartlet with Cocoa Nib Cookie Crumbs and Caramel Ice Cream.


The second dessert was a Nectarine Tea Cake and a Stone Fruit-Pistachio Verrine with Browned Butter and Rum Cream. A verrine is a layered dessert that is similar to a parfait.



Since dessert plating can induce mild anxiety attacks in the pastry-obsessed, it’s nice to have some pointers:

Go for odd numbers:
Put 1 or 3 cookies on the plate instead of 2 or 4.
Balance is important but don’t be rely on symmetry: If you put a raspberry on one side of the plate, maybe put a few chopped nuts on the other side on a slight angle, or just leave it blank.
Try out different heights and shapes: Combine circles with lines and swooshes, etc.
Use interesting vessels: Try putting a custard in a jar or using a pretty glass or interesting looking plate, it’ll make a big difference.
Use a variety of textures and temperatures: Try to have something crunchy, something smooth, something warm and something cold on the plate.
The magic number 3: On a basic level, try to include the main dessert, a sauce and a garnish on each plate.
If you can’t eat it: Don’t put it on the plate…no matter how pretty it is.
Don’t put anything on the plate that isn’t in the main dessert: Just say NO to the random mint leaf!

Happy Plating!