More cream puff fun!

Ah yes, it has been awhile. Things have been a little insane but the main reason I have not been posting is....I lost my card reader. Oh, that brings me back to the teaching days. We also got a new desk and rearranged the whole computer area so it's not surprising. Just lame!

So things have also been busy in the culinary school world. We wrapped up breads and have been making individual tartlettes, pastries, and big tarts. Some have been tasty! Some have been strange. Way to many have had almond paste but I digress. Above you see a few variations of what can be done with cream puffs! Old school? Yes. But awesome and I have a freezer full of swans just waiting to debut at my next cocktail party. Spicy swans! Yummy.

Sarah Bernhardts

We actually made these the other day. Why, Allegra? Don't those little sweet morsels look a little like, uhm well how to put this delicately...ta tas? Why yes dear reader they do! And we can thank the dirty old man that is hidden inside every pastry chef with the magical, delicious, the almond based cookie topped with mocha buttercream and dipped in chocolate...the Sarah Berhnardt. *Originally these were topped with a marzipan coffee bean...we opted for the more subtle gold leaf.

Almond hazelnut and toffee tart

This was basically a giant chunk of candy. Nice and crisp. Great for braces, especially if you wanted to remove them yourself. Originally, the entire tart was glazed in ganache making it look beautiful, yet deceiving. When I see glazed tarts or cakes I think soft, moist, maybe some mousse. Not difficult, hard ass toffee. I opted for a drizzle and a ganche filled raspberry to give a more honest presentation.

Pear and almond tart

Ah, that looks so pretty. A nice traditional French winter pastry. I have seen photographs of this in a few books, and the frangipane is much darker. Maybe it is a different formula? Everything set up nicely in this tart and it's quite tasty.

Close up - Pear and almond tart

Mmm. The only thing I may do differently next time is blind bake the short dough. With so much creamy texture on the inside, it really needs a contrasting crunch.

Pithiver

This may make a reappearance the next brunch pot luck I attend or as part of Christmas brunch. Very tasty and very easy to make. Roll out puff pastry, chop it into an 8" circle. Fill with goodies! This originally called for more almond paste based filling but the class was verging mutiny so our wonderful chef gave up savory fillings. This guy has broccoli, mushrooms and cheese. It's delish! Yum yum yum.

Pithiver - inside shot

So this guy collapsed a bit after it came out of the oven. It could have used a few more rounds in the oven but it was baked all the way through and very good. I had to get rid of it because it was so good and I could not be trusted.

Braided white bread - basic

This is going back in time, I realized I did not get the bread section much coverage so here is a braided loaf I made. We made tons of these and it reminded me of lanyards. Pretty neat, pretty easy and kept us busy.

Breaded white bread - advanced

And because Chef Doug can't resist showing off, he made this awesome star creation. I did help by braiding the little star arms, but it was with supervision. This had 12 different strands that were looped, braided and twisted. Then it was filled with more braided strands...we called it the brain. Fun to look at and still on display at the school.

Citron and lemon berry meringue tartlette

Oh piping citron 25 times with chocolate was fun . . . actually I got pretty good at it by the end. This is an okay shot, I was a little rushed to get out on this day and could have gotten a better shot. Oh well. Short dough filled with frangipane, topped with lemon buttercream, dipped in chocolate and then a marzipan flag with citron on top. Very labor intensive but also received well.

The meringue tartlette is tasty lemon curd covered in meringue and it has a secret berry inside. I then got to use a blow torch. I love using the blow torch.

Assorted berry tartlettes

Blueberry lemon curd tartlette

Yes, we have made fruit tarts before. They are so pretty! So practical! Something I will make again, again, and again. These have always been one of my favorite treats and I love making variations.