French Classics Made Easy (50 page)

2.
Fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter.

3.
Mark the finished dough into five pieces.

NOTE

To make even finer pastry, replace ⅔ cup of all-purpose flour (100g) with ½ cup plus ⅓ cup cake flour (100g).

IN ADDITION

French pastry shops have refrigerated surfaces (a marble work surface placed on top of a large horizontal refrigerator) designed specifically for working with puff pastry. The marble top is actually a part of the refrigerator, serving as one of its four walls, and the refrigeration unit in turn keeps the marble very well chilled.

STRAWBERRY-TOPPED PUFF-PASTRY TARTLETS

[FEUILLETÉ AUX FRAISES]

Some of the finest fruit tarts are those made with puff pastry, fresh strawberries or raspberries, and a currant jelly glaze. But they are always made ahead of time and served at room temperature. Unfortunately, this does not take advantage of puff pastry’s best feature: the flaky, buttery taste it has when it’s still warm. By changing the presentation of a traditional puff-pastry tart slightly, this magnificent dessert results. Small individual squares of puff pastry are baked ahead of time, then reheated just before serving and topped with fresh berries and warm currant jelly.

The optional addition of toasted sliced almonds adds a delicate crunch and harmonizing flavor.

SERVES 8

Butter, for baking sheet

1½ pounds Rough Puff Pastry (
page 230
) or 1 pound store-bought puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

1 jar (8 ounces) red currant jelly

1 to 2 tablespoons kirsch, to taste

3 pints strawberries, quartered if large

¼ cup (25g) sliced almonds, toasted (optional; see Note)

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F with the oven rack in the middle position. Lightly butter a baking sheet.

2.
Roll the pastry out into a square about 12 x 12 inches and cut it into nine 4-inch squares.

3.
Trim ½-inch strips off two opposite sides of each square (these are the “long” strips). Then trim ½-inch strips off the two remaining sides (the “short” strips). You should have 3-inch squares. Brush the surface lightly with the beaten egg and place the two “short” strips on opposite edges of the square, pressing gently to attach the strips to the square. Brush lightly with the egg wash. Attach the two “long” strips to the other edges, again pressing gently. Brush again with the egg wash. Trim off any excess pastry at the corners of the square. If desired, decorate the surface of the border by making diagonal slashes with a knife just through the top surface of the pastry.

4.
Place the pastry squares on the baking sheet and prick the centers several times with the point of a knife. Bake until the pastry has risen and is evenly colored, 20 to 25 minutes.

5.
Allow to cool on a wire rack. With a sharp paring knife, following the inside edges of the rim, cut out the pastry in the center, going down about ½ inch. Gently lift this piece out with the tip of the knife and set aside to use as a lid. With your fingers, pull out the remaining excess pastry in the center, leaving a well to be filled. (This
can be done several hours in advance. Before assembling the dessert, reheat the pastry in a 350°F oven, about 3 minutes.)

6.
In a small saucepan, heat the currant jelly over medium heat until it melts and comes to a boil. Add the kirsch.

7.
Place the warm pastry on individual serving plates and fill to overflowing with strawberries. Spoon or brush on the hot currant jelly glaze and sprinkle with the toasted sliced almonds (if using).

NOTE

Don’t use slivered almonds in place of sliced ones; the thicker-cut almonds are too firm for the combination of textures in this delicate dessert.

VARIATION

R
ASPBERRY
-T
OPPED
P
UFF
-P
ASTRY
T
ARTLETS

[FEUILLETÉ AUX FRAMBOISES]

Use 2 pints of raspberries in place of the strawberries.

M
AKING
F
EUILLETES:
A Second Method

Another way to make a tartlet: Roll out and cut the dough into 4-inch squares as described in the recipe. Brush lightly with the egg wash. With the tip of a paring knife, cut ½ inch in from the edge along all 4 sides, but stopping ¼ inch from two opposing corners (top, right). Pick up the corners that have been cut all the way through and cross them over one another (left). Press the edges down at each of the four corners to seal (bottom, right).

NAPOLEONS

[MILLE - FEUILLES]

The most delicious mille-feuille I ever ate was served to me by Jean and Pierre Troisgros when I had lunch with them many years ago in their three-star restaurant in Roanne. The pastry had just emerged from the oven and was served with a room-temperature pastry cream.

To serve a Napoleon warm requires the hands of a veteran chef. Pastry cream at room temperature is very soft and makes the cutting and serving of this layered pastry difficult. For this reason, most Napoleons are refrigerated before they are cut. When refrigerated, the pastry becomes less flaky and loses some of its allure. In order to get as close as possible to the wonderful warm mille-feuilles of my memory, I do not refrigerate them, and assemble them only 3 to 4 hours before serving. Make your pastry cream and prepare the puff pastry up to the point of baking it the day before and the process will be easy.

SERVES 6

Butter, for baking sheet

1½ pounds Rough Puff Pastry (
page 230
) or 1 pound store-bought puff pastry

Double recipe Liqueur-Flavored Pastry Cream (
page 348
), chilled

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F with the oven rack placed in the middle position. Lightly butter a 14 x 17-inch baking sheet.

2.
Roll the pastry out to fit the baking sheet. The pastry should be less than ⅛ inch thick.

3.
Sprinkle the baking sheet with water. Roll the pastry onto a rolling pin and unroll it onto the baking sheet. Trim off any excess pastry.

4.
Prick the pastry all over with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate it for 15 minutes or more.

5.
Place the pastry in the oven and bake until the pastry is golden brown and dry, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow it to cool on a rack.

6.
Use a serrated knife to trim the pastry and to cut it lengthwise into three equal strips.

7.
Whisk the chilled pastry cream to make it smooth and easy to spread. Spread two of the puff-pastry strips with pastry cream and place one on top of the other, pastry cream–side up. Place the last strip of pastry, bottom side up, on top. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on top.

8.
Use two long metal spatulas to lift the pastry to a doily-covered serving platter. When you are ready to serve, hold the top layer as you cut through it with a serrated knife to form six individual Napoleons. (This can be done no more than 3 to 4 hours ahead. Do not refrigerate the pastries before serving. However, do refrigerate any leftovers, which will keep for 1 to 2 days.)

GENOISE

Génoise is the most popular all-purpose cake in France. Once you master the techniques for making this cake, the possibilities are endless. Basically a sponge cake made with butter, it is used to make round cakes, square cakes, and jelly rolls. Because of its firm texture, it can be cut into thin layers that—when layered with a variety of buttercreams, whipped creams, liqueur- or coffee-flavored syrups, sugar icings, toasted nuts, praline, and ganache—transform it into elaborate and delicious creations (see “Les Gâteaux,”
page 236
). For two good examples, try Chocolate Génoise with Grand Marnier Ganache (
page 240
) and Gâteau Moka (
page 241
), which is a vanilla génoise with a coffee buttercream.

In the technique for making a classic génoise, there are two areas that can cause problems for cooks, inexperienced and experienced alike. The first is in the initial beating of eggs over heat—the warmth helps the eggs to increase their volume but can also be awkward and time consuming. And the second problem area arises when melted butter must be folded into this lightened egg mixture without deflating it.

To make the whole procedure easier, and to reduce the risk of failure, I do two things. Instead of beating the eggs over heat, I simply warm the eggs (in the shell) in a bowl of hot tap water while I assemble the other ingredients. Then I pour the water out of the bowl, dry the bowl, and crack the eggs into it while they are still warm. I then beat them with the sugar to produce a thick, firm batter in a relatively short time (5 to 8 minutes).

When it comes time to incorporate the butter, I use soft, partially melted butter in place of the traditional fully melted butter. And instead of adding it directly to the batter, I blend a small amount of batter into the butter first to make its consistency similar to the batter, and thereby easier to fold back in.

If you are familiar with French cake recipes, you will notice that I have reduced the amount of sugar in the classic sugar syrup by at least 75 percent, since I find most classical French cakes too sweet.

MAKES 1 LAYER

Butter and all-purpose flour, for cake pan

FOR A 9-INCH ROUND CAKE

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

½ cup (110g) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon orange or lemon juice and the grated zest of 1 small orange or lemon

⅔ cup (100g) all-purpose flour

FOR An 8-INCH ROUND CAKE

3 large eggs

2½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (85g) sugar

¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or ¾ teaspoon orange or lemon juice and the grated zest of 1 small orange or lemon

½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan.

2.
Place the unbroken eggs in a large bowl filled with hot tap water.

3.
In a small saucepan, warm the butter over low heat. When the pieces are about half melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir until completely melted; the butter should be the consistency of light cream. Set the saucepan aside. When you are ready to use the butter, it will have cooled further, and should be the consistency of heavy cream or light mayonnaise.