PETITS FOURS
(anything that can be eaten in one or two bites)

MADELEINES
yield 12 cookies

4 oz butter, unsalted
2 eggs
3 oz sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
¼ tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp baking powder
3 oz cake flour

1. Melt the butter over medium heat, continue cooking until the milk solids turn a golden – brown color. Set aside to cool

2. Whisk the eggs and sugar over a bain marie until warm. Remove from heat and whisk in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla

3. Sift the baking powder and flour together, stir into the egg mixture. Stir in the melted butter. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to rest 1 hour at room temp.

4. Butter and flour the Madeleine shells. Spoon or pipe the batter into the shells, filling each three fourths full

5. Bake at 450 F until the cookies rise in the center and are very light brown on the bottom and edges, approximately 3-4 min for 1 ½ inch Madeleines and 10 -12 min for 3 inch Madeleines. They should spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove from the pan immediately.

We basically made the batter and then transferred it into a piping bag and put It in the fridge for an hour or two. It can also be frozen for up to a week. We also backed our at 375 convection (400 F still) a little bit less then what the book says.

"madelienes drizzled in chocolate, financier dipped in chocoalte"

FINANCIER CAKE

"financier cake dipped in chocolate, spinkled in powdered sugar"

6 ¾ oz sugar, confectioners
3 ½ oz AP Flour
2 ¼ oz Almond Meal
5 oz Egg Whites
5 ½ oz butter

1. Combine dry ingredients
2. Add egg whites
3. Brown the butter – add to mixture
4. Stir well
5. Chill batter and then pipe into sprayed petit four molds lined with sliced almonds. OR Pour batter into S/P/S (spray, parchment, spray) ½ sheet pan lined with un-toasted sliced almonds. Bake at 325 F-350F in a still oven until light brown. Let cool and cut desired shapes.

These were really good. We dipped these in tempered chocolate, which made them extra delightful!
CHEF CRITIQUE – Very close to over done., but still good!

SABLE COOKIES
yield 2 dozen

"checkerboard cookie"

White Dough:

3 oz butter, unsalted
1 ¼ sugar, confectioners
4 oz cake flour

Chocolate Dough:

3 oz butter, unsalted
1 ¼ sugar, confectioners
3 ¼ oz cake flour
¾ cocoa powder

1. Sift together dry ingredients.
2. Cream butter and then add dry ingredients, in a mixer with a paddle
3. Mix until smooth – this may take a while but it’ll get there.
4. Form each dough in a square, ½ inch thick. Wrap and chill
5. Roll each dough separately to a ¼ inch
6. Attach the two dough’s together with a little water and then cut in half
7. Attach the two halves together so the dough’s now alternate
8. Chill
9. Cut the dough into ¼ inch slices
10. Attach these slices alternately to form a checkerboard design
11. Wrap and freeze until firm
12. Slice into ¼ inch slices
13. Bake at 350 F in a still oven until tan around the edges

CHEF CRITIQUE: too dry, a little bit over cooked. Very nicely shaped, and symmetrical.

FLORENTINE BARS

"florentine bar"

1 recipie Pate Sucree Dough
7 oz butter, unsalted
10 oz sugar, granulated
3 oz honey
3 oz cream
14 oz almonds, sliced
4 oz dried fruit (chopped if necessary)
2 oz bread flour

PATE SUCREE DOUGH:

1 lb butter, unsalted
8 oz sugar
3 egg yolk
1 egg
1 ½ lb cake flour, sifted

1. Cream butter and sugar
2. Combine yolks and eggs – add eggs one at a time
3. Add sifted cake flour
4. Pat into rectangle, wrap in plastic
5. Refrigerate until needed

Crust:

1. Spray, parchment, spray a half sheet pan
2. Roll the pate sucree to 3/16 inch thick, making sure all the edges of the pan are covered. Trim any excess dough
3. Chill shell before baking
4. Blind bake shell at 350 F until half-baked and a very light color has occurred. Dough should be set on bottom and not wet.
5. Remove from oven and let cool

Filling:

1. Cook butter, sugar, hone and cream to 240 F (stir while cooking)
2. Fold in remaining ingredients (be careful not to crystallize the mixture by over mixing)
3. Spread mix onto par baked half sheet pan
4. Bake at 350 F in convection oven until bubbly in center and golden brown
5. Let cool
6. Cut into desired shapes

CHEF CRITIQUE: The crust was well baked. A little bit more color on top would have been okay.

JOCONDE
yield ½ sheet tray

"joconde cake"

3 ¾ oz sugar
1 ¼ oz cake flour
4 1/3 oz Almond meal
6 oz eggs, whole
4 oz egg white
½ oz sugar
1 ½ oz butter, melted

"joconde batter"

1. Sift the sugar and cake flour together, stir in almond meal
2. Add the whole eggs and stir
3. Whip the whites with sugar until med peak
4. Gradually fold the meringue into above batter
5. Temper some of the batter into the melted butter and then fold all together until evenly incorporated
6. Pour batter into a sprayed, parchment lined then sprayed again.
7. Evenly spread the batter
8. Bake at 400 F in a convection oven

MARZIPAN
yield 13 oz

2 ½ oz almond paste
3 oz corn syrup
8 oz sugar, confectioners (sifted)
1. Using the paddle attachment, mix the almond paste until it sticks to bowl
2. Add enough corn syrup to stick to sides of bowl
3. Slowly add enough powdered sugar to form a dough that is firm and workable, but not sticky.
4. Wrap airtight with plastic wrap
5. Chill until needed
6. Roll with sifted powdered sugar

ASSEMBLY OF PETIT FOUR

1. Cut the Joconde cake into three equal parts.
2. Between each layer spread a very thin layer of jam
3. Top it with a layer of marzipan
4. Cut into bit size pieces.
5. Top marzipan layer with fondant icing. (icing + simple syrup)

CHEF CRITIQUE: Nice volume, batter was mixed well. The Marzipan was to thin, and the fondant glaze was too thin.