CAKES AND ECLAIRS
In week 2 of Intro to pastry we learned about different functions of ingredients with in the baked item.
*Flour
*Milk, Cream
*Eggs
2. Tenderizers
*butter (fats)
*egg yolk
*vegetable shortening, lard, oils
*sugar
3. Moisturizers (they also work at helping start the process of gelatinization, also used as a preservative)
*water
*milk
*eggs
*juices
4. Driers (absorb moisture, these along with the toughener gives structure, shape and body)
*Flour
*Cornstarch
*arrowroot
*milk – as the protein coagulates it dries.
5. Leaveners (gains volume, increases size)
*Organic- living things such as yeast
*Chemical – baking soda, baking powder
*Mechanical – manually incorporate the leavening agent – butter, eggs
*extracts
*liquors
*spices
*nut butter
*zest
*juices
*butter
*milk
*herbs
*fruits
*coco
*etc…
ORANGE CHIFFON CAKE
Yield: 1 Tube Cake 10 in.
Method: Egg foam
8 oz Cake flour, sifted
12 oz Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
4 fl. oz Vegetable oil
6 Egg Yolks
2 fl. oz Water, cool
4 fl. oz Orange Juice
1 Tbsp Orange zest, grated fine
.5 fl oz Vanilla extract
8 Egg whites
Glaze
3 oz powdered sugar
1 fl oz orange juice
2 tsp orange zest
2. In a separate bowl mix the oil, egg yolks, water, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients
3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly beat in the remaining sugar. Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.
4. Stir one third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites
5. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325F until a toothpick comes out clean, approximately 1 hour.
6. Immediately invert the pan over the neck of a wine bottle. Allow the cake to hang upside down until completely cool, and then remove from the pan.
7. Stir the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and drizzle over the top of the cooled cake.
NOTES: the reason to cool the cake upside down is that it doesn’t fall.
By mixing the egg whites with the sugar you are creating a French Meringue. (one of three meringues that we will learn this quarter)
The French meringue is know as a common or raw meringue. Make sure that your white are pure – no egg yolks. When the whites are frothy you can add a pinch of sea salt and cream of tarter (if available) continue whisking then add the rest of the sugar.
You know its done when medium to firm peaks have formed. If it starts to look like cottage cheese it has been over whipped.
We wanted to make a lemon chiffon cake instead of an orange. To do this substitute 2 fl oz fresh lemon juice and 2 fl oz water for the orange juice in the batter. Sub the orange zest with lemon zest. Top with a basic sugar Glaze.
BASIC SUGAR GLAZE
9.5 oz powdered sugar, sifted
2 fl oz light cream or milk (you can also use water)
1 oz unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla, lemon, or almond extract
SACHER CAKE
Yield 2 cakes, 9 in
Method: Creaming
10 oz AP Flour
3 oz Cocoa powder
12.5 oz Unsalted butter, softened
18 oz Sugar
14 Egg yolks
3 oz Hazelnuts, toasted and ground
14 Egg whites
18 oz Apricot jam
Chocolate glaze (see recipe below) – as needed
1. Grease two 9-inch spring form pans lightly butter and lined with parchment paper.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together twice. Set aside
3. Cream the butter and 7 oz of the sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg yolks and beat well.
4. Fold in the sifted flour and cocoa powder and the hazelnuts by hand
5. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually add the remaining sugar and continue whipping until stiff, glossy peaks form.
6. Lighten the batter by folding in approximately ¼ of the egg whites, then fold in the remaining whites.
7. Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake at 350F until the cakes are set, about 35-45 minutes.
8. Cool the cakes 5 minutes before removing from the pans.
9. Cool completely, then cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Spread apricot jam on each layer and re stack them, creating two two-layer cakes.
10. Heat the apricot glaze until spreadable. Pour it over the top and sides of each cake.
11. Allow the apricot glaze to cool completely, and then pour the Chocolate Glaze over the top and sides of each cake to create a smooth glossy coating.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
4 oz Unsweetened chocolate
4 oz Semisweet chocolate
4 oz Unsalted butter
1 oz Light corn syrup
1. Melt all ingredients together over a double boiler. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
2. Use immediately, before the glaze begins to dry.
ASSEMBLY OF CAKE
1. Cut off the top (this might like look a mushroom top. Then cut the cake into 3 layers.
2. Round off the sides. – we do this so that the glaze falls evenly.
3. Apply the jam – the jam helps prevent the spread of crumbs from the cake.
* we only baked half this recipe – instead of two cakes we only made one. If you were making a full recipe you cut each cake in half. Since we only did one, we cut ours into thirds.
LADY FINGERS
Yield 2 lb. 3 oz about 95 cookies, 4 inch each
Method: Sponge cake
5 oz Bread Flour
4 oz Cornstarch
12 Egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 egg whites
7.5 oz sugar
Powdered sugar as needed
1. Sift the flour and cornstarch together. Set aside
2. Whip the egg yolks and vanilla together in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment until the mixture is thick and creamy
3. Simultaneously in the bowl of a second mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the egg whites and sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks
4. Using a balloon whisk, gently stir in the egg whites to restore a smooth appearance. Ass the whipped yolks all at once into the egg whites. Gently fold the two together using a rubber spatula or a balloon whisk until the mixture is streaked in appearance and is not completely combines. Gently fold in the flour, be careful not to deflate batter.
5. Place the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. Pipe 4- inch long cookies onto paper lined sheet pans
6. Sprinkle the surface of the piped batter with powdered. Let it sit for a few minutes until the powdered sugar dissolves. Sprinkle a second layer.
7. Bake at 400 F until the cookies bounce back when lightly pressed, about 9-11 minutes.
This batter is very similar to the chiffon cake batter. The Ladyfingers should be about 4 inches long.
In addition this week we practiced writing our alphabet in cursive. The only twist was that we were writing in Chocolate. There were a few things that was very difficult about this. First: I have written in cursive since I was in third grade. Second: writing in chocolate is hard!
To do this we just used melted chocolate. Melt the chocolate on a double boiler. Unfortunately i can not take credit for the picture below. I decided not to capture my writing until it looks like this! – But I am practicing!!
ÉCLAIR PASTE (PATE A CHOUX)
1 pint water
5.5 oz butter
.5 oz sugar
¼ oz kosher salt
8.5 bread flour
5-7 eggs
1. Place water, butter, sugar, salt in a pot. Bring to boil. Make sure the butter is fully melted.
2. Remove from the heat and immediately add all the flour. Vigorously beat the dough by hand. Put back over medium heat and continue beating the dough until it comes away from the sides of the pan. The dough should look kind of like instant mashed potatoes or cream of wheat. It should begin to leave a film on the saucepan.
3. Transfer the dough to the bowl of mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat it for a few seconds at medium speed. Then begin to beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Continue to add the eggs one by one until the mixture is shiny but firm. You might not have to use all the eggs. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl in thick threads.
5. Put a workable amount of dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe onto the sheet pan in the desired shapes at once.
6. Bake immediately at 350 F until the pastries are dry and crisp, about 35 min (depending on shape) To test for doneness, when the éclair paste seems to be baked through, remove and let it sit for a 1 to 2 minutes. If it doesn’t collapse, the product is sufficiently baked.
7. Cool completely, then fill as desired. Leftovers can be frozen or stored at room temp.
With the Pate a Choux we made the following:
1. The shape of a chocolate éclair is much like a lady finger. They are piped the same way.
2. After the Éclair has been baked and cooled, poke two holes in the bottom or one on the side and fill with pastry cream.
3. Then dip the top into a chocolate ganache.
CREAM PUFFS – filled with pastry cream
SWANS – filled with chantelle cream
PARIS-BREST – filled with paris-brest cream
INDIVIDUAL ST. HONORE PASTRIES – cream puffs stacked on a puff pastry
PARIS-BREST CREAM
Yield 2 lb. 8 oz
12 oz Unsalted butted, softened
4 oz Hazelnut paste, smooth and lump free
1lb 8 oz Pastry Cream (recipe in previous weeks post.)
this is what 12 oz of butter looks like - yikes!
CHURRO
1. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a quarter size hotel pan. Set aside.
2. Bring the water and salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan
3. Remove the boiling salted water from the heat. Add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a firm spatula until a soft dough forms.
4. Transfer the dough immediately to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On medium speed, add one third of the egg whites. Mix until completely combined. Scrape the bowl. Repeat the process until all of the egg whites are incorporated. Add the vanilla.
5. Pipe the batter using a medium star tip into 6-8 inch strips on very lightly oiled parchment paper.
6. Slide the piped batter into oil heated to 375F. Fry in batches until crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Drain briefly on paper towels, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Serve warm with Chocolate Fudge Sauce.
Chocolate Fudge Sauce
1. Combine the cream, corn syrup and sugar ina saucepan and bring just to a boil, stiring frequently
2. Chop the chocolate and place in a large bowl
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until completly melted.
4. Store well covered and refrigerated. Gently rewarm over a double boiler if desired.
COOKING SUGAR (for the St. Honore)
Place sugar and water in pot over stove. The sugar should look like sand in the water. Don't start with the full amount of water that a recipe may call for - you want to start with a very small amount. The Caramelizing begins when the water is almost gone. Try not disturb the sugar before this happens. Once you see a little bit of color, swirl the pan to make the color even. This will also help even out the temperature a bit. When finished you can dip your cream puff or anything else straight in!
Absolutely decadent! Makes my mouth water
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