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Napoleon

Napoleons are a dessert I have only ever heard of and seen, never tasted.  While they are not my favorite pastry we have made in this class, I still enjoyed making them.  Some successes I had in my Napoleon were how even I rolled the puff pastry.  I was also happy with the filling, it was nice and smooth.  Some mistakes I made were on the top decorations.  Applying the fondant and chocolate to the top went well, but as I scored the top with a paring knife, the chocolate bled a bit too much into the fondant and looks a little messy.  Additionally, when transferring the Napoleon, I was not quite careful enough and some of the piped diplomat cream on one side got a bit messy.  Overall, it turned out well but had a few flaws.  

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Custards

Overall Reflection:

Custards are something I am not too familiar with, so I was excited to learn more about them and the correct way of making them.  When making the custards, the tempering process went very nicely.  There did not seem to be too many lumps as a result of the tempering.  When tasting the custards, the texture was nice and smooth.  To improve the crème brûlée, I should have tried to torch the top a little darker and more evenly, especially the sides.  When unmolding the crème caramel, I could have been more careful when tracing the paring knife around the custard to keep it more in tact.  

Crème Brûlée 

Pot de Crème:

Crème Caramel: Method of Prep:

  1. Scale ingredients and prep equipment.

  2. Make the caramel: Combine 20 g water and 120 g sugar, boil without stirring until it reaches a shade below the desired color.  Add a small squeeze of lemon and 30 g water, stir, then pour into 4 foil cups about ¼ inch high.

  3. Make the custard: Make a slurry with half the 70 g sugar, 2 eggs, and 70 g egg yolks.  Scald 320 g milk, ½ a scraped vanilla bean, and remaining 35 g sugar.  Temper hot milk mixture into the eggs, then strain mixture and pour over the set caramel.  

  4. Bake in a water bath at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until set, about 50 minutes.  Chill.

Finally, unmold the finished product. 

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Puff Pastry Dough

This was the first time I have ever made something like puff pastry.  While I was a little intimidated, I really enjoyed the process.  I found the lamination process peaceful and the whole process very relaxing.  I feel as though my end product was quite successful.  As I was rolling the dough stayed neat and rectangular.  It rised nicely and had clearly flakey layers.  However, during the rolling process I feel like I could have been more careful.  It seemed as though the butter did not stay as one smooth block.  If I was a bit smoother and careful with the rolling, the butter would have stayed more together and the finished product would have likely been flakier.  

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Pithivier

Reflection:

I have never heard of a Pithivier before, and I was pleasantly surprised when I ate it.  I found the almond cream with the puff pastry delicious.  My favorite part of making this product was scoring the top.  I enjoy being artistic and baking, and this product allowed me to do both simultaneously.  I am also very happy with how the scoring turned out.  I found the final product very pretty.  However, to improve my Pithivier, next time I should egg wash more and bake it a bit longer to achieve a more desirable and darker color.

History:

The Pithivier originated in France, in a town called Pithivier.  It dates back to the 16th Century.  Another term for the Pithivier is “Gallete de Rois”, which translates to King’s Cake.  There was a Roman tradition for cakes where, a trinket, usually a bean, would be placed somewhere in the cake and whoever received the slice with the bean was considered “king” of the feast.  This king was allowed to do anything he pleased for the remainder of the day.  When Pithiviers were first introduced, they followed this tradition with it.  A variety of objects have been used for the trinket over the years, many of them representing a religious figure.  The tradition with the trinket varied slightly with the French Pithivier.  The youngest, supposedly most “innocent” person at the table, decides who receives which slice to ensure there is no cheating.  Additionally, whoever is crowned “King” must then choose a “Queen”, or vice versa.  A crown is placed on the head of the one with the lucky slice.  There would often be one slice of Pithivier leftover just in case an unexpected guest arrived.  

The dessert is composed of two rounds of puff pastry filled with almond cream, then baked.  Fruit filling is also sometimes added to Pithiviers.  The top is scored with many curves to resemble the sun.  More modern interpretations of the Pithivier include meat or cheese fillings.

This is an example of a traditional, almond Pithivier:

This is an example of a modern Pithivier, with a meat filling:

In conclusion, this is a classic and delicious dessert that can and should be enjoyed a variety of ways.  From Pithivier, France, to all over the world, this timeless dessert is surely not going anywhere any time soon.

Works Cited:

https://www.196flavors.com/france-galette-des-rois-pithivier/ https://www.kitchen-inspirational.com/2013/09/13/process-of-invention-circa-11th-century-frangipane-pithiviers-and-pastry-school/  https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/ox-cheek-pithivier-recipe

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Paris-Brest

Reflection:

I had never heard of a Paris-Brest before this class, and I found them to be delicious.  I thought the filling we made was very good and well balanced.  The finished product was clean looking and pretty, and I was quite happy with it.  However, there was some room for improvement.  When piping the rosettes of the mousseline, one Paris-Brest had taller rosettes than another.  To keep everything uniform, I need to always make sure that each item has the same amount of each ingredient.  Other than that, I was happy with the appearance and taste of the final product.

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Cream Puffs

Reflection:

In terms of appearance, the cream puffs were my favorite item we made in this class.  I thought the craquelin turned out beautiful and made the cream puffs look very nice.  The real strawberries and microgreens added pops of color which looked very pretty.  However, the appearance would have been improved  if the sliced strawberries were lying more on their side.  Having them standing up makes them look a bit droopy.  Taste-wise, the cream puffs were good.  The strawberry compote was not overly sweet and it balanced the creme parisienne nicely.  In the end, I was very happy with this product.

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Eclaires

Reflection:

Pate a Choux is something I have always enjoyed making, so I liked making the eclairs.  The pate a choux we made was baked well and had a nice color.  The pastry cream we made for the filling turned out very nice and smooth.  Also, the chocolate dipping turned out very good and uniform.  The finished products were very clean looking.  However, when piping the pate a choux, I feel like I could have been more even.  Some eclairs had parts that were thinner than others.  Uniformity with the pate a choux was my main issue.  Regardless, I was quite happy with the final product.

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Gâteau St. Honoré

Reflection:

The Gateau St. Honore was interesting to make.  I had never heard of it before, and it was fun to make all of the different components.  I enjoyed making both a traditional and modern version of this dessert.  I liked all of the different shapes and parts of the final product; it was very interesting to look at.  I was happy with the piping of the creme parisienne on the traditional version.  I thought it looked clean and even.  On the modern version, I should have included a rosette on the top of the small cream puff because otherwise, it looks like something is missing there.  Overall, both products were generally successful and I had a good time making them.

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Band de Fruit

Reflection: The Band de Fruit was one of my favorite pastries we made in this class.  I found slicing and arranging the fruit very relaxing, and I enjoyed getting to be artistic and creative.  I was very happy with the arrangement of my fruit.  I found it to look appealing and symmetrical.  I also thought the taste of the puff pastry, pastry cream, and fruit were wonderful together.  As an improvement, I could have baked the puff pastry longer.  A darker puff pastry would have improved its texture.  Additionally, I could have improved on the scoring on the puff pastry.  Next time I will try to make the scoring look more clean and even.

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Jalousie de Pomme

Reflection:

The Jalousie is another dessert I have never heard of.  Similar to the Pithivier, I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it.  I enjoyed all of the components in this dessert.  I think that my final product was very pretty looking overall.  The slats I made in the top layer were even, and the dough baked nicely.  However, to improve it, I could have attempted to get the color more even.  Checking the oven more frequently and rotating the pan more would have helped me achieve an even golden color.  Regardless, I was quite happy with the end product.  

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Chausson aux Pomme

Reflection: The Chaussons were interesting to make, because I have had similar products but never a traditional Chausson.  I enjoyed scoring the tops of them because I enjoy making food products that allow me to be artistic, and I think the scoring turned out well.  The dough and filling seemed to turn out very well individually.  The dough was flakey and the filling wasn’t undercooked or overcooked.  The finished product, however, was not quite perfect.  It would have been improved if I filled the Chaussons more.  More egg wash would have resulted in a darker color, improving the appearance.  Also, I scored the top a bit too deep which resulted in some holes on the top.