Tickles tea room

Last week for a nice mid-week break, sister-in-law Dorothy and I met up at my condo in Providence, hopped into the Subaru and made the quick 10-15 minute drive east on 195 to Swansea.  Our tea goal this time - Tickles - a boutique/cafe/tea room rolled into one.

I had first learned of Tickles a couple of months ago from Tish Bodell who has a classy "permanent botanicals" business at Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.  It had been on my radar for an after-the-holidays outing, and it was time.  As it turns out, they also have a newly opened restaurant, The Aviary, right next door.

We had no trouble finding a parking spot in, what we later discovered, was a HUGE parking lot stretching around the back.  Upon entering the building one can go off either left or right and browse the sprawling boutique, full of jewelry, clothing, cards, bags, tea accoutrements and more.

Heading back toward the hostess stand one passes a display case full of assorted chocolates . . .

and, a few steps farther, a pastry case holding cupcakes, cookies, bars, cannoli, cakes, pies and what appeared to be large baking dishes of perhaps fruit crisp or bread pudding.

The tea room is cozy with a cottage like feel, decorated in pink hues (with a bit of Christmas decor still in view) and lined with high shelves along the walls displaying an assortment of tea cups and tea pots.  There are a dozen or so tables and most of them were occupied during our visit.

We were seated promptly right next to the fireplace, and our server arrived shortly thereafter.  We had already taken a brief look at the menu, and it didn't take us long to choose the "afternoon tea" option, which would be perfect for the two of us to share a light repast.  We chose the white ginger pear tea to go along with our tea sandwiches, scones and sweets.

check out the tea sandwich options

Once our tea arrived we started right in . . .

Dor did the honors

and our two tiered afternoon tea assortment soon followed.

We were served classic cucumber, brie and apple and pesto chicken salad sandwiches, having been informed that the kitchen was out of the other two offerings (fig/prosciutto and salmon).

The bread was the same for all three - a soft, yet sturdy white bread which seemed a good vehicle for the toppings.  The cucumber was definitely our favorite with its lemon and dill cream cheese spread that was bright and oh-so pleasing with the crisp cucumbers.

We found the brie and apple to be uninspiring, kind of blending right into the white bread and lacking in any forward flavor.  Dor's observation on the pesto chicken salad was the need for some seasoning (just a touch of salt and pepper folks!), and I felt it didn't lend any particular attractiveness to the plate.

Next up - scones and sweets . . .

The cranberry scones had a pleasant flavor, nice texture and crumb, and the raspberry jam accompaniment was tasty (I was less fond of the fig jam, but, hey, it's all a matter of taste, right?).

The mini-chocolate-chip biscotti were a tad on the chewy side, although the hint-of-spice, caramel-y flavor was delightful, and they dunked nicely in our white ginger pear tea!

In addition we had some candied pecans and, the surprise of the bunch, a fudgey looking chocolate triangle that was ethereally light in the mouth.  Yes!

After a bit of tea sipping and conversation we headed to the boutique for some browsing, and then decided to check out the neighboring "Aviary" restaurant.

The short walk from the tea room passes through some outdoor patio areas and is nicely landscaped, as I'm sure the grounds in front of the building will be once they're completed.

When we entered, the hostess kindly allowed us a walk-through of the space, which consists of a large open room with a bar, lots of windows and light, and the "garden room" with a fireplace, potted plants and plenty more windows and natural light.

the garden room

All in all, the Tickles trip was worth it - a unique combination of shopping, food and atmosphere - and certainly there is nothing like it in greater Providence!  It's obvious the proprietors are putting their all into making Tickles/The Aviary a destination.

Kudos to them!

My first English muffins!

Not long ago Steve and I had lunch at one of our favorite local haunts (Nick's on Broadway) where Steve ordered a fish sandwich served on the house-made English muffin.  Boy was it good!  Nothing at all like the store-bought varieties - thicker, flavorful and a wonderful vehicle for sandwich fixins.

I decided it was time to try my hand at making some, and what better day than when we were expecting (and ultimately getting) a blizzard here in Providence.

only the beginning

lots more comin'

Whenever I'm making something new, I enjoy reading and reviewing a number of recipes for whatever that something new might be.  I checked out Rose Levy Beranbaum, Bouchon Bakery, Peter Reinhardt and King Arthur Flour and settled on Peter Reinhardt's recipe as my initiation into English muffin making.

Little did I know that English muffins are "baked" on the stove top - I had no idea!  Plus I find it so intriguing to compare techniques and processes - Rose's uses a poolish (dough starter), Bouchon bakery uses a liquid levain (another version of a starter), whereas the one I chose to follow is a straight forward direct dough that is as easy as pie to put together and can sit in the fridge for up to four days!  I like that.  Thanks Peter!

On to the recipe.

ingredients

Whisk 14 gm (2 teaspoons) honey and 14 gm (1 tablespoon) olive oil into 1.5 cups (340 gm) of lukewarm milk.  In a separate bowl whisk together 340 gm (2 2/3 cups) unbleached flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt and 6 gm (2 teaspoons) instant yeast.

the dry and the wet

Now blend the wet into the dry, mixing for a minute or so to moisten all the flour.  Scrape down the bowl and mix the batter for a few more seconds.

ready to cover and refrigerate

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days.

On the day you plan to bake the muffins remove the dough from the fridge a good 2 hours ahead of time.  I chose to bake the following day, so my dough had an overnight rest in the fridge.

just out of the fridge after an overnight rest

After a couple of hours you should see that the dough has bubbled a bit.  It's subtle, but it's there.

can you see the difference?

Now it's time to dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 3 tablespoons of warm water and fold that gently into the dough.

Let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.  In the meantime prepare your English muffin rings (in my case I used my 7/8" high, 80 mm tart rings) by oiling them and coating the insides with corn meal (I used semolina).

Heat a flat griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat and place the prepared rings on the cooking surface.  I'm using a non-stick flat griddle, but if you're using a classic cast iron "stick" pan or griddle, mist or coat it with oil first.

Sprinkle cornmeal in the rings . . . .

Lightly oil a 1/3 measuring cup and use it to scoop the dough into the prepared rings.

The dough is a bit sticky but just go for it - scoop away!  Sprinkle a little more cornmeal on top . . .

and cook the muffins for about 12 minutes over low-medium heat - the dough will start to rise and fill the rings.

away we go!

Then it's time to flip them over, rings and all . . . .

all flipped

You want them to be golden on the bottom before the flip, and then you cook them for another 12 minutes or so to achieve the same golden-ness on the flip side.  You can peek underneath to check for the degree of browning, and they should also feel springy to the touch.

At that point remove them from the pan, let them cool a couple of minutes and then remove the rings.

Based on some of the techniques I gleaned from reading different recipes, I decided to pop them into a 325 oven for 5-10 minutes to finish them off.  Since I haven't made these before, I wasn't sure how they should feel when they're done, and there's nothing worse than an under baked end result.  Think of it as "baking insurance"!

the finished goods

After a good 30 minute cool down Steve and I simply had to do a taste test.  I performed a "fork-split" and found the interior to have that quintessential "nooks and crannies" appearance that one hopes for in an English muffin . . . .

First we toasted one and topped it with a little butter . . .

and then a second one with butter and cherry jam . . . .

yup - that's good!

So the English muffin test was a success.  Crispy outside yet tender with an almost custard like interior, a medium-coarse crumb and a just right taste.

Yes, I would make these again!

Sablés au praliné

The next recipe in the Biscuits Secs section of Philippe Conticini's book La Pâtisserie des Rêves is a sablé, a classic buttery, crisp cookie.  As I reviewed the recipe I came to realize that, even though he doesn't identify it as such, this is actually a sablé Breton, which happens to be one of my favorites!

the recipe

This dough differs from a basic butter/sugar/flour sablé by the addition of egg yolks and baking powder, giving the end result a somewhat different texture and flavor.  And, depending on how thick you roll the dough, it will come out crisp (rolled thinner) or softer with a more prominent crumb (rolled thicker).

The dough is very easy to put together and should be chilled before using, so make that part of your plan.

les ingredients

Mix 250 gm flour, 125 gm room temperature butter, a couple of pinches of fleur de sel (I use my favorite "Beanilla" vanilla fleur de sel) and un paquet de levure chimique (see side note below) to a coarse, sandy consistency (you can do this by hand or on low speed in the mixer).

  

Side note:  typically one finds baking powder sold in packets in France.  I can't recall the weight of one of those packets, but when I've made other Breton doughs, I've decreased the amount of baking powder called for.  For this one I added one teaspoon.

 Whisk together 3 egg yolks with 100 gm sugar plus the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean . . .

the yolk/sugar emulsion

and add this to the flour/butter mixture . . .

mixing just until it comes together.

like really coarse cornmeal

squeeze some to see that it's holding together

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (or overnight if your schedule demands it.)

ready for the fridge

That part was easy.  What became a conundrum was the duja preparation which is meant to serve as a garnish for the baked cookies.  I determined that the word duja is a shortened form for gianduja, that classic mixture of nut (typically hazelnut) paste and chocolate (what many of you know as "Nutella").

Here the recipe calls for grinding 140 gm hazelnuts with 60 gm powdered sugar, followed by the addition of 35 gm milk chocolate and 2 carrés de chocolat noir (both melted.)

The carrés de chocolat noir threw me a bit, not knowing how much a carré weighs.  On to the trusty (?) internet to find a reference stating a small carré weighs 5 gm and a large one weighs 10 gm.  So, throwing caution to the wind, I decided 20 gm of chocolat noir just might do the trick.

ground hazelnuts, powdered sugar and chocolate, waiting to be melted

NOT SO!

There was no way this mixture would hold together to be piped as any sort of garnish!

So I added another 60 gm of melted chocolate so that it at least formed a cohesive (sort of) ball.

I still had my doubts.  So I turned back to the internet and found a source describing DIY gianduja made by processing equal weights toasted hazelnuts and chopped milk chocolate to create a paste.

I did a little figuring and ended up adding an additional 80 gm of melted chocolate to my ever developing gianduja . . . . and my paste was born.

my duja paste

Time to bake the cookies!  An interesting note about this recipe - the yield is reported as pour 6/7 personnes.  Now what the heck is that supposed to mean?  Typically a cookie recipe tells you how many cookies you might expect, rather than how many people it will serve.

So for the instructed 5 mm thick, 6 cm round cookie I determined that each cookie weighs about 16 gm. The total dough quantity is 525 gm which should yield about 32 cookies per batch.  So  pour 6/7 personnes means everyone gets 4-5 cookies each.  A goofy way to look at it à mon avis!

6 cm round, dough about 5 mm thick

Heat the oven to 325º.  Roll the dough out to the above mentioned thickness and cut 6 cm rounds.  Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and put into the freezer for 10 minutes or so before baking for 12-15 minutes selon votre four.  Ahhhh - those oh so important words - depending on your oven!

ready for the oven

My cookies baked for about 18 minutes . . .

and came out nicely set and golden brown.

Once the cookies are cooled it's time for the garnish.  The recipe instructs one to pipe a dome of duja on each cookie, sprinkle on some chopped hazelnuts and then pop them in the fridge.  Then it mentions that one has the option of "enrobing" the cookies in chocolate (no further instruction as to how to pursue that one!).

My duja was definitely not pipe-able, so I rolled it out between two layers of plastic wrap and cut circles of a smaller diameter than the cookie.

I placed the duja round on the cookie but realized it wasn't going to stay put - there wasn't any chocolate-to-cookie sticking power.  I tried a little schmear of chocolate glaze on the cookie to act as glue, but no way.  I then sprinkled some hazelnut nougatine on top but knew that I was not going to be able to dip the whole thing in "enrobing" chocolate unless prepared for total demolition.

So I simply used some ganache I had in the fridge, squiggled some on top of the cookies, sprinkled some hazelnut nougatine on top and called it a day.  The cookies accompanied Steve to work the next day.

So much for sablés au praliné!  And the batch of duja?  Into the freezer along with the crushed tuiles from my last post.  Maybe I'll mix the two together and create something new!

Oh, and by the way, the flavor of these was OK but nothing to write home about.  Another recipe I would not make again.

Tuiles au caramel et gingembre confit - trials and tribulations

Now that I've resumed working on the recipes in Philippe Conticini's book La Pâtisserie des Rêves (Biscuit Secs section, to be exact) I am reminded of the frustrations I encountered with some of the previous recipes.  Editing?  Recipe testing?  Who's doing it??

the recipe

I've made tuiles on rare occasions, and, since I'm always up for doing something that isn't in my usual repertoire, I approached this recipe with a light heart and an excitement for a unique version of this crisp cookie.

Tuile is the French word for tile and refers to a light, thin cookie which is usually formed over a rolling pin while warm, giving it a curved, terra-cotta-roof-tile appearance.  It's a great dessert vehicle, particularly as an accompaniment for mousses, ice creams, sorbets or what-have-you.

Most tuile recipes are very straight forward and come together in a flash!  Some use ground nuts and most use egg whites, not yolks or whole eggs.  You refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to bake.  What's not to like?  This one, although not really time consuming, takes a bit of thought before putting it all together.

In a nutshell, it requires making two different caramel sauces (la sauce au caramel and la ganache au caramel) in addition to the pâte à tuiles.  The sauces are then incorporated into the pâte.

A word about caramel sauce: it isn't difficult - it's a matter of cooking sugar (110 gm here) and a little water (3 tablespoons here) to an amber color, removing from the heat and adding cream (in this case 25 ml of milk and 35 ml of cream ) and a bit of butter (10 gm), creating a lovely, smooth concoction that is so good for sooooo many things!  And it keeps for weeks in the fridge.  I always have a batch of caramel sauce on hand (I've been using the recipe from Emily Luchetti's "Star's Desserts" for years and love it!).

les ingredients pour la sauce au caramel

Pay attention!  Wear gloves, particularly when adding the dairy, since there's a lot of bubbling going on - and this stuff is hot, hot, hot!!!

adding the dairy - notice the oven glove!

This caramel sauce recipe led me to contemplate some differences.  While Em's recipe uses a 3:2 ratio of sugar to cream, this one uses 2:1.  The end result was indeed a deeper, richer amber caramel due to the lower amount of cream (you'll see it in an upcoming picture.)

The second caramel recipe was a tad more involved.  It called for 80 gm sugar and 3 tablespoons water cooked to 125º C at which time a scant teaspoon of glucose is added.

The addition of glucose (I substituted honey) at the early stage of sugar boiling is intended to prevent crystallization, but I'm not sure why Philippe uses it here and not in the first caramel.  Artistic license?  Perhaps it's to insure a smooth, silky caramel ganache with the addition of the white chocolate at the end?

les ingredients pour la ganache au caramel

Continue the cooking to a nice amber color, then, off the heat, add 65 ml heavy cream and a noisette de beurre (use your judgement - I used a walnut sized piece).

After a bit of cooling add 45 gm chopped white chocolate and a pinch of fleur de sel and blend til smooth.

Both caramel sauces can be made ahead and refrigerated.  Since I was making the pâte à tuiles the same day, I proceeded once the caramels had cooled a bit.

les ingredients pour la pâte à tuiles

This preparation is trés simple:  melt 180 gm butter; whisk together 4 egg whites, 4 eggs and 35 gm brown sugar; add 90 gm flour and the melted butter; after brisk whisking add in 130 gm sauce de caramel (there was just enough!) and 30 gm ganache au caramel (plenty with leftovers) and blend.

In the above photo note the deep caramel sauce on the right and the lighter ganache au caramel below it.

the finished pâte à tuiles

Place the covered mixture in the fridge for a good hour (I left it over night).

Mince 20 gm crystallized ginger and have some fleur de sel on hand for garnish.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350º.  Philippe calls for parchment lined sheet pans and instructs you to form oval discs, the diameter of which you choose.  The recipe claims a yield of 20 tuiles, but there is no guideline as to how much batter to use per tuile or how thin it should be.

 To get a sense of apportionment I divided the total batter weight by 20 and came up with 40 gm (or about 3/4 of a 1/4 measuring cup).  I had to start somewhere, so I used the 1/4 cup as my ladling device . . .

ginger and fleur de sel garnish, tuile batter

and proceeded to scoop the batter onto the sheet pan.  I must admit I was harboring some skepticism, so I only did three on a 1/4 sheet pan as my initial trial.

I spread them out into ovals and sprinkled some ginger and fleur de sel on top.

ready for the oven

 I wasn't sure how long they would bake, since the recipe gave no hint of baking time.  Now I do understand that principle, since I was always taught that "you bake until it's done", but it is a bit helpful to have a general time frame, ne c'est pas?

This first batch baked for about 15 minutes.  The batter ran together and I had to trim around the edges to neaten up the shapes.  They stuck to the parchment paper and were obviously too thick and underdone.  I did proceed to shape them but knew this was NOT the result I was seeking!

the first try - too thick and soft!

For the next batch I used one of my handled ice cream type scoops to dole out a lesser quantity of batter in hopes of making a thinner, smaller tuile.  This batch baked about 15 minutes, and I even bumped up the oven temp a tad;  the batter again ran, requiring some trimming before they finished baking.  Not a pretty picture.

running batter and weird shapes!

However, I was getting there - even though these also stuck to the paper, they shaped up quite nicely and didn't look too bad in the final analysis . . .

the second batch

Finally the light bulb went on - Silpat!!  Why didn't I think of that sooner??

For my final batch I used even less batter and tried to smooth it out thinly on Silpat lined sheet pans.

ready for the oven

This time they baked about 15 minutes, became nicely browned and peeled off the silicone as easy as pie!

and no running!

Onto the rolling pin they went . . .

At last!  These shaped beautifully, came out nice and crisp and didn't look half bad!!

I used vanilla fleur de sel - see the grains?

And finally - what about the taste??  Steve and I agreed that, even though I used a light hand (or so I thought) with the fleur de sel, there was too much salt - and there should have been more ginger coming through.  They were also very greasy, leaving our fingers with a coating that had to be wiped off.

The texture was crisp and the caramel flavor quite pleasing, but overall a disappointment, particularly considering the steps involved for component prep, and the trials and tribulations of portioning and baking times.

Too bad - here's another one that's going into the "don't do again" file!

If I ever makes tuiles again, I'll go to the many basic recipes available in my baking books or on line and choose a straight forward approach.  Live and learn.

And what did I do with the finished product?  Crushed 'em up, put 'em in the freezer and hope to use the crumbs to create a croustillant (a crunchy layer for desserts generally made with ground toasted nuts (or nut paste), melted chocolate and crushed gavotte crepe cookies.)  Yeah!

Biscuits fondants amande et fruits épicés

After a bit of a hiatus (King Arthur bread class, holidays, travel and all that!) I'm turning back to more of the enticing recipes in Philippe Conticini's book La Pâtisserie des Rêves.  Even though I've discovered a variety of inconsistencies and some errors in the recipes I've made so far, I'm nonetheless eager to continue on.  You know me - always up for a challenge!  Plus I get to work on my French!!

My focus is not to regurgitate the exact recipe but to explain processes and techniques and talk about how the recipe works (or doesn't).  But that doesn't mean I won't throw in some quantities and instructions as I go!

This time I'm focusing on the Biscuits Secs (dry biscuits) section which particularly intrigues me as I develop my afternoon tea menu.  It's not only the recipes in this book and the end results that hold my fascination, but the delicious colors and photos.

A "word" about the word biscuit.  In America we all know this as a flaky, unsweetened, shortcake-y type of "quick bread" made with baking powder, whereas in the UK it is the general term for cookie.  In France it has a couple of meanings - cookie OR sponge cake.  In this case, when referring to cookies sec, we're talking crisp, light goodies, not the soft, chewy, cake-y stuff.  So I expected the Biscuits Secs recipes to be the buttery, crisp sablés types.  

But . . . the first recipe in the section is biscuit fondant, which brings to mind a soft, melting type of cake.  Artistic license, I guess.

I went back to my recipes from Pâtisserie de Base at Le Cordon Bleu and found the petits-fours secs/petits-fours biscuit recipe group, which includes things like tuiles, langues-de-chat (cat's tongues), cigarettes and duchesse (basically the French version of Pepperidge Farm type milano cookies).  Then comes the petits-fours moelleux/ meringue petits-fours group, with macaron, éponges, miroirs and bâtons de maréchaux.  All of these are soft, chewy, spongy types of goodies.  Nothing like a little review, eh?

Anyway . . .  now for the biscuits fondants amande et fruits épicés!

the recipe

One component of this recipe is tagine de fruits, an apple-citrus-raisin compote-like mixture which has to be made ahead - just another example of the importance of planning and doing one's mise en place, no matter how simple or complicated the recipe might be.  So off I went on the day-before preparation.

(Quick side note - I've always found it fascinating that the French include both nuts and dried fruit in the category fruits secs.)

The fussiest part of the recipe is prepping the fruit, and, in reality, it really didn't take long at all.  Once you've peeled, cored and diced apples (2 here) and sectioned citrus (2 oranges and 1 grapefruit here) a bunch of times, it's a breeze.  For this recipe when segmenting the citrus, save all the juice you can from that process.

All the ingredients for the tagine . . . .

I began by making le beurre mousseux et citronné.  Simply put - melt 30 gm butter in a saucepan, add 50 raw sugar and one scraped vanilla bean, then deglaze with 35 ml lemon juice, stirring to homogenize the mixture.

Now add 2 Golden Delicious apples (peeled, cored and diced) . . .

adding the apples

then 65 gm golden raisins and 25 gm whole almonds.

raisins added

 
Cook that mixture about 3 minutes then add 175 gm each of orange (about 2 oranges) and grapefruit (about 1 grapefruit) segments and cook another couple of minutes.  You really can fudge on these quantities - everything gets cooked together and reduced so it doesn't have to be terribly precise.

Now add half of the reserved citrus juices, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, 10 gm minced crystallized ginger, 40 gm raw sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of épices à pain d'épices.

Just a note about that last pinch - this spice is quatre-épices which is a mixture of 4 spices (or sometimes more).  I did a little research and found different formulas, most commonly including white or black pepper, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  Some might contain cinnamon or allspice too.  At any rate, I didn't have quatre-épices on hand, so I used just a pinch each of ginger, black pepper, allspice and nutmeg.  Works for me!

starting the reduction

Now cook the mixture over 20 minutes or so, adding the remaining citrus juice as you go.  The idea is to reduce it until you have a nice compote like mixture.  At the very end add 10 leaves of fresh mint.

c'est fini!

Not all of the compote is needed for the final cake baking step, and it should keep well in the fridge for several days.  So, of course, Steve and I plan to serve it warm with some delicious grilled pork tenderloin - Mmmmm!

Another prep-ahead component in this recipe is some additional (60 gm) golden raisins marinated in 110 ml of rum.  This can sit in the fridge overnight.  Since I am not a rum fan, I substituted about 80 ml of hazelnut liqueur, feeling I didn't need as large a quantity as the recipe called for.

Now it's time for cake baking day!

The ingredients should be at room temp, so I did my mise en place and let things sit while I did a little house cleaning.  Pourquoi pas?!

les ingredients

Here goes nothin'!

Cream 170 gm soft butter; add 140 gm sugar and 60 gm almond flour and beat just to lighten; add 2 eggs and 2 yolks, mixing to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go; add 25 ml of milk and 75 ml of heavy cream and then the marinated raisins with their liquid; finally add 110 gm of sifted flour in 2 additions, just blending until incorporated.

ready to pipe

I baked these in my favorite silicone flexi-mold (Silikomart SF098; bakedeco.com is a good source), a straight sided cylinder mold that yields such a lovely, simple shape.  I use it for financiers all the time too!

Fill the molds about 1/2 full and then top each with a small spoonful of the tagine mixture.

ready for the oven

True to the recipe, it made 20 cakes, although the baking time at 400º was closer to 15-20 minutes in my convection oven, rather than the stated 8-10 minutes.  Another example of paying attention to what's happening in your oven!

just out of the oven

I left them in the molds for 10-15 minutes before popping them out to finish cooling.  They un-molded very easily, no sticking, no muss, no fuss!

looks pretty good

Of course I had to taste one while it was still warm - a very moist, tender, yet dense crumb with a subtlety of spice, and just the right proportion of fruit.  However I was left with a not so pleasant hint of greasy "after-coating" (did I just make that up?) on my lips.  Steve's reaction was "I like your financiers so much better!"  And I wholeheartedly agreed!!

Now I will admit that I've become less and less inclined to bake with raisins over the years, but I at least wanted to give the recipe it's due.  I used to love my mom's Boston brown bread and her sweetened rice with raisins and brown sugar, and I certainly wouldn't refuse them if they were put in front of me now.  But tastes change, and I'd much rather use dried tart cherries, cranberries or even apricots in my baking.

In the final analysis I'm glad I made the compote since we'll enjoy the leftovers with savory foods, but it seems a lot of work simply to add to a handful of small cakes.  Having said that, there is something about creating all the components for your baked goods with your own two hands.  There is that, after all.

I think I'll just stick with financiers and add my choice of fruit and/or confiture.

And there you have it!

Pâte feuilletée inversée and galette des rois

Happy New Year everyone!

Epiphany is upon us, and it's time to make a galette des rois or king's cake, that very popular, scrumptious, almond-and-pastry-cream-filled puff pastry treat.  During the month of January in France most pâtisserie windows are laden with these "cakes" in various sizes, from the individual to the more traditional 9-10" size.  And they even sell them with a lovely golden paper crown!

Some years ago I began my stage in Paris two days before Epiphany, and the crew at Pascal Pinaud's had already assembled and frozen many unbaked galettes (ahhhhh the beauty of the freezer).  I don't recall how many were baked every day, but, suffice it to say, those babies were flying out the door - and it didn't stop for weeks to come.

Traditionally the galette is baked with a fève (literal translation:  broad bean) inside, and the person who gets the slice which holds this "treat" is crowned king for the day.  Over the years the whole fève thing has evolved into a mini industry of small porcelain or ceramic figures that have become collector's items.

A few years back on a Parisian sojourn to Mora (a wonderful pastry supply shop with plenty of cool stuff to get your baking juices flowing) I purchased a set of 12 or so of these ceramic figures - mine were little marionettes.  I still had a couple of them left (along with a miniature olive oil bottle that I had saved from my own galette eating experience) and was looking forward to choosing one for my current project.  Imagine my disappointment when I found them in their storage spot (which I thought was safe!) all broken.  What a bummer.  But, thankfully, I had an intact sphinx that would just have to do.

Since my freezer stash of puff pastry was gone, I was inspired to make a batch of pâte feuilletée inversée or what I call reverse puff pastry.  When I was first introduced to this version in pastry school, I found it non user friendly and wondered why anyone would make it.  Buuuutttt. . . . now I have a completely different view.

A few years ago I tried the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book "Paris Sweets" and, while I found the process a bit frustrating, I loved the result!  It puffs beautifully and has a lovely texture to boot.  I've fined tuned my process to make it easier and have become a true convert to this method for pâte feuilletée.  

So here we go . . .

As is true for classic puff pastry there are two components in this method - the butter part and the dough part - but here the butter portion is on the outside, rather than being enveloped by the dough portion.

The ingredients are simple.  What I'll call dough #1 is 400 gm of butter blended with 175 gm of flour.

The butter should be room temp - beat it with the paddle and then add the flour . . . .

Mix it until clumps form . . . .

Turn it out onto plastic film wrap . . . .

and form a block about 6" in diameter.  I use the plastic to help me form the dough into a square.

What I'll call dough #2 consists of 113 gm butter (melted first, then cooled slightly), 180 ml water,  2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon vinegar and 390 gm flour.

Just a side note about the vinegar - I've seen puff recipes with and without it, so I did a little online review and found that it helps to tenderize the dough and also keeps it from oxidizing or turning gray. It is said to strengthen the gluten, making the dough stretchier and less likely to tear during rolling.

Mix the water, salt and vinegar and set aside.  Blend the melted, cooled butter with the flour to moisten it . . . .

Slowly pour in the water mixture, blending with the paddle on low . . . .

until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl.

Turn it out onto plastic wrap . . .

and form a square about 4-5" in diameter.

Both doughs should be chilled for a couple of hours or even over night if you need that time in your schedule.

Now the two doughs have to be formed into a package, and this is where the process gets a bit sticky (and I mean literally!).

I pull the doughs out of the fridge a good 20-30 minutes ahead so they will be somewhat malleable and easier to roll.  Since dough #1 is primarily butter it's important to work efficiently and with enough flour on your surface to avoid sticking.  I really struggled with this step for awhile, but I finally figured out that if I kept the dough between 2 sheets of film wrap, periodically lifting the film and flouring the dough surface a bit, I could roll to my heart's content.

Once I've rolled dough #1 into a rectangle I place dough #2 on one end to check for sizing.

Then I simply lift the still-plastic-wrapped #1 and fold it over to see if I have enough length to properly encase dough #2.  No butter sticking to the rolling board!

If needed I'll roll #1 a little longer and then unwrap #2, rolling it so it will fit nicely on one half of the outside dough.

 The outer dough is folded over the inner, edges pinched together, and the whole thing is wrapped and chilled for an hour or so before beginning the folds.

The dough is rough around the edges and not at all pretty at this stage, but just wait for the transformation!

After a 30-60 minute chill I roll the dough, still between plastic wrap since the outer butter is still a bit sticky, to a rectangle that is about 3 times long as it is wide. No precise measurements are necessary - just eyeball it.  Remove the top plastic . . . .

and do a "double turn", which I prefer to call a "four fold", since I'm folding the dough ends into the center and then onto themselves, thus creating four layers.

The completed fold . . .

Now chill the dough for another 30-60 minutes.  At this stage I see the beginning transformation from a somewhat marbled, rough, irregularly edged slab into a more uniform, smooth, supple dough.  I ditch the plastic wrap for the next step, since the buttery stickiness has decreased considerably.

Now do another four fold just like the one above . . . .

and wrap and chill the dough for another 30-60 minutes.

Roll the dough into a rectangle. . . .

and now do a "single turn" or what I refer to as a "three fold" since I'm folding the dough into thirds.

By this point the dough has achieved a beautiful light color, an oh-so-smooth feel, is easy to work and is simply lovely!  Oh how I love the feel of cool, smooth dough.

The dough should be chilled again before rolling it out for its final use, or it can be frozen at this point as well.  Many sources suggest that, if you plan to freeze your dough, you complete the two "double turns" or "four folds" but do the final "single turn" or "three fold" once you've thawed the dough and are ready to use it.  I tend to do all the steps and then freeze - works for me!

Whew - now that the dough is finished, let's make a galette des rois!

The rest is pretty simple: two rounds of puff pastry (I use about 175 gm of puff for the bottom and about 250 gm for the top) filled with an almond cream (and a fève of course) and baked to golden perfection.

The filling for a 9"galette is a combination of about 250 gm of crème d'amandes (63 gm soft butter; blend in 63 gm sugar; blend in 63 gm almond flour; blend in 1 egg and a splash of vanilla; blend in 10 gm flour) and about 50 gm of pastry cream (just choose a basic recipe and go for it!).  An option is to add a tablespoon or so of rum or orange liqueur, although I prefer an almond or hazelnut liqueur if I'm going to add one.

You can make your filling a day or so ahead if you wish, then you'll be at the ready when you want to assemble and bake.

I roll out both top and bottom puff using a 9" fluted tart form to gauge the size. I hold the top layer covered in the fridge until I'm ready for it.  Don't cut the dough round yet - that happens AFTER its assembled.

Still using my fluted tart pan as a guide I pipe my almond cream in a nice coil, mounding it in the center and leaving an inch or so around the periphery.

Remove the tart pan, position the fève . . .

and now egg wash the periphery.  Gently place the top layer of puff over the cream and press firmly around the edges to seal.  Then I use my tart pan to cut the scalloped round - push down firmly and gently pull away the edges.  All right - scraps!

Lift off the tart pan, make a nice flat edge around the dome of cream and poke a little steam hole in the center.

Brush some egg wash over the surface and score decorative lines, kind of like a pinwheel, on the domed part.  Then do some linear slashes in the opposite direction along the flat edge.  I also add a little button of puff on the steam vent.

Whenever I bake anything with puff pastry, I pop the assembled goods in the freezer for 10 minutes or so before baking to stabilize the butter/dough layers.  The contrast between the cold galette and the hot oven increases the steam produced by the moisture in the butter, thereby causing the puff to puff.  Yeah!

I heat my convection oven to 450º, give the galette 5 minutes at that temp and then reduce to 425º.  After another 10-15 minutes, as I observe the baking process, I often slowly ratchet down the oven temp toward 350º over the total 30-40 minute baking time to achieve a nicely browned and fully baked end result.

We were heading to brother Dick and sister-in-law Dorothy's for supper, also joined by brother-in-law Carl.  The galette was destined for dessert so to cap off the flaky, buttery, almond-creamy goodness, I added some lightly sweetened whipped cream, Cara-cara orange segments (love that pinkish-orange color), a drizzle of caramel and some toasted, sliced almonds.  Yes indeed!

None of the five of us had the honor of being king for the day since the fève was still hidden, but the leftovers were destined for breakfast the next morning. Who was the lucky one - Dick, Dor or Carl??

Until next year!