Lemon, lemon, lemon!

NOTE: I’ve updated the recipe as of 11/13/22.

While visiting my mom in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently I simply had to do a little baking.  Why of course!  What could be more natural?

I've had lemon on the brain, finding these days of ongoing winter, with some early (dare I say it?) hints of spring, so conducive to the fresh, bright taste of lemon.  I wanted to make lemon scones for sure.  Mom just LOVED them when I made them over our Christmas visit, and, in addition to serving them for a couple of family luncheons, I wanted to bake up a stash for her freezer.

This recipe for lemon cream scones is the one I made all summer long back in 2007 at Gerrish's cafe in Winter Harbor, Maine.  Full of lemon zest, cream and butter, they were a big hit with the locals and tourists.

Making them by hand is the key. Whisk the dry ingredients (320 gm/2.5 cups flour, 50 gm/3 TBSP + 1 teaspoon sugar, 12 gm/1 TBSP baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and zest of 3 medium or 2 large lemons) and sand in the diced, cold butter (140 gm/5 oz/10 tablespoons).

Then add the wet ingredients (220 ml / one cup minus 4 teaspoons heavy cream, 1 large egg + 1 large yolk, 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice, 1.5 teaspoons vanilla and mix quickly and gently to achieve a shaggy dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface, give the batter a few quick kneads, shape a one inch thick round about 8” in diameter and cut into 8 or 12 wedges, depending on your size preference (I prefer smaller portions). For more petite scones form the dough into a 5”x10” rectangle, divide into eight ~2.5” squares then cut each square into two triangles.

Once I have them on the parchment lined baking sheet, I pop them into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to stabilize the dough before baking.

Brush with a little cream (or egg wash) and sprinkle with sugar. . . .

then bake at 400º for about 20 minutes.

When ready to serve for brunch or lunch, just place them in a cloth lined basket and they're ready for the table!

For a luncheon dessert I had in mind a lemon custard of some sort.  The whole custard discussion is a topic unto itself - stove top vs. oven; milk or cream; yolks, whole eggs or a combination of both; starch or not - it goes on and on.

I decided on a straight forward stovetop lemon custard, à la crème pâtissiére, with milk, egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, sugar and cornstarch.  It's a practical do-ahead preparation, especially since it holds well in the fridge up to 2-3 days.

A little side note here:  when I'm working in someone else's kitchen and don't have the tools that I normally have at my disposal, it can take some improvising.  Lo and behold, I discovered a new way to juice a lemon using a beater from a Kitchenaid hand mixer . . . .

Just halve the lemon and twist the beater into the half to release the juice - not bad!!

The custards came out silky smooth, not too heavy or eggy and with just the right burst of lemon. Topped with a little chantilly and fresh raspberries - what could be better?  Perhaps a moist little financier?

Yes!!

A chocolate génoise entremet

When we're invited to someone's home for a weekend supper, I always (almost) volunteer to make dessert. Thus it was that I was on the hook again to provide something tasty and not too heavy for the meal's finale.

My dessert leanings tend to veer towards a simple tarte (classic apple, fruit/almond, lemon, caramel nut, ganache to name a few) or something custardy like pots de crème, perhaps served with some buttery shortbread. But, every now and then, I like to create a layered entremet.

The word entremet is actually translated as "between servings" and can refer to a small dish served between courses or to a dessert. In the modern pastry world it most often refers to a layered dessert made with some type of cake along with various creamy, crunchy textural components. The possibilities are pretty much limitless - just look in any French pâtisserie window and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

Since Steve and my brother Dick are both chocolate lovers (truth be told Dor and I don't mind the stuff either), I focused on a chocolate plan. I had it in the back of my brain to utilize the leftover "duja" (a mixture of chocolate and ground hazelnuts) that I had made for the sablés au praliné post on 1/25/15, so I popped it out of the freezer and into the fridge for an overnight thaw.

Whenever I have a cake question or need ideas for the type of cake I might like to make, I turn to Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible. The information in this book is exhaustive - just in the section on génoise alone, you'll find many variants with detailed explanations about the differences.

Génoise belongs to the sponge cake family and is typically made with eggs, sugar and flour. It tends to be on the dry side and thus is imbibed with a syrup to moisten it before being layered with cream or mousse of some sort.

I chose the "moist chocolate génoise", a recipe I've made several times before. It calls for bittersweet chocolate, so I got out my favorite array of chocolates.  I like to mix and match, combining different percentage chocolates to achieve about a 60-62% result.

This recipe utilizes an interesting technique with the chocolate (described below) - Rose says this releases the chocolate's flavor.

The ingredient portions here are for 1/2 recipe since I only wanted to make one cake (the full recipe makes two 9" cakes). In the picture below you see the chocolate mixture in the forefront, made by pouring 120 gm (1/2 cup) boiling water over 113 gm chocolate, then simmering it until it achieves a pudding like consistency. It has fully cooled and is ready to go!

Remember - this is 1/2 recipe!  Beat 4 eggs and 100 gm sugar in the mixer using the whisk on high speed until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.

Amazing how eggs and sugar transform from a yellow, grainy mixture to a light, pale and airy froth of goodness!

Sift 75 gm of cake flour over the mixture and fold it in gently. The flour has a tendency to fall to the bottom, so pay attention so you don't have lingering clumps of flour in your batter. Then fold in the chocolate mixture until incorporated.

Pour the batter into a 9" cake or springform pan that has been lined with parchment then buttered and floured.

Bake at 350º for about 30-35 minutes. I use the touch-the-center technique to decide if the cake is done - it should feel firm, set and spongy (get it? Sponge cake!). I also gently jiggle the pan, and if there's movement in the center, it needs more time.

Loosen and remove the outer ring of the springform (if that's what you've used) and let cool on a wire rack.

Then invert the cake onto a rack, remove the pan bottom and re-invert.  Once cooled you can wrap it and hold it at room temp or in the fridge for a couple of days OR freeze it for a month or so.

Earlier in the day I had made my go-to ganache-for-whipping using 3 parts heavy cream to 1 part dark chocolate (240 gm cream and 80 gm chocolate in this case). Once the mixture is chilled it is whipped to a spreadable consistency and ready for layering.

I also created a thin round with the chocolate/hazelnut ("duja") mixture by softening it over a bain marie along with a tablespoon or so of butter, then spreading it in a 220 mm circle on silpat. Into the freezer it went until assembly time.

Now it's time for assembly. My components, seen below, are the genoise (split in two layers), vanilla simple syrup, the "duja" round, whipped chocolate ganache, plus a mixture of hazelnut nougatine and chocolate crumbs that I had in my freezer from previous projects.

First a layer of genoise; brush it with simple syrup; top it with the round of "duja".

My thin round is a tad too big, so I took my kitchen scissors and trimmed around the edge.

Then I spread a layer of whipped ganache . . .

topped it with my crunchy mixture . . .

then my second cake layer topped with more ganache and crunchies.

Looking good!

The assembly can be completed a day before serving - just store the entremet covered in the fridge.

One can take this a step further and coat the sides with additional whipped ganache and crunchies, but I decided to leave it au naturel. Nothin' fancy here.

Now slice it up and enjoy!

The consensus was all thumbs up on this lovely blend of chocolate and hazelnut, not too heavy and not too sweet - just delicious!

OK, so I admit I didn't go the extra mile as far as any garnish for this dessert, but some great accompaniments would be a dollop of chantilly, some chopped candied hazelnuts and a flourish of candied orange rind.

Or how about a nice pool of apricot coulis and a drizzle of caramel? Or a dose of warm créme anglaise and some fresh raspberries?

You get the idea. Now get into that kitchen of yours and create your own entremet!

A little Valentine's treat

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Here's a quick look at two of my favorite shortbread flavors, baked, boxed up and ready for that special someone.

salted caramel

chocolate

tucked into the box

ready to be closed up

sweets for the sweet!

And the icing on the cake -  beautiful flowers from my valentine.

Enjoy your weekend and think spring!

Craquelins - a Belgian brioche treat from Thomas Keller

I've been salivating over Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery book that's been sitting on my pastry library bookshelf for several months now.  Thus far I've made a few of the shortbread recipes and have read through a good deal of the book, soaking in the advice and tips from Sebastien Rouxel, the head patissier.  His way of presenting things is right up my alley and is so in line with how I've come to view my own approach to pastry and the French way of doing things.

His energy, passion and attention to detail come through loud and clear, especially on the heels of my ever growing disillusionment with Philippe Conticini's La Pâtisserie des Rêves book, it's imprecision and sloppy editing.

The craquelins recipe was calling my name, and, as usual, I did some research on this enriched dough treat.  It is classically a Belgian specialty made by mixing citrus zest and sugar cubes into brioche dough.  Lemon is most commonly used, but some versions use orange and add some orange liqueur as well.

The method that is described in a number or recipes involves mixing sugar cubes into brioche dough and then covering and enclosing the shaped dough balls with a smaller disc of brioche dough.  This apparently acts as a seal to keep the sugar cubes from popping through during baking.

Bouchon's version calls for candied orange rind, orange zest and orange liqueur, and I figured I'd follow their lead on this one.

First I made my candied orange rind, which can be done ahead and kept in the fridge for several weeks.  It's a straightforward process with the fussiest part being the separating of the rind from as much of the white pith as possible.

I typically slice the rind off the orange, then remove any remaining pith before cutting the rind into narrow strips.

Make a simple syrup and set it aside.  Place the rind in cold water in a separate sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then strain it.  Do that two more times (this helps reduce the bitterness of the rind),

boiling the rind

then place the rind into the simple syrup and simmer until translucent (that might take 20-30 minutes).

the candied rind

Let the rind cool to room temp before refrigerating it in its syrup until you're ready to use it.

Time to make the brioche!  Every time I make this enriched dough I am amazed at the transformation that occurs.  What begins as a somewhat dry, firm dough develops into a satiny, shiny, buttery mass of goodness.  Whoa baby!

This recipe has a starter made with 60 gm whole milk, 8 gm instant yeast and 90 gm all purpose flour.  It's dry and not terribly attractive.

Mix it, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour.

starter

Meanwhile, get the orange rind mixture ready:  finely chop the candied orange rind, mix with orange zest and liqueur.  The recipe calls for 150 gm candied rind, 15 gm orange zest and 1.5 tsp orange liqueur.  I used 80 gm rind, 10 gm zest and 1.5 tsp hazelnut liqueur, since that's what I had on hand.

Proceed with the mise en place for the remaining dough.

all the ingredients

Place 390 gm all purpose flour, 52 gm granulated sugar and 12 gm kosher salt (see side note below) in the mixer bowl.  Give it a quick whisk, then mix in the starter dough and blend for 30 seconds or so.

Side note:  in the book 12 gm of kosher salt is equated to 4 teaspoons; however my 12 gm was closer to 2-2.5 tsp; remember - not all kosher salts are created equal!!  And that, folks, is just one example of why weighing trumps measuring!

Add 225 gm eggs in three additions,

starting to add the egg

. . .  then mix on low speed for 15 minutes to develop the gluten.

The dough at this point feels kind of tough and not at all satiny smooth.

Start adding the butter, several pieces at a time, incorporating each addition before adding more.

Once all the butter is added, mix for a couple more minutes . . .

and voila!  What a beautiful piece of dough!!

At this point it's time to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape a rough rectangle, onto which you place the orange rind/zest mixture.

Knead the orange mixture into the dough and then pat into a rectangle again.

Do a fold-over of the dough, side to side . . .

then top to bottom . . .

then flip it over, form a ball and place in an oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temp for an hour.

Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, pat it into a rectangle and repeat the side-to-side/top-to-bottom stretching and folding process.  Place the dough, seam side down, in the bowl, cover and refrigerate over night.

Here's the dough after its overnight chill . . .

ready for shaping

Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured work surface, shape it into a rough log . . .

getting ready to divide

and divide it into 12 approximately 100 gm portions.  Have 12 sugar cubes at the ready.

all weighed out

Now form each portion into a ball . . .

then push one sugar cube into the bottom of each.

Turn them back over and re-roll to push the sugar cube more centrally into the dough.


Now place them in lightly oiled paper baking molds on a sheet pan and brush with egg wash.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let proof for 1.5 to 2 hours.  I turn the proofing setting in my oven on at 85º for just a few minutes and then turn it off.  It makes for a nice proofing environment (I think about 75º is ideal).  Of course, if it's summer and your kitchen is nice and warm, just proof at room temp!

With brioche it can be difficult to appreciate a dramatic rise due to the quantity of butter which tends to weigh the dough down.  However I think you can see in the photo below that the dough has indeed filled out in the baking cups compared to the photo above.

After proofing brush again with egg wash and sprinkle each with pearl sugar.

ready for the oven

Bake at 325º convection for about 20-25 minutes - and don't forget to watch what's happening in that oven!

c'est fini!

 These rose beautifully and baked to a lovely golden color - and the aroma - oh la la!

like little moonlit nuggets

Once they had cooled I simply had to try one.  I didn't feel too guilty since I'd already had my morning oatmeal and berries - and it was lunch time, after all.

The crumb is moist and soft, the crunchy sugar a treat like none other and the orange rind and zest adds the perfect note.  I can't wait to try these with lemon.

And, of course, Steve liked them too.

Yes indeed!  Thanks Bouchon Bakery!!

Playing in the kitchen on a snowy day

A few days ago, during a bout of scattered snow showers, I was in the mood to play a bit in the kitchen.  First I wanted to try my hand at using puff pastry scraps from my freezer as though they were pristine pâte feuilletée (i.e. never been used), and, second, I had some unopened tahini that was dying to be put to use!

First up - the puff pastry project was to test how well puff scraps might actually puff on their second go around.  Up until now, when working with puff pastry or teaching classes on the topic, I've always followed (and given) the advice that one should use the scraps only for things in which you don't desire or need much of a puff factor.  Some good examples are cheese straws, palmiers, tart, flan or quiche crusts and even millefeuille, in which pâte feuilletée is one of the main components.

Chausson aux pommes is one of my favorite apple pastries to make, and since I had a couple of Granny Smith apples in the fridge, chausson was my choice for this test.  I love how the tartness of the apples marries so well with the buttery pastry.

I peel, core and dice the apples and sauté them in butter and vanilla sugar.  This time I also added some of my homemade caramel sauce, hoping to have a richer end product.

sauté under way

pretty nicely caramelized

I divided up my puff scraps and rolled each out into a rough circle.  After a short rest I cut rounds

which were then rolled out into ovals and topped with apples and an extra drizzle of caramel.

After egg washing the lower edge I close them up, press the edges to seal, egg wash and score the surface and sprinkle 'em with vanilla sugar.  Heat the oven to 450 and, meanwhile, pop the unbaked chaussons in the freezer to firm them up and stabilize the dough before they go into the hot oven.

ready to bake

I usually bake these for about 20-25 minutes, watching what's going on in the oven and ratcheting the temp down as I go to achieve a nicely browned surface and a fully baked interior.

And YES, they puffed!!

Now I will admit that some of my edge seals left a bit to be desired and some of the innards leaked out, but these guys were mighty tasty.  Just ask Steve.

The moral of the story - yes, puff scraps will rise again!

Next came the tahini challenge.  I had shortbread on the brain as a follow up to a tahini shortbread recipe I had tried several years ago.  That one was from Maura Kilpatrick, the pastry chef at Sofra Bakery in Cambridge.  I enjoyed the taste but wasn't quite sure how I felt about the texture - kind of like a PB cookie, but more of a stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth yet crumbly number.  It definitely had possibilities, and I wanted to give tahini another go.

After some online research I decided on "Chocolate Tahini Sablés", a recipe I found on the site "one hundred eggs".  I've developed a taste for coriander and wondered how that might fit into the flavor profile.

Off I went to my trusty "Flavor Bible", a book that was strongly recommended to me by my former chef at Gracie's, Joe Hafner.  One can find almost any ingredient accompanied by a list of all of the things that might go well with it.  I was surprised that "tahini paste", as such, was not included in the book, but, upon checking out sesame seeds, I found that coriander was indeed one of the possibilities.  Hmmmm, now there's an idea.

the sesame seed (white) list

Interestingly, this recipe calls for a hard boiled egg yolk, which brought back memories of making Italian canestrelli cookies while in school in Florence.  It seems that the "hard boiled egg" type of cookie is common in Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Italy (and probably many others).  The yolk contributes to the light, crumbly nature of this class of sablés.

First I boiled a couple of eggs (so I would have plenty to make myself an egg salad sandwich for lunch!), cooled them down in ice water and extracted one of the yolks for the recipe.

I assembled my ingredients, replacing a teaspoon of instant espresso powder with ground espresso, adding 1/2 teaspoon of coriander to the mix, and planning a mini-chocolate-chip stir-in at the end.

Here goes:  In a separate bowl whisk together 195 gm flour, 28 gm cocoa powder (I prefer Dutch process), 1 teaspoon of ground espresso and about 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander.

dry ingredients

Push the egg yolk through a fine strainer, then add 140 gm room temperature butter, 140 gm well stirred tahini (see side note below), 42 gm granulated sugar, 42 gm brown sugar (I used dark) and 1 teaspoon of salt.

pouring the tahini in

Blend all these in a mixer and cream for about 4 minutes till lightened and smooth.

nicely creamed

Side note - the online recipe calls for one cup/5 oz of tahini; I found that when weighing the 5 oz or 140 gm, it was actually closer to 2/3 cup.

Add the flour/cocoa mixture and blend just until combined.

Stir in 100 gm mini chocolate chips  . . .

ready to shape

and divide dough into 4.

Another side note:  I prefer to work with smaller amounts of dough when shaping logs, so, whereas the online recipe suggests dividing the dough in two, I divided it in 4.

logs ready for the fridge

I shaped 2 square, 1 triangle and 1 round.

This dough is soft, so it's important that it has a proper chill after forming the logs, before slicing and baking.

I like to bake my shortbread "low and slow" so I heated the oven to 300º, coated my shortbread log in raw sugar, sliced 1/4 inch slices and popped them in the freezer before baking.

ready for the oven

I baked them approximately 20-25 minutes until set and looking dry.

Boy oh boy, are these crumbly with a lovely, melt-in-your-mouth texture.  And the espresso and saltiness comes through very nicely.  Whether the presence of coriander is detectable is unclear, but the overall flavor is definitely a thumbs up!

Since I'm known to crave shortbread with my morning cappuccino or my afternoon tea, I popped these chocolate tahini sablés into the fridge with some salted caramel that I had baked the other day.

I'm set.

yes sirree!