Spring catch up

We’ve had a cool spring so far but of late the crabapple trees have been giving us quite a show. Above is an example of what I’ve been seeing on my daily walks - a much appreciated and welcome splash of color to brighten our otherwise homebound lives.

Walking is my musing time (according to Merriam Webster, muse can be used as an intransitive verb meaning : to become absorbed in thought, especially : to think about something carefully and thoroughly), a way for me to try and make sense of what’s going on, dreaming of visiting family, traveling long distance or once again being in front of an eager group of pastry students.

Through it all baking continues to be my companion (in addition to Steve of course), whether it’s reading one of my favorite pastry books or physically working in the kitchen enjoying the rhythm of mise en place, preparation or the enjoyment of the final result, no matter if it’s for our larder or to share with others.

Here are just a few things that have come out of the kitchen in recent weeks.

Sesame sticks for personal snacking!

Caramel drizzled cinnamon star for Mother’s Day sharing

Baguette ooh la la - more on this one coming up!

Petite gateaux au citron

Graham crackers for snacking or crushing into crumbs.

The project ideas continue to churn. What next, eh?

Meanwhile be reasonable, stay safe and take care of yourselves and those you love.

Happy Spring!!

Couronne aux amandes et aux noisettes . . . . and more!

During our weeks of staying home and sheltering in place I’ve been doing a variety of baking projects with an eye toward using ingredients I have on hand (hmmmm . . . this is starting to sound old). That also includes croissant dough sitting in my freezer waiting for just the right moment.

Wouldn’t you know I had two batches of said dough that were nearing their “use by” date - I don’t like unbaked yeasted dough to sit for longer than 6 weeks in the freezer since after that the yeast starts dumbing down and the dough doesn’t rise well at all. Trust me - I know.

Time to create! Get ready for it!

I decided to make four different pastries: a bit more than half of one batch for a couronne (can be translated as crown or wreath), the remainder of that batch for petite pain au chocolat, another half batch for apricot twists and the final half batch for what I refer to as cherry cream cheese “flip throughs”. Oh boy!

First up is the hazelnut and almond couronne which is shaped in a pretty cool way. A good rule of thumb when rolling this type of dough, no matter what you’re going to shape, is to aim for a finished piece of dough that’s about 1/4” thick. If you start getting much thinner than that, you’ll lose some of the discrimination of your layers and won’t have as lovely of a laminated finish.

I rolled ~680 g of croissant dough into a 8”x14” rectangle. I had my hazelnut filling ready to go - very much like remonce (which I wrote about in the recent Danish Kringle post), it combines equal weights of almond paste (I’m loving Mandelin premium), sugar and butter followed by the addition of three times that weight in toasted, finely ground hazelnuts - e.g I used 100 g EACH of almond paste, sugar and butter plus 300 g toasted, ground hazelnuts. Cinnamon or other spices can also be added.

My couronne required 340 g of filling so I had leftovers which I wrapped and froze for another day.

Spread the filling over the dough and roll it up into a log.

Once rolled, cut slits about 1 inch apart along one side, not quite all the way through.

Then form the log into a circle, joining the ends. Twist each sliced portion outward so you see the filling.

Brush lightly with egg wash and let rise about 1.5 hours. Toward the end of the rising time heat the oven to 350ºF.

Do a second egg wash and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake about 45 minutes until golden brown. I always check about half way through and rotate my tray to promote even baking.

I decided to gussy it up a bit by making a simple orange scented glaze with some orange zest, confectioner’s sugar and fresh orange juice and drizzled it all over.

Once cooled I sliced a section for testing and loved it! I’m a big fan of hazelnut and orange anyway, so this definitely did the trick. And the almond/hazelnut combo took it up a notch too. A big thumbs up!

The petite pain au chocolat portion of the program was straight forward, a process I’ve done many times. A simple image will do this time around. Hmmm . . . . I’m getting low on chocolate batons.

Next up - apricot twists. Using a half batch of croissant dough, I rolled it out to 12”x 14” rectangle with the long side facing me, parallel to my work surface. Brush the dough with melted butter then sprinkle on about 1.5 tablespoons of vanilla sugar (cinnamon sugar if you like). Roll lightly with a rolling pin to help the sugar stick.

Fold the dough in half from one side so that you end up with a 12”x7” piece. Roll the dough to seal it and slightly stretch it.

Now cut seven strips, each 1” wide.

Holding each strip at the ends, stretch it as you twist it several times then coil it up into a spiral.

Place on a parchment lined sheet pan, brush lightly with egg wash and let rise about an hour.

I often use my cold oven as a proof box, placing a pan of warm water on the bottom shelf. However, if my oven is in use, I tuck my tray in a safe spot, place a small glass of warm water on the tray and cover with an overturned clear tote bin to provide moisture and a hint of warmth.

Once risen - they should look more pouf-y and the laminations appear more prominent. Brush again with egg wash, push down at a couple of central spots with your little finger tip or the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick and do your best to direct some apricot jam in there. Don’t fuss over it - just go for it. I added a sprinkle of vanilla sugar too.

Bake at 375ºF for about 17-18 minutes until golden.

To bring up the rear, last but not least are my “flip-throughs”. Once again using a half batch of croissant dough, I roll it out to ~8” by 13.5” and cut 12 pieces, each 4” by 2.25”. Each rectangle gets a slit down the center leaving the ends intact. I consider these my medium size - you can make them smaller or larger - just cut any size rectangle you’d like!

Now take one short end, roll it downward then bring it up through the slit, essentially flipping it through to the top as the sides naturally twist. Looks kinda like a bowtie - just straighten the rectangle a bit and they’re ready to rise. The first time I did this way back when, I found it helpful to cut a piece of paper or felt and practice - you can visualize it immediately.

Place on a parchment lined sheet, lightly egg wash and let rise about an hour. Egg wash again and top with your chosen filling - lemon curd, almond cream and jam are just some of the possibilities.

One of my favorite ways to finish these off is with a basic cream cheese filling made by blending 227 g / 8 ounces cream cheese with 57 g / 1/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, some lemon and/or orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; beat on medium with the paddle until light and smooth; blend in 2 large egg yolks until fully incorporated. This made plenty for my purpose here but you can certainly double the recipe if you’re doing a larger batch of pastries.

NOTE: After the rise the center should fill in but sometimes there’s still a gap between the twisted sides. Just blob your filling/jam more along the edges if need be, otherwise just dollop a blob along the center and top with jam of choice - in this case cherry.. Once they bake it all blends in.

Bake at 375ºF about 17-20 minutes until golden and the filling is set.

Planning for properly timed rises and taking turns in the oven for each type of pastry made for a busy baking day and resulted in a wonderful assortment of goodies that I ended up divvying up amongst a number of our neighbors. A great way to use croissant dough that would have soon been over-the-hill after too long a stay in the freezer.

The neighbors were most happy!

Have fun, stay safe and keep on keepin’ on folks.

Swedish sand cake (sandkaka) - apple pecan version

This one’s an eye opener folks. As I continue to work toward using up some less frequently needed ingredients I have on hand, potato flour is one that prompted further investigation. I originally bought it with an eye to making potato dinner rolls (which I did!), but of course I had some left. Sooooo . . . . . now what?

I did some online research and found this Swedish sandkaka recipe compliments of Jennifer Rao and Around the World in 80 Cakes. It also happens to be gluten free for those who are interested in that sort of thing.

I realize my flavor profile speaks more of autumn than the bursting out of spring but wouldn’t you know I had some sliced apples in the freezer left over from a mid-winter apple tart project? Vermont boiled cider and rum also remain at the ready, a combo I’m becoming very fond of.

Typically baked in a standard loaf pan, I opted to use my 4-well mini loaf pan (buttered) for a more petite cake offering. After a bit of calculation I figured the batter would fill 4 minis with some left for a 4” round panettone paper mold (no buttering needed here!).

Planning ahead: as you prep for this one, you want your eggs and butter at room temperature. I’m adding a mix of warming spices too so I shelled about 15 green cardamom pods then lightly toasted and finely ground the cardamom seed. It’s all about being ready, right?

I also diced my thawed apple slices ( I had the equivalent of about a medium apple’s worth) and sautéed them in a bit of butter and sugar then added a tablespoon each of rum and boiled cider until reduced and the apples were golden and caramel-y; set aside until ready. I toasted up ~80 g pecans, then cooled and coarsely chopped them.

Heat your oven to 350ºF.

For the batter: sift 173 g / 1 cup potato flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder into a medium bowl. Add 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander, scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. I also threw in a large pinch of vanilla powder just because I could.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle cream 227 g / 8 ounces unsalted butter with 150 g / 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 50 g / 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat on medium high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add eggs one at a time on low, blending about 30 seconds after each and scraping down. Then add the potato flour/spice mixture in thirds alternating with a mix of 2 tablespoons rum/2 tablespoons boiled cider. Scrape sides and blend well as you go.

Have the pecans and sautéed apples at the ready.

For my purposes I divided the batter amongst the 4 mini-loaf pans and the panettone mold but feel free to use a standard loaf pan if that’s what you have available.

Top with apples . . . . . .

and finish off with chopped pecans and a sprinkling of raw sugar.

I put the pans and paper mold together on a sheet pan - easier to grab when rotating or pulling them out of the oven. Bake about 20-25 minutes until the edges are nicely browned and a tester in the center comes out clean. (Note: if you are using a standard loaf pan, baking time is 40-45 minutes).

Let cool 10-15 minutes then gently nudge out of the pans with a small offset spatula and finish cooling on a wire rack. Although a bit crumbly around the edges, they came out pretty well after all.

This is good cake! It’s really hard to describe but it IS like sand believe it or not. I’m not saying that I eat sand but the texture of this brings that very thing to mind. Weirdly so, it’s dry yet moist and the flavor, along with the apples, nuts, spices and boiled cider tang, is delectable in my book. How about serving it up with your favorite vanilla or butter pecan ice cream? Yeah baby, why not!

Actually I enjoyed a small slice with my morning coffee for several mornings in a row (gotta have a little treat every now and then) and found that the cake held up well in a covered container for a few days.

Now you know - don’t hesitate to go for this gluten free Swedish treat (no apples and pecans necessary) when you have potato flour at the ready. Mmmm good.

Keep up the good work on the home front and stay safe!