Apple Galette des Rois

January 6 marks Epiphany or Three Kings Day in the Christian faith, when the three wise men visited the baby Jesus after he was born.  In honor of the occasion many countries in Europe celebrate with a King's Cake.  In France it's known as galette des rois, traditionally made with puff pastry and an almond frangipane filling.  This year to mix things up a bit I made an Apple Galette des Rois.

The inspiration for this variation came from a chausson aux pommes, a French apple turnover found in any boulangerie.   I made a very simple  compote filling using my favorite apple variety, honeycrisp.  The galette came together in no time at all since I used store bought puff pastry to encase the apple filling.   Not one to forget the all-important fève or charm, I hid a walnut half in the cake.   

One bite of the compote filling and crisp puff pastry and I am now fully converted to the apple galette des rois.

Goose Feet Cookies

 

Baking has always been a place of solace and comfort for me. I often joke that it's cheaper than seeing a therapist, but it's really true!  During those times where I need to find a sense of calm and peace baking is what I inevitably end up doing.  Dorie Greenspan recently posted a recipe for Goose Feet Cookies, a cookie with Russian-Ukranian origins.  Given the tragedy that's currently unfolding in Eastern Europe right now I felt especially compelled to make these.    

 

 

I'd never heard of goose feet cookies before but I'm so glad I know of them now because they are incredibly delicious.  Even better, they are the simplest cookies to make by hand.   The one ingredient that you may have to do some searching for is farmer's cheese, a fresh curd cheese.  Luckily I live close to a Russian market and had no trouble procuring some, but if it's not so easy for you try using drained cottage cheese.

The dough reminded me of pie crust and was very easy to work with.  To get the super flaky, buttery and crispy layers I highly recommend rolling out the dough as thinly as possible, and I mean VERY thin!  The only sugar in the cookie is what is used to coat the dough rounds.  

I'm not joking when I say I easily polished off a dozen of the cookies in one sitting.   They are so moreish that you can't stop yourself from eating just one or two.  

Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

It was love at first bite when I tasted the famous Pastéis de Nata in Lisbon a few years ago. The combination of creamy, rich custard and crispy, flaky crust was too good to pass up.   I don't think I let a day go by during my stay in Portugal when I didn't indulge in those delicious pastries.

As a souvenir from my trips I brought back a few dozen pastel de nata tins with every intention of creating them at home.   Who would have known that two years later and I only managed one attempt at making the tarts.  Much to my disappointment the results I got were less than stellar, honestly they were crap, so I basically gave up.   I just couldn't seem to find a recipe that worked for the home kitchen.  That is, until now! 

The authentic recipe I had been looking for came by way of Jeremiah Duartes Bills, a Portuguese-American baker I follow on Instagram.  He was offering an online pastéis de nata class and I signed up immediately.  The format was a three hour virtual Zoom class where the students would bake alongside Jeremiah.  Although there were more than thirty five students the class still felt quite intimate and Jeremiah was a great instructor who answered our questions and proffered baking tips.  Three hours went by in a flash.

 
The recipe he used for the class was based on one he was taught in a pastel de nata workshop.  By the looks of my tarts and those of my fellow students I can happily report that his recipe really worked.  I couldn't believe how well they turned out, almost as if I was transported back to pastelharia Manteigaria in Chiado.  I sent pictures of my pastéis to a Portuguese colleague and even he said they looked like the real thing.  If that's not a seal of approval I don't know what is.   If you love pastéis de nata as much as I do I highly recommend you give this recipe a try and also take Jeremiah's class.  Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Special obrigada to Jeremiah for the fantastic class and also giving me permission to share his pastéis de nata  recipe on my blog.  I hope he'll be offering more classes on Portuguese baking because I'll be one of the first to sign up.  Also, be on the lookout for his upcoming cookbook, "The Baking of Portugal."

Galette des Rois (King's Cake)

Since it's Mardi Gras tomorrow I thought I'd post about the Galette des Rois (King's Cake) that I made a while ago.  Full disclosure: I had intended to make the cake at the beginning of January, just in time for Epiphany, but laziness got the better of me.  Luckily the cake is equally appropriate for Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent.  

My first introduction to galette des rois was in Dijon during my junior year study abroad.  I had moved over to France right at the beginning of January and all the bakeries were selling these frangipane filled puff pastry cakes.  I learned at school there was a fève, a figurine or trinket, buried inside each cake and whomever found it was crowned king or queen for the day.  

For my cake I used some homemade puff pastry and the filling came from David Lebovitz.  Most people don't have the time or inclination to make the laminated pastry from scratch, neither do I normally, so feel free to use the store-bought kind.   Be a little stingy when filling the cake with frangipane because you may end up with a bit of an explosion like I had!  In honor of the Lunar New Year I used a tiny ceramic horse to put inside. 

Morning Buns

When it comes to baking you could say I've been around the block a few times, several laps in fact.  With decades of experience you'd think I had the right to be so arrogant.   Hardly!   It's the things I don't know that are humbling and continue to keep me coming back for more.   There's nothing better than discovering something I've never heard of or made before.

That was the case when I saw this recipe for Morning Buns on an episode of Cook's Country.   Perhaps sub-consciously I was familiar with them, but they never registered before.  Learning that they were a hybrid of a croissant and cinnamon roll definitely brought them top of mind.  

In place of laminated dough this recipe uses quick puff pastry, definitely a lot easier to make yet still achieving flaky layers.   There is some advanced preparation required but it's mainly from chilling the rolled and cut dough in the fridge.  

The buns were very easy to make by hand and baked up quite nicely.  To be honest though, quick puff pastry is not my favorite.  While the buns were buttery and flaky I still prefer a traditional croissant dough.  So the next time I make my favorite croissant dough I'll save a portion of the dough to make morning buns. 

Parmesan, Cayenne and Poppy Seed Cheese Straws

These cheese straws are a super quick, easy and delicious appetizer to serve at your next cocktail or dinner party.  It just takes a few ingredients: puff pastry (homemade or store-bought), parmesan cheese, poppy seeds and a dash of cayenne pepper.  Cut in to long strips, twist and then bake in a hot oven.   Buttery, savory and with just a kick of spice, they are perfect accompanied with a glass of bubbly!

Bánh Patê Sô

Growing up I was never much a fan of Vietnamese desserts.  Most were either too sickly sweet or the textures weren't to my liking.  [Xin lỗi to the relatives I may have offended!]   But when it comes  to Vietnamese savories I go crazy for them.

One of my absolute favorites is Bánh Patê Sô, a pork-filled puff pastry.  Their influence is definitely French and the name is actually a play on pâté chaud or "hot pastry."  My mom typically saved these treats for special occasions or when she had Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry on hand.   In Vietnam they're normally eaten for breakfast but I like to enjoy them any time of day. 

I took it as a sign that I should make these for myself when I had some leftover egg roll filling and quickest puff pastry dough sitting in my freezer.   I'm so glad I did!  I'm kicking myself for not making them from scratch sooner.  The great thing is that the shaped, unbaked pastries can be frozen well in advance of when you need them.  Just thaw them overnight in the fridge and they're ready to go in the oven.

Quick and Easy Puff Pastry

 

If ever there was a Seven Wonders of the Baking World I think puff pastry, or pâte feuilletée, would have to be on the list.  It's one of the most versatile doughs you can work with for sweet and savory treats.   I grew up using the store-bought variety from Pepperidge Farm, a great product BTW, but wanted to try my hand at making it from scratch. 

Traditional puff pastry is very labor intensive and requires rolling and folding a butter block around a flour dough, similar to making croissants.  I'd heard about a quicker method where the butter is actually processed into the dough eliminating the need for lamination.  It sounded great but would the finished product really measure up?

When it doubt I always turn to the cooking and baking experts at Cook's Illustrated.  Their recipe for quickest puff pastry was supposed to deliver the multiple layers I was after in a dough that took 15 minutes to make.  Seeing is believing so off I went to test it for myself.

What can I say?  I'm definitely a believer!  The dough came together so quickly I thought it was too good to be true.  But the real test would be how the pastry performed in the oven.  I used the dough to make some French apple tarts and I couldn't believe how high they puffed.  The layers were so buttery, flaky and crispy.  All I can say is "Adios Pepperidge Farm...I've found something better."

Palmiers

I love it when something you think is so complicated to make turns out to be super easy.    You can impress your family and friends and they won't be none the wiser!

These palmiers (aka "elephant ears") are the perfect example.  It just takes two ingredients, puff pastry and sugar, to become crispy, buttery and deliciously caramelized cookies.   Granted, you can definitely go high-end by making the puff pastry from scratch but the point is to make your life easy! 

 

Vols-au-Vent & Pâte Feuilletée with the Daring Bakers

This was my first challenge with the Daring Bakers and it definitely wasn't for the faint of heart..we were tasked to make pâte feuilletée from scratch and use the dough to form vols-au-vent. You've probably seen vols-au-vent in your local supermarket, you just didn't know it. Pepperidge Farm makes a version called "Puff Pastry Shells".

Pâte Feuilletée belongs to the laminated dough family, which essentially means a water-based dough is layered with a block of cold butter. Croissants and danish are other examples of laminated doughs. To achieve the "puffiness" and height that is synonomous with puff pastry the dough is folded, or "turned", repeatedly with the butter so that you end up with lots of alternating layers. Once the cold dough hits a hot oven, steam is created from the water in the dough/butter evaporating. This causes the dough to lift and rise.

The pastry didn't rise as high as I would have liked, which I think was because I rushed the process. Unfortunately, good pastry requires a lot of patience, of which I didn't really have. Nevertheless, the pastry still tasted good! I filled the vols-au-vent with chicken pot pie filling and made mini tartlets with heirloom tomatoes, basil and parmesan with some of the leftover dough.

Looking forward to next month's challenge!

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.