Strawberry Tarts

Baking is so much more than a hobby for me; it's my "force", my creative outlet and at times a much needed stress reliever.  So when I can help someone else find the joy in baking  that's icing on the cake.  

Spent the 4th of July weekend in Boston and Cape Cod visiting my dear friend J.  She and I go way back; we became fast friends when we discovered our host families lived within a block of each other in Dijon.   Nevermind that I ended up moving out after two weeks to live someplace else, at least our friendship endured the relocation!

One of J.'s requests when I came was to help her with some of my recipes.  First on the list were the cherry blossom sugar cookies I made a few months ago.  Easy enough.  I  showed her some  decorating tips and tricks and her cookies came out great.  As an encore I introduced her to  the  wonder of homemade fruit tarts.   She was already of fan from when we were students in France so she was excited to learn how to make them herself.

I showed her how to make my favorite crust recipe, the Sweet Caillat crust, along with a simple pastry cream.  Topped off with fresh summer fruits and you've got  yourself a real crowd pleaser. They were a hit with J.'s family and friends and I know she'll be making them often. 

By the time I flew back home I was even more inspired to find new variations on this delectable  treat.  A recent post from one of my favorite blogs, Cannelle et Vanille, featured an apricot tart made with a lemon shortbread crust.   To entice me even more the crust was gluten-free and didn't require rolling.  Who could ask for anything more?  

This crust is fantastic and so easy to make.  I dare say that I think I actually prefer it over the Caillat crust because it is so flaky and crispy.  Try it for yourself!

Trio of Mini Donut Muffins

Anytime I can get the taste of something fried without having to deal with a deep fryer I'm already bought in.  So when my sister forwarded a recipe for a muffin that was supposed to taste exactly like a cake donut I was a very willing tester.  

The recipe comes from the Downtown Bakery & Creamery in Healdsburg, CA and is one of their most popular muffins.   After making them I can honestly say they taste exactly like cake donuts.  The bakery's version is dipped in melted butter and then rolled in cinnamon and sugar.   I decided to make mini size donuts and since three flavors are better than one I left some plain and  also rolled some in powdered sugar...a trio of deliciousness! 

Gougères

Gougères, or  French cheese puffs, are a perfect accompaniment  to a glass of sparkling wine or other aperitif.  Had my first taste when I was at school in Dijon, which is only fitting as gougères are a specialty of the Burgundy region.   I still remember how delicious the savory puffs were with a glass of Kir.

Tartine Bakery here in San Francisco makes the most amazing gougères that are as big as softballs.  What sets theirs apart from the rest is the fresh thyme that's added along with Gruyère cheese to the pâte à choux dough.   This is my homage to their version.  Give them a try!

Kouign Amann

I'd like to think I'm pretty well versed in most French pastries, but Kouign Amann really baffled me when I first heard about them.   You probably have the same questions I did: what is it and how the hell do you pronounce it?  It's a pastry originating in the Brittany region of France and is kind of a cross between a croissant and palmier.  And it's pronounced like queen ah-mann.

The kouign amann and I crossed paths when my brother's friend brought some back from a bakery in Salt Lake City called Les Madeleines.   Apparently they are renowned for this pastry.  My brother and sister-in-law emailed me straight away after tasting their version, raving about about how delicious they were.  The perfect blend of sweet, salt, butter and caramel.  Of course I was intrigued and immediately set about doing some research online.   I'm always up for a baking challenge, especially when it's uncharted territory.  I had a feeling I was going to become obsessed with these like I was with macarons.   Fellow baking nerds can relate.

Surprisingly there weren't many recipes out there.  But the ones I was able to find all started with a laminated dough.  I've made laminated doughs before; it's basically a yeast dough with many layers of butter in between.  Think croissant or puff pastry.   The difference with the kouign amann is that the dough is rolled in sugar before it's baked.  The sugar and the butter melt together in the oven producing a salty sweet caramel that the kouign amann is known for.  Sounded simple enough, right?  Not really.

It's so-called simplicity cleverly disguised its difficulty.  Five pounds of flour,  three pounds of European-style butter and several hours of elbow grease later and I think I'm about 80% there.    Just need a few more practice runs before I get it right.  Will post the recipe when I achieve success.