French Pastries, Desserts and Ingredients (3 Viewers)

[Angie]

I've been watching a few American baking programmes recently and have watched some of the contestants make an array of delightful treats, some of which I've never heard of.

Thankful to expand my knowledge I thought I'd a list a few of treats for you just in case you didn't know what they were either.



Religieuse - A french pastry made from two choux buns (cream puffs) filled with crème pâtissière (pastry cream), dipped in ganache, given a cream collar and then stacked on top of one another.



Feuilletine Flakes - Or pailleté feuilletine as they are sometimes known are thin crispy flakes made from paper-thin sweetened crepes. They have a caramel flavour and used in desserts for a light and crispy texture.



Financier - A Financier (or Visitandine, as an earlier version was known), is a small French almond cake which is popular in France due to its petite size. It is flavoured with beurre noisette (a warm sauce used to make french cuisine and pastries) and baked in a small cake loaf.



Opera Cake - Is a lovely french dessert that uses two complementary ingredients which are coffee and chocolate. The layers of the cake consist of almond cake that's soaked in coffee syrup. This is then topped with coffee buttercream and a chocolate ganache or glaze to finish.

 

[Angie]

@retired pastrychef have you made any of these?

I have made Madeleines which were really nice.

How to make Madeleines Recipe and Tutorial

Here is a step by step guide showing you how to make Madeleine's. Preheat the oven to one of the following: 190°C Fan Assisted 200-210°C Regular Oven Gas Mark 5 375F Ingredients: 140 grams Unsalted Butter 140 grams / 5 oz Caster Sugar 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Essence (or essence of your...

www.helpmebake.com

 

[retired pastrychef]

@retired pastrychef have you made any of these?

I have made Madeleines which were really nice.

How to make Madeleines Recipe and Tutorial – Help Me Bake

www.helpmebake.com

Yeh, I found them all to be avoidable, bottom line is they don't sell.
the religieuse (nuns) are time consuming considering... Its just another eclair.
Financiers , expensive ingredients, not a good seller. no eye appeal.
Opera cake, another one of those things where the reputation is better than the actual cake. ( sacher torte ,tiramisu?).
A good dobosh beats opera cake hands down, it tastes better.

Madelaines sold initially then sales slow down as people go back to their familiar pastry.
At least madelaines are quick, I made them in a small bowl with a hand whip.
I've still got a stack of madelaine pans in the basement.

Nothing outsells fruit tarts, ecairs, napoleons , mousse etc.
I'd make anything that sells but it soon becomes evident what doesn't move.
The customer decides really.
Once you put a price on something , thats the game changer.
Then you're no longer the judge of whats good, the paying public is.

 

[retired pastrychef]

Its hard to compete with visual appeal of petites fours, fads come and go but saliva wins.

 

[retired pastrychef]

Theres another style of madelaine that doesn't use baking powder, it entails whipping the egg whites separately and folding the meringue into the batter. Never tried it but assume the texture to be more marshmallowy.

 

[Joan]

Its hard to compete with visual appeal of petites fours, fads come and go but saliva wins.

View attachment 5065

I would love to eat any of those, even more so if they have cream in them.

 

[retired pastrychef]

Some pastries don't look attractive but taste good.
Savarin, from baba dough is something I like.
sprinkle directly with dark rum after soaking them in syrup. Then glaze them.

In the patisserie where I trained the owner had a beer bottle filled with rum syrup on the counter.
Customers who bought baba or savarin were told to sprinkle the rum on top.
It was mostly just sugar syrup, the chef wasn't that stupid.
Always thought it was kinda funny, a beer bottle with a cork that had a hole drilled through it.

 

[Angie]

There's another style of madelaine that doesn't use baking powder; it entails whipping the egg whites separately and folding the meringue into the batter. Never tried it but assume the texture to be more marshmallowy.

Yes, that does sound like a marshmallowy texture, I love the lightness of madeleines.

I would love to eat any of those, even more so if they have cream in them.

You and your fresh cream!

Some pastries don't look attractive but taste good.
Savarin, from baba dough is something I like.
sprinkle directly with dark rum after soaking them in syrup. Then glaze them.

In the patisserie where I trained the owner had a beer bottle filled with rum syrup on the counter.
Customers who bought baba or savarin were told to sprinkle the rum on top.
It was mostly just sugar syrup, the chef wasn't that stupid.
Always thought it was kinda funny, a beer bottle with a cork that had a hole drilled through it.

You're right, especially as most customers, buy with their eyes. Fruit tarts look delicious and colourful, but I'd choose a large piece of chocolate cake over any of that, I want to feel like I'm getting my monies worth. I like stodgy desserts rather than the pretty ones.

 

[retired pastrychef]

Yes, that does sound like a marshmallowy texture, I love the lightness of madeleines.



You and your fresh cream!



You're right, especially as most customers, buy with their eyes. Fruit tarts look delicious and colourful, but I'd choose a large piece of chocolate cake over any of that, I want to feel like I'm getting my monies worth. I like stodgy desserts rather than the pretty ones.

Today I watched a savarin video and couldn't resist getting the molds from the basement to make a batch.
I'm surprised they didn't stick to the mold, luv panspray.

 

[retired pastrychef]

Making savarin, they will need to be soaked in warm syrup to soften, they bake hard and dry.
I'll freeze them until I can get some fruit and make pastry cream. The farmer is gonna kill me.
Just as I opened the back door to show the snow and ice storm we got last nite a woodpecker hammered on the pines.

 

[A Guy]

Glad you have a baking forum and not a fish forum Angie

A Guy

 

[Angie]

Making savarin, they will need to be soaked in warm syrup to soften, they bake hard and dry.
I'll freeze them until I can get some fruit and make pastry cream. The farmer is gonna kill me.
Just as I opened the back door to show the snow and ice storm we got last nite a woodpecker hammered on the pines.

That is some super sticky dough! I love the small moulds, though. I can see it would be much easier with your hand because it goes exactly where you want it. Could you use a spatula?

I too use a baking spray; Bake Easy is my favourite.

So you look after the birds and the farmer.

Oh and I didn't mind the washing of the hands in the vid, it shows good hygiene.

I hope once you soaked them you at least managed to eat one.

 

[retired pastrychef]

That is some super sticky dough! I love the small moulds, though. I can see it would be much easier with your hand because it goes exactly where you want it. Could you use a spatula?

I too use a baking spray; Bake Easy is my favourite.

So you look after the birds and the farmer.

Oh and I didn't mind the washing of the hands in the vid, it shows good hygiene.

I hope once you soaked them you at least managed to eat one.

Nah you have to get your hands in there, a spatula wouldn't pick it up, you'd soon see if you tried it.
You have to grab it and pinch it off.

Most recipes make the batter a lot more sloppy, they use a pastry bag to fill the molds, I've sampled savarin made with that dough and its not as good, the texture looks like a kitchen sponge, open cell. They do it that way because its easier but it ruins the dessert.

I did soak a couple but didn't have rum or pastry cream to finish them they did soak up syrup good.

The farmer with a dead ruffled grouse, it flew into my bay window, he cooked it.

 

[A Guy]

Taste like...

A Guy

 

[Angie]

Nah you have to get your hands in there, a spatula wouldn't pick it up, you'd soon see if you tried it.
You have to grab it and pinch it off.

Most recipes make the batter a lot more sloppy, they use a pastry bag to fill the molds, I've sampled savarin made with that dough and its not as good, the texture looks like a kitchen sponge, open cell. They do it that way because its easier but it ruins the dessert.

I did soak a couple but didn't have rum or pastry cream to finish them they did soak up syrup good.

The farmer with a dead ruffled grouse, it flew into my bay window, he cooked it.

View attachment 5101

The only thing that ever flies into our windows are pigeons but we don't eat those. Waste not want not.

I didn't think you'd be able to use the spatula, that batter looked like super glue. I loved the moulds though, have you ever made doughnuts using those tins?

I'm glad you managed to sample a few of your savarin, taste testing is the best bit. I usually burn myself half the time because I can't wait for things to cool down before trying them.

 

[retired pastrychef]

The savarin are in the freezer, they freeze very well, just takes a minute to soak.
Suppliers sell dry savarins, the texture isn't right though.

 

[Angie]

I don't freeze anything; I like everything fresh on the day.

 

[retired pastrychef]

I don't freeze anything; I like everything fresh on the day.

Some items freeze very well, cheesecake, eclair shells, mousse etc.
Other stuff can't be frozen, bread actually stales faster in the freezer .
I ate a christmas log that was frozen, it was fine in July.
Raw muffin slugs freeze ok, they sell them that way in cases, plonk them in pans and bake frozen.

 

[Angie]

One of the cake tutors I used to work with she froze everything. She always makes batches of stuff and have bits of allsorts stashed in her freezer.

Yeah, I'm having a real hassle with frozen bread at the minute. The edges are rock hard when I de-frost a loaf.

Cheesecake wouldn't make it to the freezer with me, I love it, but I'm the only person in our house who does so if anything I'd have to make a mini one just for me.

Christmas log in July! Lol! Why not.

Ok, you got me with Raw Muffin Slugs? What are they?

 

[retired pastrychef]

One of the cake tutors I used to work with she froze everything. She always makes batches of stuff and have bits of allsorts stashed in her freezer.

Yeah, I'm having a real hassle with frozen bread at the minute. The edges are rock hard when I de-frost a loaf.

Cheesecake wouldn't make it to the freezer with me, I love it, but I'm the only person in our house who does so if anything I'd have to make a mini one just for me.

Christmas log in July! Lol! Why not.

Ok, you got me with Raw Muffin Slugs? What are they?

All the supermkts here use bake N joy slugs.