Patisserie

Monday. My favorite day.

Patisserie class is so calming. It's like a breath of fresh air to start my week. Chef Thierry, who teaches us Patisserie, is so patient and charmingly friendly (not exactly adjectives I would frequently use to describe French men) and teaches us how to make the most delicious pastries. It makes for a nice class. It also makes for a nice pair of tight jeans after a while!

Today we made two tarts: Tarte aux Figues et Framboise (Fig and Raspberry Tart) and Tarte Bordelou (Pear and Almond Tart). They are both made with the same dough - pate sucrée - and are both filled with the heavenly invention of almond paste before being baked. Needless to say, I brought both of them home and had an afternoon "snack" just to make sure that they tasted ok :) I will have to pry myself away from the tarts eventually and pawn them off on my landlady, but I simply can't let go yet. They're just too inviting.

Details...


Starting ingredients for the pate sucrée.



Sonja gets her sift on with the sugar and flour.



Beautifully sifted sugar and flour.

Time to beat down the butter again.

Come to think of it, maybe that is why Patisserie class is so calm. We take out our aggression on the butter early in the day.

Butter pieces and the sifted sugar/flour.

Sablé (sanded). Butter, flour and sugar are now mixed into one.

Make the familiar wall and insert salt and egg.

Mix.

Form dough into log.

Make two rounds of dough and refrigerate.

Roll out the dough.

Check to see it is the correct size and then "torture" it.

Press into the ring mold.

Make an edge.

Now, make the edge pretty!

Almond Paste - starting ingredients.

Whisk the butter and add sugar.

Add almond powder and flour.

Beat extremely well so that the paste doesn't separate when baking.

Pipe paste into tarte pan for the Bordelou.

Spread paste into pan for the Fig Tart and bake just like this.

Until golden brown.

Add some raspberry jam.

Decorate with figs and raspberries.

Finished product!

Poach pears in a simple syrup with vanilla beans.

Out come the pears, smelling delicious.

Slice pears.

Arrange in tart on top of almond cream and add sliced almonds.

Bake.

Until golden again.

Finished product!

Anyone hungry, yet?

See how much fun we have in Patisserie...

No worries here. Sarah, Carleta and Estee.

Carleta has turned into a French Pastry Chef. Check out her hip neckerchief!

Leo's impromptu chocolate chip cookies. He took his tart dough and added mini chocolate chips so we could enjoy a mid-morning snack!