My Food Geek

Saturday was the eater’s 30th birthday.

The eater gets to try many of the desserts I make, and from experience, I was pretty sure she didn’t want a cake for her birthday. I tried to think of something interesting to make, but I was just drawing blanks, so I did what any normal guy would do, I asked. She thought long and hard about different things I made and finally mentioned puff pastry; at that moment I instantly knew what to prepare.

I decided to make a variation of the classic Napolean or Mille-Feuille that I saw a classmate of mine make back when I was in pastry school; an Apple Puff Pastry Pyramid. This dessert is comprised of three major building blocks: puff pastry, calvados cream, and apple compote. The finished pastry looks rather striking, and, if you can cut it, makes for a wonderful presentation on the plate. The separate layers of pastry, apples, and cream form layer after layer of visual delight.

I followed the recipe in The Professional Pastry Chef pretty much to the letter. The only real change I made was the omission of calvados since I was unable to procure any sort of apply liquor other than Pucker brand (yuck!). To a newcomer, the recipe may look rather daunting: home made puff pastry, cooked custard, apple compote, and strange shapes. Complex pastries, like this one, are easily broken down into parts and tend not to be all that difficult in the end. The hard part is usually coming up with the complex flavors or an unusual way to prepare an already tried and true dessert. This dessert is a good example of the latter. Follow each step carefully and there really shouldn’t be any problems. Resist the urge to take shortcuts or risk the pastry chefs dilemma, “Make it nice or make it TWICE.”

This pastry is best prepared with a quick puff pastry or, if in a pinch, store bought puff pastry. I tend to like the rich buttery flavors of homemade puff pastry, so that’s what I made here. Since puff pastry seems to be a huge mystery to many, I’ll detail the process I use to make puff pastry. If you can make pie dough and have used a rolling pin before, you can make puff pastry. Just a few ingredients, a mixer (or your hands), and a few minutes of your time and you’ll never go back to the store bought stuff again.

Quick Puff Pastry
454g unsalter butter
454g bread flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold water

Dissolve salt in cold water and reserve.

Place flour in the bowl of mixer fixed with bread hook attachment.

Chop butter into small cubes and add to the butter.

Mix flour and butter at the lowest speed and slowly add water until the dough
just comes together. When the does is done, it should resemble well-made pie dough.

Turn dough out onto countertop and form into a 10 inch square. The dough may be
a little bit crumbly at this point but don’t worry, just press it all together.
Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Remove dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 7-by-16-inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. With a short side of the rectangle facing
you, fold the dough as you would a business letter: fold down the top third towards you and then fold the bottom third over the top. This is a single turn.

You want to perform 5 single turns total. If the dough gets a little too soft or rubbery, return it to the refrigerator for another 20minutes to let it firm up.

At this point, you can roll out the dough into any shape you want or store in the freezer for up to a month.

In the end, I think the pastry came out pretty good. The recipe is quite clear and, other than assembly, isn’t all that difficult. I neglected to get any good photos of the pastry layers but they did come out as expected. The only change I would have made would have been to serve this with a clear caramel sauce or maybe a cinnamon scented creme anglaise.

Here’s one of the last pastries I dared to make in our San Diego kitchen before our east coast relocation. This month’s Daring Bakers challenge was to construct a strawberry Bavarian with a strawberry mirror glaze. Like any DB, I accepted the challenge.

The cake wasn’t too hard to make and only comprised of a few basic parts to assemble: genoise, strawberry Bavarian cream, and a strawberry mirror glaze. Probably the hardest part of the whole cake was the Bavarian; although it may seem daunting to some, it really isn’t much of a hassle either.

This cake turned out to look very pretty, but made it on neither the eater’s nor my top ten lists for cake flavors. The eater reported that the Bavarian cream was the weak link. It was a bit gelatinous and heavy for her taste and made up too large a portion of the cake. I, on the other hand, thought the flavor was good, but the texture of the Bavarian just wasn’t as good as I hoped. I was expecting more of a mousse texture and this came out with a firmer, more gelatinous texture.

A word to the wise: this cake has about a one-day shelf life, after about 12hrs, the cake turns to rubber. Make it for a party and hope there’s no leftovers.

Strawberry Mirror Cake

3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
2 TBSP sugar
2/3 cup sifted cake flour
½ cup water
1/3 cups sugar
2 TBSP kirsch or strawberry liqueur

Strawberry Bavarian Cream
2 ½ TBSP unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups strained strawberry puree(1 ½ baskets)
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ cups milk
1 TBSP lemon juice
several drops of red food coloring
1 ¾ cups whipping cream

Strawberry Mirror

1 tsp lemon juice
1 TBSP kirsch
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP unflavored gelatin
Few drops of red food coloring

Strawberry Juice
1 ½ pints of strawberries(18 oz)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup water

1.Preheat oven to 450F. Butter and flour the sides of an 11-by-17 inch jelly roll pan(rimmed baking sheet). Line bottom of pan with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit bottom pan exactly.

2.Beat eggs, egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar together in a medium bowl until thick and light. Beat in the vanilla.

3.In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, ad cream of tartar and beat until
whites begin to form peaks. Add the 2 TBSP sugar and beat until the whites hold stiff, glossy peaks(do not over beat).

4.Sift flour over the egg yolk mixture and fold in . Stir in one fourth of the whites. Then carefully fold in the remaining whites.

5.Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until light brown and springy to touch(7 to 10 minutes). Cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife along edge to loosen. Invert cake tin to cut out 8 ¼ inch circles of cake. Wrap the cake layers, separated with waxed paper, and set aside. Cake may be frozen at this point.

6.To make soaking syrup: Combine water and the 1/3 cup sugar in saucepan; bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Cool to room temperature; flavor with liqueur. Set aside or refrigerate in glass jar until ready to use.

7.To assemble cake: Brush sides of 10-inch springform pan lightly with flavorless salad oil or almond oil. Cut out a cardboard circle that is exactly the same size as the bottom inside of the pan; cover cardboard with aluminum foil and fit into bottom of pan. Center one layer of the cake bottom of pan. Brush the cake with some of the soaking syrup to just moisten(not drench) the cake; set aside.

8.Prepare Strawberry Bavarian Cream. Immediately pour about half of the Bavarian Cream over the first layer of cake in the pan. Set the next layer of cake on top of the cream. Pour remaining Bavarian Cream over cake and smooth top of the cream with spatula. Refrigerate until the cream sets(1 to 2 hours).

9.Prepare the Strawberry Mirror.

10.To serve: Wrap a hot towel around the outside of springform pan for a few minutes. Run a small sharp knife tip around the edge of the Strawberry Mirror to separate it form the sides of pan. Mirror will tear when sides are unlatched if it is stuck at ANY point. Slowly unlatch the pan and slide it off the cake. Slice cake in wedges and serve in upright slices.

Prep Work

Strawberry Bavarian Cream

1.Sprinkle the gelatin over the strawberry puree in a small bowl and set aside until spongy.

2.Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl’ beat until light. Bring milk to a boil in sauce pan. Pour hot milk into yolk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon(it doesn’t say so but I would temper the egg mixture first to be safe). Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until your finger leaves a clear trail in sauce when drawn across the back of the spoon.(Do not boil or mixture will curdle.) Immediately remove from heat and stir in softened gelatin mixture. Pour into a stainless steel bowl places over a bowl of ice water. Stir in lemon juice and a few drops of red food coloring. Cool over ice water, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens to the consistency of softly whipped cream.

3.White gelatin mixture is cooling, whip the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. When the gelatin mixture resembles softly whipped cream, fold the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture.

Strawberry Mirror

1.Prepare strawberry juice.

2.Place lemon juice, kirsch, and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over this mixture; set aside until spongy and soft.

3.Measure 1 ½ cups Strawberry juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer; pour over gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve gelatin. Tint to desired color with red food coloring. Place bowl over bowl of ice water and stir occasionally until the mixture is syrupy and just beings to thicken(do not let jell); remove from ice water.

4.When mixture is syrupy, pour a 1/16-inch layer over the top of cake. Refrigerate until set.

Strawberry Juice

Wash and hull strawberries; coarsely chop. Place strawberries in saucepan; crush to start juices flowing. Place over low heat; add sugar and water; simmer slowly 10 minutes. Pour juice and pulp through damp jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined colander and drain into a bowl for 15 minutes(Do not press down on fruit).
Adapted from Cakes and Pastries At The Academy by the California Culinary Academy 1993

Laura over at eatdrinklive is hosting up HHDD#13 and this time it’s Sorbet. I really have no idea who this Donna person is, but I’m always ready for another challenge. The goal was to come up with a sorbet and we’ll all be judged and prizes will be awarded. Anyways, here’s my entry: Pineapple sorbet.

I have a real soft spot for tropical fruits and pineapple is no exception. I could easily peel a pineapple and eat the whole thing in one sitting, yes I love pineapple. On a recent trip to Hawaii I was lucky enough to find local pineapples, on sale, for ONE DOLLAR! Needless to say I had about a dozen pineapples during the week and probably should have smuggled a few in my luggage, just in case. Even after all of that pineapple, it is still one of my favorites.

This recipe is everything you’d want in an easy summer sorbet: minimal ingredients, easy prep, and PINEAPPLE! I decided to add rum at the last minute to keep the sorbet a bit soft, since pure fruit sorbets tend to get rock solid in the freezer. Feel free to adjust the sugar accordingly; all pineapples aren’t created equally so you will have to decide if the mixture is adequately sweetened before you let the ice cream machine perform its magic.

Pineapple Sorbet

1 pineapple
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
¼ cup dark rum

Combine sugar and water. Heat until sugar has dissolved. I used the microwave but you can use the stovetop if you wish.

Peel and core the pineapple. Coarsely chop and puree in blender. Slowly add syrup while blending.

Refrigerate mixture until thoroughly chilled.

Process in ice cream machine according to manufacturers directions.

No, I’m not talking about taking revenge on sea life; I’m talking about what we ate for dinner. I first made this dish back in my culinary school days in Cambridge. At the time, I thought it was very strange to be to go through all the trouble of cooking something only to later eat it cold, but I was wrong.

I served up this cold dish with a cilantro herbed polenta that I first cooked like normal polenta and then grilled it up in preparation for the tilapia. The polenta was also delicious cold, so there’s no real reason why this whole dish couldn’t be prepared a day or two ahead of time.

The eater also wanted to note that the tart, vinegar-y goodness of the raisin and nut mixture is very difficult to stop eating for long enough to get any leftovers.

Marinated Tilapia with raisins and pistachios
1 lb tilapia filet
flour to coat fish

½ c onions
½ c carrots
½ c celery

1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper

½ c raisins
½ c pine nuts or pistachios

1 ½ c white vinegar
½ c dry white wine

Coat both sides of fish in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat and pour in enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Fry fish on both sides to golden brown, about five minutes per side. Remove fish from pan and set in a shallow baking dish and reserve.

Add vegetables to the pan used for frying the fish and cook about two minutes or until slightly softened. Add spices and cook for about one minute or until fragrant.

Add raisins, nuts, vinegar, and wine and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half.

Pour mixture into the baking pan with the fish. Let sit to allow the flavors to blend for 30minutes or place in refrigerator for a day or two.

Serve at room temperature.

I’ve been toying with macaron recipes for some time now. In my recipes, there always seems like there is something that can go wrong. It could be the folding, it could be the unscientific drying time, or maybe it’s just my messed up oven, but something always goes wrong. Rarely do I get a sheet pan of perfectly formed macarons…until now.

This recipe just plain works. This recipe uses Italian meringue, don’t let it scare you. This one not so hard part is the reason why they work so well. You don’t have to mess around trying to get macaronage since the meringue is very stable. One of the nicest parts of this recipe is that you can double it, split it into two parts, color/flavor each separately, and get two flavors for the work of one recipe.

Here’s the recipe with details and photos:

For the Macarons:
120g egg whites, divided
35g sugar
150g finely ground almonds
150g powdered sugar

For the sugar syrup:
150g sugar and 50g water

Process the ground almonds and powdered sugar in the work bowl of a food processor. Most recipes call for sifting, but I think this works better and gets everything combined.

In a stand mixer, whip 60g egg whites to soft peaks, add 35g sugar.

In the meantime, in a saucepan on high heat bring the water and sugar for the syrup to 230 F. on a candy thermometer.

Slowly add the boiling syrup to the egg whites and continue to whip on medium - high speed until they are completely cooled and you have a shiny meringue (10-15 minutes).

Mix the remaining 60g of egg whites and the sifted almond/sugar and carefully fold into the meringue.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the mixture and pipe macarons about 3 inches in diameter on silpat lined baking sheet.

Bake at 320 for 15-25 minutes.

Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension.

That’s about all that is to it. I think I’m finally done with macarons for a while. I’m sure the next time I try to make them I will encounter problems again, but until then…