Blueberry-cinnamon jam to be precise, though these general instructions can be applied to just about any kind of jam. It all starts of course with fruit. Most people use fresh fruit, fresh picked especially, but I’ve known more than a few people to use frozen. Frozen? Yes, frozen. It doesn’t make terribly much sense from […]
READ ONAs adapted from Recipes from Home. It goes like this: 2 quarts (about 2.5 pounds) blueberries 1 teaspoon powdered pectin (optional) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 4 1/2 cups (2 pounds) sugar Makes six 8-ounce jars.
READ ONThis is a standard, easy, workingman’s ganache, great for baking applications. Ganache (pronounced ga-NAHsh) is most commonly a 50-50 combination of chocolate and heavy cream (by weight). Known as “soft” ganache, this is the kind that is typically used for toppings and drizzles, or whipped to make cake fillings. Heavier “firm” ganaches (say, 2-1 chocolate […]
READ ONSo then, after mixing the choux is ready to go. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spoon the choux into the pastry bag of your choice, fitting it was a collar but no tip (so as to maximize choux outflow). Pipe it into the shape of your choice. Here I’m making short, stubby éclairs, which […]
READ ONDid I remember to say it’s pronounced like “shoe”? No matter. Making choux is a simple process, mostly just stirring. The traditional method is to simply use a wooden spoon, though a lot of people use food processors nowadays. Me, I can’t tell much of a difference between the methods, so I figure, why dirty […]
READ ONThis is the pastry cream you want for things like Napoleons, layer cake filling, or other applications where the pastry cream must stand up on its own and not run. You can make this a variety of ways depending on how rich and/or sweet you like it. You can make it with all milk, 50% […]
READ ONThis is ever-so-much quicker and easier than poured fondant. My only suggestion before you start is that you not wear any kind of dark-colored shirt or sweater, since lint has a way of finding its way into a pristine batch of fondant (there’s a reason pastry makers wear white, you know). Starting with this recipe: […]
READ ONTraditionally, poured fondant was made by making a dense sugar syrup, then stirring it over a period of about half an hour until it turned into fondant. Fortunately, the modern age brought us the food processor, which made things much easier. The new standard poured fondant recipe goes like this: 2 1/2 cups (17.5 ounces) […]
READ ONCroissant dough is essentially just puff pastry dough with some yeast and sugar added to it. It requires about half the number of folds (“turns” as they’re known in the trade), so it’s less time consuming to make. This dough freezes extremely well, for up to about two months, so make extra For the dough […]
READ ONStop whipping that cream! You’ll beat it into butter!! This time that’s exactly what I’m setting out to do. And oh, how liberating it is. I have in my hand a pint of organic cream (not that it has to be, but you get a firmer butter when the cream hasn’t been ultra-pasteurized). It’s right […]
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