Category: Pastry Components

Making Mandarin Pancakes

The only application I know for Mandarin pancakes is as a holder for moo shu pork. I know there much be others, but in my universe that’s more than enough. What’s fascinating about these pancakes is that they’re extremely thin and flexible while containing no egg or fat. Just white flour and hot water. It’s the boiling water that’s the key, it quickly creates a starch “gel” that keeps the pancakes supple. Begin by combining the water and flour in a medium bowl or a mixer.

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Mandarin Pancakes Recipe

Good Mandarin pancakes are very, very thin. Much more so than flour tortillas which are frequently substituted for them. Sigh. The rolling method is ingenious. You basically roll two at a time, back-to-back, then peel them apart. So simple it’s beautiful, no? You’ll need:

10 ounces (2 cups) all-purpose flour
6 ounces (3/4 cup) boiling water
Sesame oil for brushing

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Standard Pie Crust Recipe

I’ve received lots and lots and lots of requests for a pie crust that’s simpler than the one that’s currently on the site. This is an excellent standard pie crust that comes together quickly. Of course it still needs lots of resting, both after it’s made and whenever it’s shaped, to ensure it doesn’t shrink up during baking. This recipe makes enough for a double crust pie. If you’re making an open-topped pie, that’s fine. Just freeze the remainder for next time! Talk about pie the easy way.

13 ounces (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold butter
5.5 ounces (11 tablespoons) cold vegetable shortening or lard
4-5 tablespoons ice water

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Making Filo Dough

Thin as this dough is, it’s about three times as thick as the store-bought stuff. But you know we’ve all been down the pre-made filo dough road before. We know where it leads: a quite good, if very expected, texture and taste. Make filo yourself and you won’t have the extreme flakiness, but you’ll still have plenty, plus a little extra crunch, chew and depth of flavor. I recommend the experience highly. The dough is stretchy and forgiving, really fun to work with. Just prepare yourself for a few failures at first. You’ll still get enough sheets out of a regular batch to build a very nice pastry.

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Filo Recipe

The only special gear you need for filo — other than a large table or counter to roll on — is a thick dowel rod or a broom handle to use as a rolling pin. What, you’ve never rolled dough with a broom handle before? Well there’s never been a better time to learn!

1 lb. 4 ounces (4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
11 ounces (1 1/3 cups) warm water
2 ounces (1/4) cup olive oil
cornstarch (corn flour) for rolling

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Making Ricotta Cream

For those who aren’t big fans of cream cheese fillings or frostings (I’m one of those), ricotta cream is a terrific alternative. It’s lighter and fresher tasting, especially when you make it with homemade ricotta. Yet it’s utterly delicious. Served with some sort of crisp cookie garnish, it makes a dessert all by itself. And of course it’s the classic filling for cannoli. Start by placing the ricotta in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle (you can do this by hand if you’d rather).

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Making Ricotta

Purists may cry foul because this ricotta is made with whole milk (and a little cream), but I say let them. This is the internet. They’re miles away. Classically ricotta is made from the whey left behind after provolone is made. However few if any of us can just nip down to the corner market and pick up a gallon of provolone whey, now can we? And anyway

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Ricotta Cream

This recipe is adapted from Grace Massa Langlois’ new book, Grace’s Sweet Life. If you haven’t been to her blog of the same name, I highly recommend that you visit. It’s a treasure trove of Italian and Italian-inspired bakery. Ricotta cream can be used as a filling for all sorts of things, but is most commonly seen piped into cannoli. You’ll need:

1 lb. 6 ounces (3 cups) fresh ricotta cheese, drained overnight
6 ounces (1 1/3 cups) confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.75 ounces (1/3 cup) finely diced candied citron or orange peel (optional)
2.75 ounces (1/3 cup) miniature semisweet chocolate chips

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Ricotta Recipe

OK, so maybe I’m going a little nutty putting up a homemade ricotta recipe, but a.) not everyone outside of a major city can get fresh ricotta; b.) it’s amazingly easy, but, most importantly; c.) I’m a fermented dairy and/or cheese freak. You’ll need:

2 quarts whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

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