This is a very important question where Tarte Tatin is concerned. Pick the right apple and the result is a glistening, golden presentation of cooked apples on a rich, crispy base. Pick the wrong one and you get a smear of applesauce on a sodden slab of dough. The difference can be that dramatic. In […]
READ ONThere are a few variations on this very simple recipe, most of which have to do with how you prepare your caramel, and what size pieces of apple you employ. I’m a member of the make-your-caramel-first-and-don’t-use-gigantic-apple-pieces contingent. We have strong representation in Washington and a muscular lobbying effort. I like to make the caramel before […]
READ ONIf this doesn’t light’em up at the office, nothing will. Sticky buns are a simple variation on the cinnamon roll idea. The difference is they’re proofed and baked on a layer of caramel, then flipped over à la upside-down cake. I like to make them in a cast iron skillet since to me the sticky […]
READ ONAlrighty. We’re under a little time pressure here because reader Pauline has to get these made for tomorrow morning. ;). So let’s dive into it, shall we? Begin by dusting your surface with flour. Dump your batch of cold brioche dough (recipe under “Pastry Components” menu to the left) out on the counter and forming […]
READ ONAs ubiquitous as this style of Danish is, it’s one of the more complex to make. I learned to make them putting in an extra fold and layer of buttercream. That makes the end product both richer (of course) and flakier. If you’d rather not do that part (though it’s a nice way to use […]
READ ONThis is a slightly different “envelope” than the one I talked about in the cheese Danish post. It isn’t my best shape, I’m baker enough to admit that. However never let it be said I didn’t show you every Danish I know how to make. Most of the time when you see these they’re filled […]
READ ONCall me crazy, but when somebody offers me a pastry called a “bear claw”, I actually expect to see something that looks, at least a little, like a bear’s claw. Hence my years of confusion going into doughnut shops and encountering amorphous blobs of fried dough that bore the name. I swear to you I […]
READ ONHere’s another very simple one that anyone can do in the comfort of their own living room: the pinwheel. As with the cheese Danish, start by rolling out about a pound and a half of dough into a rectangle about a quarter inch thick (the exactly dimensions aren’t important. Starting with a rough square… …cut […]
READ ONThis shape is perhaps the easiest of all the Danish types, being just a simple packet made from a dough square. The filling is simplicity itself, something that I almost always just improvise. The rough proportions are as follows: 8 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon […]
READ ONLike classic sweet rolls, these too are fixtures of the Danish counter. The reason (probably), because the shape is so darn versatile. There are chocolate chip snails (like mine above), cinnamon sugar snails, cinnamon sugar and raisin snails, walnut and cinnamon sugar snails, pecan snails, almond filling snails and any-kind-of- jam-you-can-possibly-think-of snails. And none are […]
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