Oh mama… Steady. Steady. You can get through this, Joe. Then you can run back to the kitchen, dive headfirst into this golden bowl of goodness, and never come up for air. OK. Start by combining the eggs and sugar in a small, heavy — non aluminum — sauce pan. Whisk until they’re combined. And […]
READ ONThis is a pretty easy thing. What you want to guard against — just as with all custards — is overcooking it, which will cause the egg proteins to clump up and fall to the bottom. You want to bring the mixture to a target of 196 degrees F, a degree or two more is […]
READ ONWe call it lemon crack around the Pastry household, and it is — at least for me. It’s one of those foods, which, when it hits my taste buds, sends an arc of electricity straight to my reptilian brain. My pupils dilate, I lose my sense of hearing, then speech recognition, and then all my […]
READ ONWell I’m not done with génoise if that’s what you’re asking. I got too many requests from people who wanted to see me turn génoise into a cake, so, that’s what we’ll do next. Since cakes need filling, and I already filled the jelly roll with raspberry jam (and raspberries), I think I’ll do the […]
READ ONYou can call it a Swiss roll, if you like. Or a jam roll (which is more precise, since you don’t see to many recipes for these that call for fruit jelly anymore). This one has some real fruit added in, which makes it a little more distinctive. Jelly rolls are, and always have been, […]
READ ONClassic génoise is, well, a classic. However it can be a bit tricky, even for very experienced pastry makers. But when you want to make a classic Euro-style gâteau, nothing beats it for its lightness and its ability to keeps its integrity even after a liberal dose of cake syrup. Here’ll I’ll add that if […]
READ ONInteresting addendum to the excerpt I put up last week on French peasant bread, over at my friend Rachel Lauden’s blog. Mr. Rubel certainly seems to know his stuff (even if he doesn’t seem to care for my conclusions very much). Have a look-see!
READ ONCheck out the pizza machine in action! Hat tip: Libby from At the Very Yeast. Thanks Libby!
READ ONIt an easy thing, but sometimes it helps to see it, yes? If a recipe calls for, say, four tablespoons of clarified butter, I’ll start out with a little extra since I expect to lose some in the process. Here I have about 4 1/2 tablespoons of fresh, unsalted butter: I heat it up until […]
READ ONSeems there’s a new vending machine being tested in Europe that makes pizza by hand…er, sprocket. It kneads and rolls the dough, adds toppings and bakes it — all while you watch. Sounds really fun, actually. I’d love to see one. Of course the real pizza makers in Italy aren’t terribly impressed. I like this […]
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