The Global Pastry Table Update

I want to take a moment to thank so many of you for your good wishes on the publication of my new cookbook, The Global Pastry Table.  I also want to take this opportunity to answer some questions I’ve gotten since the launch. 

Are these new recipes or a collection of pastries from your blog? 

The Global Pastry Table has 70 brand new recipes not previously published here, so there are lots and lots of delicious new pastries and desserts to explore.  There are recipes for simple everyday treats as well as pastries to grace your holiday, birthday or celebration table.

Are these recipes for advanced bakers?

One of my main goals was to make the pleasure of preparing simple and beautiful pastry accessible to as many people as possible, so the recipes are simple, straightforward and unfussy, just as you find here at my blog.  The Banana Cake with Chocolate Glaze and Chocolate Apricot Cake are probably the fanciest recipes in the book but the glazing process is a very simple one, especially if you watch a 2-minute video about how to glaze a cake posted on my Technique page on Pinterest.  Check it out, it's kind of mesmerizing!

Each tart recipe has a pastry dough that is made quickly in a food processor and then pressed into a tart pan rather than rolled so you can enjoy a Butterscotch Cream Tart or a Chocolate Nut Tart without fighting with your rolling pin.  

I think the book would also make a very nice gift for someone you know who loves to bake and would like to diversify their recipe file.  I should also note that recipes are presented with both volume and metric weights.

Are these desserts an American would know?

Yes, although I draw some inspiration from other traditions, I developed recipes in the general categories of cakes, custards, tarts, cookies and ice cream with an orientation that is distinctly American.  The Table of Contents reveals within each category pastries and desserts that are very familiar but presented in slightly new ways.  For example, there's Almond Orange Baklava Rolls that are not overly saturated with sugar or honey and maintain the crisp texture of phyllo; Florentines to which I’ve added seeds and a touch of cardamom; simple and homey Pear & Ginger Scones; a feather light Poppy Seed Cake.  In the realm of ice cream, you’re certain to recognize Pistachio Gelato and Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream.  So the recipes in the book are more of an extension of the same style I try to achieve each week here at Pastry Studio. 

What if I don't own an iPad or a Kindle or a tablet?

Amazon has a free app you can download to open and read Kindle books on your PC or Mac desktop or laptop, iPhone or your Android device.  Apple is also releasing their new operating system 10 X Mavericks sometime soon and you'll be able to open and read electronic ibooks on your desktop or laptop.  And now that we have cloud technology, books are automatically pushed to all your devices.

Are you going to keep posting on your blog?

Yes, as long as I have interested readers, I’ll continue in the same fashion, posting a new treat each Friday.  The new cookbook is a manifestation of my desire for a creative stretch, so it’s in addition to the work I do here each week that also showcases the work of other pastry chefs. 

Also, if any of you are bloggers and would like to have me do a guest post, please do get in touch.  I would love to hear from you.  My email is pastrystudio @ sbcglobal.net

Let me know if you have any other questions.  I’ll be back on Friday with a really delicious pastry that disappeared in minutes - poof.  Cheers!

Introducing The Global Pastry Table

At last!  It’s with great pleasure and excitement today that I announce the publication of my first ecookbook: The Global Pastry Table, pastries & desserts with international style for the modern kitchen, a new collection of 94 recipes that incorporate the influences, aromas and flavors of our interconnected world.  These are approachable recipes for home cooks who want to expand their pastry repertoire with unique and flavorful cakes, cookies, custards, tarts, ice cream and other pastries using familiar ingredients.  And it’s now available as an ebook on iTunes and Amazon.

The backstory for this project began about three years ago with my deep interest in the increasing globalization of our tables.  We can readily see that the modern kitchen reflects traditions and recipes from all over the world, especially now that we have greater access to quality ingredients to create and build upon regional global cuisine.  When I set out to write a cookbook, I wanted to convey some of the promise of these cross-cultural currents we experience in our everyday lives within the beautiful realm of pastry.  So I took what I believe are some of the most interesting and delicious ideas and influences and wove them into this new collection.  I call on both Old World traditions and New World approaches to convey what I think of as the global kitchen, a place where we can enjoy these creative resources.

There are new recipes for chocolate lovers as well as plenty of fruit, spice, nuts and desserts that incorporate olive oil.  They represent my reverance for international style, such as a tender Rum Cake with Spiced Butter Rum Glaze made with browned butter, melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Walnut Financiers, cool and creamy Almond Toffee Semifreddo, Chocolate Garam Masala Cookies for a complex bite of spice, crisp Poppy Seed Rugelach, Maple Custard that worships the northeast, a rich everyday Dark Cocoa Cake, Brown Sugar Crème Fraiche Ice Cream with Balsamic Syrup that brings out all the best flavor notes, a refreshing Zabaglione Ice Cream with Coffee Granita…….. and much, much more. 

This is a book for people who love to be in their kitchens, who love to have their hands in the flour, creating beautiful and delicious morsels without a lot of fuss.  Many things can be made in a food processor, tart doughs are pressed rather than rolled and bench notes are there to guide you.  The style of the book will feel very familiar because from start to finish, I produced it entirely on my own.  After three long years in development, I’m excited to share the fun and adventure in this cookbook.

In addition to my family and friends who prodded, tasted, loved and cheered me on every step of the way, I want to especially thank all of my readers for your constant inspiration and creativity, your many generous emails and gracious support.  This was a very long, pretty crazy, definitely joyful, super exhausting but very satisfying experience and one I will never forget.

Visit The Global Pastry Table website for more information, including a detailed Table of Contents, recommendations for essential pastry tools, an example of my workflow and some background on the cover.  And please share with your family and friends!

To see some of the photos from the book:

The Global Pastry Table gallery

purchase The Global Pastry Table
iBookstore for the iPad

Amazon for Kindle, Kindle Cloud and Android tablets

Note: The iPad version of the book was created with Apple iBooks Author sofware.  It contains more photos and utilizes Apple multi-touch technology.

The Kindle/Kindle Cloud version was created using Amazon’s file standards.  

They differ in the following way:

iPad: 144 pages (landscape) and 191 images 

Kindle 302 pages (portrait) and 128 images

It's available in 51 countries.

Don't own an iPad?  Good news is on the way.  Starting with the new OS X Mavericks update due out early this fall, Apple is bringing its reading app to the Mac so you'll be able to read any iBook on your desktop or laptop computer.  iBooks will be fully functional with all the interactive features produced with iBooks Author.  

You can also purchase the Kindle version to read on the desktop of your computer or laptop if you have Windows 8, 7, XP or Vista or on a Mac or any Android tablet. You just need to download the free app.

Cheers!!

Strawberry Tarte Tatins

If you’ve ever had Tarte Tatin, you know it’s one of the best desserts you could ever possibly desire.  It consists of caramelized apples baked with a circle of pastry dough placed on top and then flipped over to reveal tender fruit, great caramel and buttery pastry.  It’s traditionally served with crème fraiche or a slice of Camembert.  Super good.

For something slightly different but just as supremely delicious, strawberries are used in this recipe in place of the apples.  Their tart acidity is a perfect foil for the caramel.  I also add a splash of balsamic for some delicious complexity.  The water content of the strawberries renders the juices into a luscious thinner sauce rather than a caramel per se and the flavor of the fruit combined with the buttery pastry is irresistible. 

I use a simple butter pastry called Rough Puff.  It’s a very streamlined version of puff pastry that isn’t difficult or complicated, it just takes a bit of time.  You can of course substitute store bought puff if you prefer or make your own favorite butter pastry.  

While strawberries are looking so beautiful and still in good supply, this is a great dessert to serve after a sumptuous summer dinner.  It's a simple combination of ingredients that really delivers a good measure of pure pleasure.  A dollop of whipped cream is a must. 

Bench notes:

- Donna Hay’s recipe is for 4 servings but I double it for 6 servings.  I didn’t think there was enough caramel sauce in the original recipe and I used a bit more strawberries.

- The dough comes together very quickly in a food processor.  It will not look like a dough but rather like a slightly moist cottage cheese.  The important thing is to keep visible pieces of butter in tact and avoid blending it all into the flour.  

- When shaping and folding the dough, do your best to keep the edges straight and aligned when folding.  Lightly dust with flour as you go and then brush off any excess flour before folding.

- Use ramekins that are 4” x 1 3/4” because the fruit does bubble up quite a bit during the baking process.

- The caramel should only be a light golden brown, not dark as with Apple Tarte Tatin.

 

Strawberry Tarte Tatins                                               

adapted from Donna Hay

Makes 6 servings

Rough Puff Pastry

1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 oz) flour                                             

1/4 teaspoon salt                                                                                    

4 oz (8 tablespoons) very cold butter

6 tablespoons (3 oz) very cold water

1 3/4 - 2 lbs fresh strawberries

2 oz (4 tablespoons) butter                                                        

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) sugar                                    

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) water                                                              

1 vanilla bean

1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, to taste

1/2 cup (4 oz) heavy cream

1 teaspoon (4 grams) sugar

For the pastry dough, place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and combine.  Cut the cold butter into 1/2” cubes and add.  Pulse just until the butter is the size of small peas.  Add the cold water and pulse just until the mixture resembles something like a slightly moist cottage cheese.  Gather the dough and place on a piece of plastic wrap.  Form a disc, seal it tightly and chill for 1/2 hour.

Lightly flour a work surface.  Roll the dough out to about an 8” x 4” rectangle, lightly flouring as needed.  Fold the shorter sides of the dough in equal thirds like a letter, keeping the edges as evenly lined up as possible.   With the open edges perpendicular to you and seam side down, roll it again into an 8” x 4” rectangle, lightly dusting with flour as needed and then using a pastry brush to remove any excess flour before folding.  Turn it and fold the shorter sides of the dough again into thirds.  Repeat this process one more time for a total of three times.  If at any point the dough starts becoming too soft or elastic, let it rest in the refrigerator for a while before continuing.  Lastly, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4” thick.  Take both shorter sides and fold toward the center like a book, keeping the edges as straight as possible.  Then fold one side over the other so there are 4 equal layers on top of one another.  Wrap the dough and rest in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. 

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8” thick.  Brush off any excess flour.  Cut out circles 4 1/4” in diameter and place on a baking sheet.  Chill until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400° F.   Lightly butter six 4 ounce ramekins.

Hull and cut the strawberries in half.  Distribute them among the ramekins, cut side up.  Set aside.

Place the butter, sugar and water in a saucepan.  Split and seed the vanilla bean and add.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring once to combine.  Boil until it starts to take on a golden color, about 3 minutes.  Take off the heat and add the balsamic vinegar.  Remove the vanilla bean.

Pour the caramel mixture over the strawberries.  Top with the round pastry dough circles, pressing down slightly and tucking in. 

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling vigorously, about 25 – 30 minutes.   Set the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the tatins rest for about 10 minutes.  Carefully turn out the tatins by placing a plate or shallow bowl on top of the ramekin and inverting quickly.   

Whip the cream and sugar to soft peak.  Serve the tatins warm with a dollop of cream.

Sour Cream Shortcakes with Berries

This week marks my blogiversary!  It was 6 years ago this week that I convinced myself to try this blogging thing.  I didn’t really have a specific strategy or long-term vision for this space.  I’d left the world of professional pastry kitchens to take a great 4-year assignment as an analyst consultant in my other chosen field, higher education administration.  But I started to miss the smell of flour and butter.  I began reading lots of blogs and I wondered if I could somehow produce a blog, too.  It seemed like everyone was having fun and I knew I had to give it a try.  I love technology but I had absolutely no idea how to create and administer a blog or how to use a camera.  I made up my mind to just jump in, determined to challenge my skills.  Well, lots and lots of cakes, cookies, tarts, custards, ice cream and a whole lot of other stuff later, I’m still here, posting my pastries each week.  I saw my blog go from zero to tens of thousands of readers every month.  So yeah, WOW, I did it!  And it's been interesting and satisfying in ways I never could have predicted.

I’ve kept the blog simple: no advertising or animated pop-ups and no fancy or complicated recipes or platings.  My passion for creating fun and delicious pastries and desserts along with having such a great audience of readers are what keep me in the game.  I’ve presented the stuff I think is most likely to elicit a swoon from those gathered at your table and it’s been a supreme pleasure to learn so much about this incredible medium.

So let’s celebrate this milestone with a must-have pastry of the season: shortcake!  This is a fairly basic recipe to which I’ve added a nice portion of sour cream for extra tenderness and a very slight tangy note.   It goes perfectly well with the season’s current crop of fresh fruit: bright berries, swoon-worthy peaches, juicy nectarines, tart plums and luscious figs.  Add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream or crème fraiche and it’s a pretty iconic and irresistible plate of summer goodness.   So, as we begin our sure and steady shift into an autumn that is lurking just around the corner, I recommend this to you as a celebration of the really good summer we've had, chock full of unusually terrific fruit.

I want to send a big note of thanks to all my readers and all the bloggers who have reached out to me over the years.  You inspire me.  I really appreciate all your emails and lovely feedback on my work.  Your kindness has been one of the greatest benefits of blogging.  And I love that many of my readers are from other corners of the world.   I thank you all for your interest and support.  I hope you’re having as much fun as I am.

OH, and one more thing.  Watch this space in early September.  I have a really fun and exciting announcement coming, one I hope you’ll enjoy.  Stay tuned!

Bench notes:

- There are just a few things to remember when mixing a biscuit or scone type dough. 1) Both the liquid and the butter must be very cold.  2) Once you add the cold butter, work fast to incorporate it into the flour so that it stays cold. You can use a pastry blender or your fingers to get the butter reduced down to pea-sized pieces. 3) When you add the liquid, use a fork to stir it together. It shouldn't take more than 10 or so rounds of stirring. The dough will look lumpy. 4) Lightly dust your work surface and your hands with flour. Place the dough on the work surface and pull it together with about 3 - 4 very light kneads. You don't want to overwork the dough but you also don't want a pile of clumps. So be gentle and you'll see it come together very quickly. 5) Pat the dough to form a round that's about 1 " thick. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, press down to form the biscuits and lift straight up when you're done. To prevent sealing the edges of the biscuit, no twisting or turning the cutter.

- I use a 2 1/2” cutter.  The baked shortcakes expand to about 3 1/4”.  It's also fun to make smaller mini shortcakes for a party tray.  Just watch the baking time closely.

- I use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut the shortcakes in half.

- For the cream garnish, substitute 1/2 cup fraiche for half the heavy cream for a more complex flavor.

- Add a drop of good kirsch to the fruit or the cream garnish.

- Shortcakes are best eaten the same day.

 

Sour Cream Shortcakes with Berries

Makes 8 servings

2 cups (10 oz) flour                                                                      

1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder                              

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt                                                  

4 oz (8 tablespoons) cold butter                        

1/2 cup (4 oz) cold sour cream

1/2 cup (4 oz) cold heavy cream         

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

melted butter, for brushing

1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 – 3 tablespoons (26 – 39 grams) sugar, to taste

1 cup (8 oz) heavy cream

1 tablespoon (13 grams) sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.  Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add, tossing thoroughly to coat all the pieces of butter with flour.   Using your fingers or a pastry blender, pinch and flatten the butter into small pieces until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some smaller pieces about the size of small peas.  Work quickly to keep the butter from warming up and softening.

Combine the sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla and almond extracts.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the cream mixture.  Using a fork, fluff the flour into the center.  Stir and turn the ingredients until large moist clumps form and you have a soft dough.

Dust your work surface and your hands very lightly with flour and turn out the dough. Give it a gentle kneading; about 3 - 4 turns should be enough to consolidate the dough. Pat it into a round about 1" thick.  Use a 2 1/2" cutter to form the shortcakes, pushing straight down and lifting straight up to cut rather than twisting.  Dip the cutter into some flour between each cut to prevent them from sticking.  Place the shortcakes on the prepared baking sheet. Gather the scraps and stack them. Gently press and pat them into a piece about 1" thick and cut out additional shortcakes.

Brush the tops lightly with melted butter. Bake until they are puffed and the bottoms are golden brown, about 12 - 14 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. 

Combine the berries with the sugar and set aside for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time to distribute the juices.

When ready to assemble, whisk the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Cut the shortcakes in half and place the bottom halves on plates.  Dollop with whipped cream and strawberries.  Top with remaining biscuit halves.

Cheers!