08 Jan
Cannoli
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 36 Comments
Holy Cannoli, these are awesome!! As a good Italian girl, I’ve been enjoying cannoli for a long time, but I had yet to learn how they were actually made, until this holiday season. Sure you could buy the shells and fill them with a homemade filling, but I’m talking honest-to-goodness homemade, from start to finish. Enter my Chief Culinary Consultant’s Nana. I had been hearing about her cannoli since I met my Chief Culinary Consultant, but never had the opportunity to try one until now. Not only did I get to eat them, but I got to watch them be made and enjoyed every minute of it! On New Year’s Eve day, several members of the family got together to help and watch the cannoli being made. I tried to document the process as much as possible so that I could share it with you. My only misstep was not getting a photo of the cannoli sitting on the dessert platter the next day, so I had re-plate with the extras that I took home with me.
For those that are not familiar, cannoli are a traditional Sicilian pastry that is made by rolling out a circle of dough and wrapping it around a metal cylinder or “form” and then deep frying. Once cool, the shells are filled with a sweetened ricotta filling. Sometimes nuts or dried fruit are added to the filling and sometimes the ends are dipped into crushed nuts or chocolate chips, but we went simple and classic – just the shell and filling. Pure and utterly delicious!
19 Aug
How to Make Pate a Choux & Fill Eclairs and Cream Puffs
Posted by Michelle as How-To, Pastries, Puddings and Custard Desserts | 23 Comments
[This is Part 2 in a two-part tutorial series that I put together to illustrate how to make pastry cream and how to make pâte à choux dough for cream puffs and éclairs. If you missed the first part, feel free to go back and read Part 1: Pastry Cream.]
Éclairs and cream puffs are one of my favorite desserts. My mom used to go to a bakery and pick some up for me each time I would visit as a special treat. I am ashamed to say that I *may* have once thrown an adult temper tantrum when I realized that the number of éclairs I was planning to take back with me had diminished by a noticeable number and I was not the one who had eaten them. I’m serious about my desserts, folks! Since I had previously conquered pastry cream and made it a number of times since, I felt that it was finally the perfect time to master pâte à choux and whip up those delicious pastries that I love so much.
I had been intimidated by pâte à choux for quite a while, and had always shied away from trying it. It seemed so… delicate. So… fussy. Imagine my shock when I made it for the first time and found it to be… simple. Gorgeous puffs of dough emerged from the oven. No drama. Beginners luck, perhaps? I’m still not sure, but I’ve never encountered problems with the dough and have found the recipe and method I’m going to share with you to be virtually foolproof. Okay, you made the pastry cream – now it’s time to create the pastries!
18 Aug
How to Make Pastry Cream
Posted by Michelle as How-To, Pastries, Puddings and Custard Desserts | 40 Comments
I recently received an order for eclairs and cream puffs and since the How to Decorate Cookies with Royal Icing tutorial was so well-received, I thought that this order would provide a good opportunity to share with you a step-by-step tutorial on how pastry cream is made, as well as how the pâte à choux dough for eclairs and cream puffs is made, and how they are all assembled together. Prior to making Bostini Cream Pies, I was deathly afraid of pastry cream. I had heard horror stories about scrambled eggs, and to be honest I wanted nothing to do with it. However, after successfully making it, I have to say that I felt like an accomplished baker. Or maybe pastry chef? Either way, I felt like I had crossed that imaginary line in the kitchen that divides the big kids from the toddlers. I was finally a big kid. I could hang in the kitchen. My delicious pastry cream was proof. Since that first success I have made it again many times for many different recipes. There is nothing finer than a spoonful of freshly made pastry cream. Warm, smooth, creamy and utterly fantastic.
Alright, we’re going to make pastry cream, and then eclairs and cream puffs. Are you excited?!
No more fear. Grab your eggs, a whisk and strap on an apron. Whether you want to fill the eclairs and cream puffs I’ll show you how to make, or maybe a Boston cream pie or banana cream pie, you will feel like the grand poobah of the kitchen for mastering pastry cream. Ready, set, whisk!
29 Jun
Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 43 Comments
If you have a big soft spot in your heart for ooey gooey breakfast pastries, then you will no doubt fall in love with these at first bite. And if you don’t have that big soft spot, take one bite of these and I guarantee you will be a convert. Cream cheese is rolled into the pastry dough (much like laminated dough) and creates a soft and flaky dough. That, combined with the incredible filling, makes for the most flavorful cinnamon rolls that I have ever tasted. While these require you to set aside some time and involve multiple steps, they are not difficult and without a doubt absolutely worth it. If you have overnight guests and they wake up to these fresh from the oven, you will score some serious points and may have to start turning house guests away. Everyone will want to stay over!
25 Aug
Croissants
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 22 Comments
Buttery, flaky croissants. Wow. These are every bit as incredible as I hoped they would be. These were the Daring Bakers challenge in January 2007, which was about six months before I joined. I have been wanting to go back and attempt the challenges that I missed as well as the ones that were difficult for me (I think I’ll be appending all of these to my current “My 100” list), so when Erin asked if I’d be interested in making these croissants with her I jumped at the opportunity. It was also great timing because I knew that my grandparents were coming to visit and I had already planned on making chicken salad, and what better to eat chicken salad on than a croissant?
29 Jun
Danish Braid
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 4 Comments
I did a little dance of joy when I saw what the June challenge would be for Daring Bakers. I have been wanting to make a homemade danish (or really any pastry) for quite some time now, but had never taken the plunge before now. So thank you to this month’s hosts, Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’, for choosing such an awesome challenge! I am not sure what I waited so long for, because this was definitely not as difficult as I envisioned it might be. The process for making the dough was much the same as bread, with the added step of rolling a block of butter into it (the key to the flaky dough that is characteristic of pastries). The results were fabulous! I made this early in the month for a visit by my mom and sister and made three varieties: the apple in the recipe, peach (my mom’s favorite), and cream cheese (MY favorite).
More about the braids, the recipe, and more pictures after the break…
17 Jun
Eclairs and Cream Puffs
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 24 Comments
You may notice that my post does not have a “TWD” header on it as you have come to find on most Tuesdays here at Sugar & Spice. Sadly, I have taken a break from Tuesdays With Dorie, as I have found recently that the commitment was getting to be a lot given some other things I have going on, and I wanted to free up some of my time and grocery budget (not to mention my waist line!) to ensure I had the opportunity to begin tackling things that have been on my “to make” list for quite some time. I still may bake along unofficially some weeks as well as use the recipes as inspiration to tackle those things that I’ve been dying to make.
That is exactly what I did this week – I have wanted to make éclairs and cream puffs for ages, but never made the time. After seeing that this week’s TWD pick was the Peppermint Cream Puff, I decided to roll up my sleeves and finally conquer a pastry!
Continue reading to find out how the pâte à choux went, the secret ingredient to the richest pastry cream ever, pictures of the cream puffs, and recipes of course!
18 Mar
Brioche Raisin Snails
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 60 Comments
This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Brioche Raisin Snails, was chosen by Peabody over at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. At first I was a little intimidated by this recipe since it combined three different elements: brioche dough, pastry cream, and then the assembly of the actual snails. Sneaky, that Peabody is… she squeezed in three recipes 
I am actually thrilled that she chose this recipe, as brioche has been something on my “must attempt” list and I had never made pastry cream before, so this gave me a perfect reason to try two new things!
I’ll start out with the basis for this recipe – the brioche dough. I am in love. Seriously. So in love that I am going to dedicate an entire blog post just to my brioche (stay tuned). I have been wanting to try brioche for some time and am glad that I finally got the opportunity. I have to say that I give total kudos to the TWD-ers that made this recipe by hand. My KA sounded as though it was on its last leg and got so hot that I couldn’t even touch the top without burning my hand. I didn’t have any trouble with the rising, however both rises took longer in my kitchen than Dorie estimated (about an hour and 10 minutes for the first rise, and about 2.5 hours after it came out of the fridge). I made a loaf of brioche with the other half of the dough recipe that wasn’t being used for the snails and oh the buttery goodness! This is some seriously good bread. I can’t say enough about it…. but I will try, in another blog post
On to the pastry cream. As I said, I had never made pastry cream before, so this was another first for me. I watched a couple of videos online to make sure that I knew what it should look like at the different stages. While mine looked like the videos, it seemed thick to me. But, it tasted divine and it didn’t cause me any problems, so I assume I did everything just right 
And now the raisin snails themselves. I have a confession. I did not flambe the raisins with the rum. I have an enormous, unfounded, and quite ridiculous fear of fire. I can’t explain it. So I merely soaked my raisins in water and let them plump up. Terribly boring, I know. I also took the advice of some others and cut my rolls using dental floss. Genius! I didn’t have to squish them!
The finished product… the Brioche Raisin Snails themselves… were absolutely delicious. They were flaky and tasted like a light, buttery pastry. This may seem like a complicated and time consuming recipe, but each element can be broken down and done easily and fairly quickly. Of course there is the waiting time for the dough to rise, but these rolls are definitely worth it. These would be a wonderful show stopping pastry to set out for breakfast or brunch guests. Trust me, everyone will think you are a domestic goddess!!
EDIT: I just ate another one after dinner tonight and I have to say – these are insanely better the second day! They were incredible when they were freshly made, but after sitting for a day tightly wrapped (as Dorie suggested) the flavors really came together and the dough was remarkably like a danish. YUM!
Our group is still growing, so head on over to the Tuesdays With Dorie blog and scroll through the blogroll to see the snail creations that the rest of the group came up with!
Last week: Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie-Cake
Next week: Caramel-Topped Flan
30 Sep
September Daring Bakers: The Cinnamon Roll
Posted by Michelle as Pastries | 35 Comments
This was my first challenge as a member of the Daring Bakers group and I was excited to tackle it! To be completely honest, I was overwhelmingly relieved that my first challenge appeared to be something I could handle without a lot of complicated steps that might intimidate me.
We were provided with the recipes for both cinnamon rolls and sticky buns and had the option to make either one or both. I stuck with the classic cinnamon rolls because I didn’t have a doubt that they would definitely go.
I didn’t run into any problems and in fact the dough was perfectly soft and silky – maybe the best dough I have ever worked with! There was nothing very difficult about this recipe and I will be saving it as my default cinnamon roll recipe.
Thanks to the Daring Bakers for inducting me and making my first challenge a success, and thank you to Marce for hosting this month!
