Pie Crust (PÂTE BRISÉE)

It’s easy as pie!! Well, if you have the right crust! LOL Shortening is great, but an all butter crust is the way to go (though it can be a bit tricky). I’ve tested this recipe several times and finally figured out the right ratio of everything to make it perfect for any kind of filling! Here’s HOW:

This recipe makes TWO 9 inch crusts or ONE double crust.

Ingredients:

DRY:

2 ½ C All-Purpose Flour

2 T Brown Sugar (I use a 50/50 Dark/Light Mix)

½ t Kosher salt*

1 Cup (2 sticks) Salted Butter, cubed into ½ in. pieces and chilled*

WET:

¼- ½ C Ice Cold Water

*if using unsalted butter, I up the amount of salt to 1 teaspoon.

Other Stuff:

Food processor

Cling Film, heat safe

Large Bowl

Rolling Pin

Glass pie plate

Pie weights/Beans

Instructions:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all of the dry ingredients and pulse a couple of times to incorporate evenly. Add cold butter and pulse several times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (don’t go too small at this point as you have more mixing, and it will get finer).

Remove lid and evenly distribute ¼ Cup of your water over the entire dry mixture. Pulse a few times so that the flour starts to become wet. Remove top and test by squeezing in your hand, if the dough holds but is still a little crumbly, add another tablespoon of water and check again. The pastry should feel “together” but not “sticky.” Add water until it’s holding together and not “crumbly.”

Remove from the processor and divide into two equal parts (I usually weigh). Form these divided portions into a ball and then wrap in plastic wrap; with a rolling pin, roll balls out into a disk being careful to keep the edges together. Store in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour.

If you make your dough ahead by a day (it can be frozen up to a month in advance), you may need to let it sit on the counter for about 10-15 minutes before handling it. I’ve let it sit for a week in the fridge and it baked well, but you’ll have to let it “warm up” for about 15-20 minutes to be able to roll it.  

For blind baking a standard 9-inch single filling pie crust, liberally flour a surface and throw about a tablespoon into the glass pie plate, working around to pan to help the crust from sticking in the bake.  Dust a rolling pin, placing the dough in the center of your floured surface, starting in the middle roll outward; rotate the disk ¼ turn after every roll (this will help to keep the pastry from sticking to the surface). Once diameter has been achieved, roll pastry backward onto the rolling pin, dusting excess flour off, and unroll over top of your pie pan.

Lifting from the outside, push the sides down into the corners of the pie pan. With the overhang of the dough around the top of the pan, cut about an inch around to get rid of the shaggy edges. Being careful not to lift out of the corners, tuck under the edges to double up the pie on top of the rim of the pie plate. Now you can play around with decorations. I have stuck with a “crimped” edge where I take my thumb and forefinger on one hand and my forefinger on the other hand, and while rotating the pie plate, I press the dough with my single finger in between the thumb and forefinger. After having gone all the way around the pie plate with this, I repeat, pinching the points into a hard “v”. This severe crease will bake out. Place your decorated crust into the freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 365 DegF. (I don’t use convection here).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place chilled pie plate/crust onto it. Take a fork and dock all around the edges and bottom of the pie crust. Using two layers of heat safe plastic wrap, make a “t” across the bottom of the pie plate. Pour in pie weights and wrap up plastic on top of them making a “nest” of sorts. If you don’t have the heat tolerant cling wrap, you can us a piece of parchment that you crumple up to achieve the same affect. The important thing is to allow the weights to go all the way to the edges and hold down the corners.

Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the weights. Allow to bake for another 10 minutes until the bottom of the crust looks dry.

You now have a wonderful shell to fill with whatever kind of no bake filling you desire! 

Tart Crust

Have you ever been walking through a pastry shop and for sale is this gorgeous tart with ridges up the side that looks not quite like your average pie? It’s a delicate flaky crust that’s not that hard to make! Here’s how you make this wonderful Pâte Sucrée pastry shell!

Ingredients:

DRY:

10 oz (c. 2 cups not leveled/not heaping) All Purpose Flour

1 oz (c. 1/4 cup) Confectioner's sugar

8 oz Butter (2 sticks-- cold and cubed)

WET:

1 large egg yolk

2 T COLD water 

Other Stuff:

11 inch removable bottom tart pan

rolling pin

large bowl

cling film

baking beans/rice

In a Large bowl, sift and whisk together the flour and confectioner’s sugar

Rub butter into the dry mixture with fingers until the mixture looks like wet sand.

Beat the egg yolk and water together until all “lumps” of yolk are broken, then make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add wet mixture. Incorporate quickly just until it sticks together.

Flatten dough into a disk or a ball, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.  

If dough has chilled longer than than 45 minutes, it will need to sit at room temp for about 3-4 minutes before rolling. Liberally dust a surface with flour and dust your rolling pin as much as possible. Remove disk from fridge and then "wake up the dough.” For the traditional tart, it needs to remain 1/8-1/4 inch thick then rolling back on the pin lift the dough and place over the 11" tart pan then pressing into the form.  Chill for at least  10 minutes in the refrigerator.

During this final chill is when I like to preheat my oven to 375Deg F.

Just before baking, place a two pieces of cling film in the bottom and into the corners edges of the tart shell as much as possible. Make sure to gather all of the cling film to the center over the baking beans (as to not tough any metal) and "blind" bake for 20 minutes, remove your film filled with beads and bake to brown the bottom (about 5 more minutes).

Let cool 15 minutes in pan on a wire wrack before removing. Let cool completely before filling with beautiful pastry cream or whipped cream and fruit. 

Lemon filled Pâte à choux!!

Hello Everybody!! Here is my tutorial on how to make a lemon filled pâte à choux! 
If you need to make some lemon curd, 
Here's how: https://youtu.be/yu3dGO0yLEg 

Ingredients for choux pastry: 
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup AP flour
2 eggs

1T of water

Other stuff: 
Piping bag (I use this one) and tip (This is a GREAT/CHEAP starter kit!)
pan and implement for stirring
2 pans lined with parchment paper or a silpat, I have this one
sharp knife

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 425degF
Melt butter and then add water.
Bring to a boil. 
Remove from heat and add in flour
Add eggs one at a time incorporating vigorously as to not to cook the eggs
Place mixture in piping bag
Pipe out the dough onto lined baking sheets
with wet finger get rid of the "kiss" on the top from the piping bag

Put in oven and turn down the temp down to 400degF
bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown

Remove from oven and poke a hole with knife in the side of the pastries to allow any steam to escape.
Cool completely before making filling. 

Filling: 
Ingredients: 
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/4 T of sugar
1/2 t  vanilla extract
c. 2 T lemon curd (if you haven't made mine, store bought is fine) ;) 

Place bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for about 20 minutes. 
Add ingredients into the bowl and whip for about 4 minutes then add in curd. (this is totally optional. . . )
Put whipped cream into piping bag and find the slit in each pastry. 
Pipe in the whipped cream. 

Et Voila! Cream filled puffs WAY better than store bought! 

If you can't eat all at once ;), you can freeze these for a couple months. Just pull out about an hour before you're ready to eat! 

Homemade Croissants

Hello Everybody! This is my making of croissants!! There aren't THAT many ingredients, but it can be a LONG process. . . thank you, www.sprinkledwithjules.com for the recipe! 

Ingredients: 
DRY:
3 1/2 cups AP Flour (plus more for rolling dough)
1/2 cup sugar
2 t salt
2 1/4 t instant yeast (1 packet)

WET: 
1 1/4 cup warm milk (more than room temp. . . )
1T cold water 

FROM THE FRIDGE:
1 Egg (separated)
2 1/2 sticks butter

Instructions: 
Start some way to warm up the milk. I use a "double boiler" type method. It doesn't need to scald, but needs to be c. 110deg.

Measure out 3 1/2 cups AP Flour out of this pull 1 cup
Mix cup of flour and yeast package together and then add in warm milk allowing yeast to "bloom" for 20 minutes.

While "blooming" prep the rest of your dry ingredients in bowl with flour and a plate for the dough to rest.
Add in yeast mixture, combine and knead until the dough comes together and is elastic. This doesn't' take more than 3 minutes. You want the dough to still be pretty pliable at this point. 
Form into a disk and put on Floured plate and cover with plastic wrap. Into the fridge, she goes for at least 2hours to overnight. . . 

Before "waking the dough" prep your butter slab to fold in. 
between two sheets of parchment or wax paper, place cold butter to achieve a slab that is c. 7inX7in.
Place back into the fridge while you "wake" and prep the dough.
Remove plastic wrap and roll out your dough to about a 10inX10in. square. 
Remove wax paper and place the butter layer onto the dough placing it in the orientation that leaves "flaps" on the dough. 
Fold the dough and close like an envelope around the butter squeezing the dough along the seams. 

THEN start to elongate the dough to a 10inX24in long sheet. 
Fold in 3rds, dusting off excess flour and then turn and repeat. 
After 2nd application, place back on floured plate and put in FREEZER for 20 minutes. 
Repeat 2 more times. 
During the Last 20 minutes in the freezer, prep 2 baking sheets with Parchment paper (Wax paper can't be used here).

After the 3rd 20 minute rest. Remove the Dough and cut in half long ways. Wrap 1 half and put back on your floured plate and place in fridge while working with other half. 

make sure that the layers have been laminated to a solid layer and roll out the 1/2 of the dough to about 10in or 12inX15in. 

Using a measuring tape or your dough scraper make slits in the dough every 5 in., turn dough all the way around and starting 2in in from edge, make slits every 5 in. (the point here is to have slits in "V" shapes. "it's a pizza" ;) 

Once your slit templates are made, continue the cuts making "pizza" shapes. 
Flip over, dust off excess flour and on the wide end, make a slit in the middle then "tuck and roll". 
Place croissants on pans lined with parchment paper. 
REPEAT same process with other half of the dough. 

THEN put your croissants in the fridge over night to "proof". They will NOT double in size, but the flavors definitely develop. 

The next day, pull pans from the fridge and let "wake up" for 2 hours. Also, pull your egg out so that it will be easy to separate.

Preheat oven to 400degF
Separate egg and discard the yolk (or keep for a delicious Lemon curd ;))
Mix 1 T of cold water with Egg white and brush on the croissants.
BAKE 1 pan at a time for 30 minutes (ovens vary, mine only takes 25 minutes)
I also change position of pan after 15 minutes. or turn. . . 

AND it's that easy ;)

Again, if you don't have time to make this, store bought is fine :D. 

Lemon Cream Cheese Danishes!

Hello EVERYBODY!! Here is my Danish tutorial! If you need something to do with your lemon curd, this is a perfect application!! Most of this recipe comes from www.sallysbakingaddiction.com (check her out!)

Ingredients: 
PASTRY
Wet Mixture: 
1 packet (2 1/4 t) active dry yeast
1/4 warm/hot tap water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 t of salt
1/2 cup  milk room temp
1 egg room temp
1 t of vanilla

Dry Mixture: 
2 sticks of chilled butter
2 1/2 cups AP flour

LEMON CURD: HOW TO VIDEO! 

CREAM CHEESE FILLING (I only use 1/2 of this recipe in the video): 
2 (8oz packages) of Cream Cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1 t vanilla extract
2 t sour cream

GLAZE: 
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 t vanilla extract
2 T heavy cream
*optional: 1/2 T milk (I add this to make it more drizzleable (that's a verb, right?))

Other tools you'll need: 
Rolling pin
Dough Scraper (pretty much can't do this without one)
Food processor (you CAN use the "rub" method, but let the butter mixture chill before combining with the wet ingredients)
Egg Wash (room temp. egg with 2 T milk)

Instructions: 
Let your egg and milk come to room temperature
Bloom the yeast with  the warm water and set aside. 
Put flour and butter in a food processor and pulse 8-10 times
add the rest of the wet ingredients into the yeast mixture.
combine the two until the dry ingredients are wet
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4+ hours.
**Before you start laminating, take out cream cheese to soften***
Dust a surface with AP flour
Take out and form into a rectangle shape
With a rolling pin, elongate the rectangle and then make a "tri-fold" and turn. Repeat 2 more times. 
Fold up the dough, put back in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. 
***THIS IS WHERE YOU MAKE YOUR CREAM CHEESE FILLING**
Once chilled, cut the dough in 1/2 and place one 1/2 back in the fridge. 
Roll out dough to c. 1/8 in. thick and cut into even squares. 
Make shapes as you please using egg wash (room temp egg and about 2 T milk) as glue. 
Turn on the oven to 400deg F. (dough will proof while oven is preheating). 
Put your lemon curd and cream cheese into the well created in the shapes. This will be fine with EITHER or BOTH! 

CREAM CHEESE FILLING: 
Cream the cream cheese with the sugar and then add to other ingredients until smooth. 

Bake in the 400deg Oven for 15 minutes (I turn my pans ever 5 minutes because of an uneven oven)

Let cool for at least 10 minutes. 

GLAZE:
Combine confectioners sugar, vanilla, and cream/milk mixture. 
And drizzle. 
VOILA!