A Pastry Designed for Sydney

I had originally planned to write only about la pâte feuilletée (the puff pastry), but changed my mind when I saw the finished result of our Pâte d’Amande Gâteau Mousse Blanc. I am giving you a heads up this will be a long post with quite a few elements. It might seem staggering at first glance, although each of the components can be prepared alone or you may fabricate the entire dessert; I will give the recipe for pâte feuilletée, mousse d’amande blanche, and gelée de citron-framboise (puff pastry, white almond mousse, and lemon-raspberry gel).

Sydney’s palette, which is exquisite, adores almond paste if she can find a way to use it in a recipe she will. Almost every joconde, coffee cake, macaron, stollen, even ice cream has almond paste or almond flour, however her preference is the almond paste. She has never asked for her special recipe, but last weekend we were constructing with pâte feuilletée (puff pastry) and I was listing to a plethora of sweet and savory creations we would be able to use as a base for a baby shower we were hosting. The mom to be wanted a dessert baby shower, YUM! She asked if almond paste could be the base for a mousse; the idea was ingenious and tasty.

Vol-au-Vent (Puff Pastry Bowls) and Chapeaux Petite

Puff pastry has to be one of the most versatile doughs, it rises, but does not have yeast. True pâte feuilletée (puff pastry) is distinctive once you had a handmade pâte feuilletée there is no going back to the box.

Pâte Feuilletée:

453 grams/ 4 3/8 – cups pastry flour

1-Tablespoon salt

296 grams/ 10 ounces Water

For the buerrage

454 grams cold unsalted beurre

Gluten free:

261 grams /1 2/3-cup, plus 1-tablespoon rice flour

192 grams/ 1/2 rice startch

1 -tablespoon  xanthan gum

2- teaspoons argar argar

4 grams/2-teaspoons rice starch

296 grams/10 ounce water

454 grams/ 16 ounces cold unsalted beurre

Prepare your mise en place, a damp cool towel, and all-purpose flour for dusting the work surface.

The Détrempe:

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade pulse the pastry flour and salt a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once; pulse until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough should be pliable, moist and sticky.

Gluten Free:

Follow the same procedure as above adding with the rice flour and salt, xaxthan gum and argar argar.

Remove the dough from machine, form a ball (your ball will be sticky) and with a very sharp knife slice  diagonally . Wrap the dough in a moisten damp towel and refrigerate for about 25 minutes.

The Détrempe

The Beurrage:

Meanwhile place the butter between some plastic wrap, beat butter with a rolling pin (this is an awesome way to let off some aggression) or a metal scraper until if flattens and is pliable and still cool, form the butter into a little ½ -1-inch square. Make sure the butter remains cool. If the butter seems to be warming up or feeling “greasy” place it back into either the refrigerator or freeze until it is cool once again.

Grab the dough from the chilly refrigerator, unwrap, and check that the détrempe and the beurrrage are the same consistency and place on a very cold lightly floured surface.

Keep rolling the dough on a cold surface and flour the surface enough to prevent the pastry dough from sticking. Most importantly the détrempe  and the beurrage need to the same cool temperature.

With a good heavy rolling pin gently roll the chilled rested détrempe to create a thicker center square with ears on each corner, just large enough to wrap/enclose the beurrage.

Place the chilled beurrage in the middle of détrempe (the beurrage should be angled like a diamond). First fold one set of opposite flaps over the butter and than the remaining two ears completely enclose the beurrage. Pinch the dough together to lightly seal, creating a piton.

**To make a great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times.

Using the rolling pin press lightly the pâton about four to five times lengthwise or until it 23cm/9-inches long and 9mm/3/8-inch thick. Brush off the excess flour, fold the dough in thirds like a business letter being sure to fold the top side first and bottom side up, first turn is complete, rotate the dough so the fold edge/spine is facing to the left.

Using the length of rolling pin works well.

Making the turns, gently but with a firm hand press the rolling pin against the top and bottom of the square (this will keep it a square shape). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured roll the dough into a rectangle that’s is 3 times longer than the original square, about 24-inches long. With the first roll it is very important that the incased butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you begin rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly if necessary, to obtain a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich. With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a letter, brush off the excess flour. You have completed one turn, this called the tourage.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough again 24-inches in length and folding into thirds. This is the second turn. Place two finger print dots to keep track of the turns.Wrap the piton in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.

Chill the dough for 60 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap. This processes need to be repeated six turns or times marking by indenting your fingerer two times for each two turns.

After the six turns the pâte feuilletée is ready for use, or if not using within 24 to 48 hours wrap in freezer paper, plastic wrap, and place in the freezer ( the pâte feuilletée will last up to one month). Prior to using from the freezer place in refrigerator to defrost.

Pâton with six turns

Sydney’s Pâte d’Amande Gâteau Mousse Blanc

Pâte Feuilletée Triangles:

Puff Pastry 1/3 recipe

egg wash

Cut the puff pastry in a triangle shape. Using a pastry brush lightly coat the pâte feuilletée  with egg wash and dock whole in the pastry to allow some air to escape.

Bake for in a preheated oven on 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F for about 35 to 40 minutes, while still warm soak in Amaretto.

125 grams/1 ¼ almond paste

10 grams/ 4-teaspoons cornstarch

50 grams egg white

50 grams sugar/1/4-cup superfine sugar

300 grams milk

1 vanilla bean

6 grams gelatine leaves

175 grams whipping cream

175 grams crème frâiche

Prepare your mise en place and place gelatin in ice-cold water.

Mise en place

In a food processor blitz the almond paste and cornstarch.

In a bowl add egg whites whisk till foam and slowly add sugar, continue to whisk till stiff peaks.

Fold the meringue into almond paste in two batches

In a heavy bottom saucepan pour milk. Bring to a kiss of a boil and pour over almond-meringue paste mixture stirring to combine. Pour the entire mixture back into the heavy saucepan. To on the heat and bring the mixture to a  thick custard, reaching 85 degrees/ 185 degrees F. Take off of the heat and add the gelatine sheets. Pour custard into a bowl. Cool down to about 27 degrees C/ 78 degrees F. (room temperature).

In a cold bowl of a standing mixer bring cream  and crème fråiche to lightly soft peaks and slowly add the cooled custard. Place the custard in a piping bag with 12mm/.5-inch open nozzle, pipe into triangle tart pans. Place a disk of soak sponge on top freeze completely.

Gelée de Citron-Framboise (Orange Raspberry Jelly):

350 grams/ 2 containers fresh or 2-cups frozen raspberries

130 grams sugar

150 grams fresh lemon juice

10 grams fresh ginger

8 grams/ 4 sheets gelatine or pacakage

Prepare your mise en place, and in ice-cold water place gelatin sheets.

In a heavy bottom saucepan bring raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil; take off heat gentle fold the ginger into the mixture and return to heat.  Take off heat, whisk the gelatin into the lemon-raspberry mixture. Pour into half-spheres using a funnel and freeze completely.

Assemble:

Take the blancmange and lemon-raspberry jelly out from the freezer. Lay the blancmange on a plate; place one of the half-spheres of jelly inside the blancmange. Decorate with fresh red fruit, caramelized almonds, and pulled sugar.

Voila! Profiter