CHAUSSONS AUX POMMES

This is a recipe that's post has been much delayed. It was first planned as an autumnal post, but here we are at the end of January.

There are many great boulangeries in Tokyo, and one of the hardest treats for me to resist when I'm in one is a "chausson aux pommes". It's like an individual apple pie, but better because the bottom turns out just as well baked and flaky as the top. (I always have trouble getting the base of apple pies to brown well.) "Chaussons" means "slippers" in French, making "chaussons aux pommes" translate to "apple slippers". This name, combined with the traditional leaf design created on the surface, makes me think that these treats have "cozy autumn" written all over them, but piping hot out of the oven they weren't bad at all on a cold winter day as well.

The traditional chaussons aux pommes uses a pâte feuilletée for the crust, but since I had leftover pâte feuilletée rapide from my previous post, I used that instead. (Well to be honest, I made the pâte feuilletée rapide specifically for these, so I suppose it wasn't "leftover" pastry dough.) It made the crust less puffier (flakier?), but they were still good and a huge hit with my family.

Be careful not to soak the chaussons when brushing with the egg wash, and if you're like me and like an extra crisp & crumble for your first bite, dust with confectioner's sugar twice while baking. I'm also thinking that these would be quite lovely served with vanilla ice cream; must try next time.

* { chaussons aux pommes, crust adapted from : 辻調グループ (tsuji group) — 速成パイ生地, filling adapted from : williams-sonoma — apple pie }
— click on the images above, or continue reading for the recipe

LA CRUST | PÂTE FEUILLETÉE RAPIDE

This year, I want to try a new series called "LA CRUST". I have always loved pastries, and as the title indicates, this series will focus on different pastries; "the crust" of baked treats. This is partly to make recipes that require pastry shorter and simpler, and partly because I believe crusts should have their own posts. (Pies and tarts are all about how good the crust is, no?)

In honor of post No.1 of this new attempt, I've picked the famed pâte feuilletée to try, but rather than the classic and very time-consuming version (we'll save that for another day), I tried a slightly easier (and albeit a little less puffier) but just as delicious version by the Tsuji Group. I've learned that everyone has different tricks and techniques for making beautiful pâte feuilletée, but the most important thing is to keep the butter cold. At all times. If you are looking for some good tips on rolling and folding the dough, I highly recommend this post by Magda of My Little Expat Kitchen. She explains everything in detail with photographs. I also recommend that you use the pastry up as soon as possible, because pâte feuilletée rapide does not puff as much as normal pâte feuilletée, and the longer you store it, the lower the puff will be.

Hopefully, I will be able to learn the different types and all the techniques necessary for pastry making through this new project. Let's just hope I don't end up gaining extra weight from eating too many pastries. Hmmm . . . *

* { pâte feuilletée rapide adapted from : 辻調グループ (tsuji group) -- 速成パイ生地 }
click on the images above for the recipe

LA GANACHE | A DETAILED HOW-TO

Ever since the holiday season started last year, I have been having too much chocolate. There were chocolate tartlets and the chocolate truffle stars, a chocolate cake and boxes of bon bon chocolats, chocolate bars from Dean & Deluca (which I braved on the weekend right before Christmas: not a very good idea), and old chocolate brownies saved from the freezer. There were even a few chocolate chip cookies if you can count that as chocolate. And not to mention that Valentines's Day is right around the corner, and I have more chocolate recipes lined up to try. Enough is enough, but I just wanted to share a detailed how-to for making chocolate ganache.
I have failed with chocolate so many times, crying over wasted (expensive) chocolate, and I know that it is one of the most frustrating experiences in the world. Hopefully, this detailed and very glossy version from Miette (which is one of the prettiest cookbooks/pastry shops ever) will save others from having to go through that kind of frustration.

* { la ganache adapted from : miette by meg ray with leslie jonath -- chocolate ganache }
click on the images above for the recipe

HAPPINESS IN A BOX | BON APPÉTIT BOXES № 1

A trial version of the "bon appétit boxes" (which never happened during the holidays, but which will hopefully happen very soon). I am thinking Valentine's will be a very good occasion for the prettier and slightly more elaborate version I have in mind . . . *

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR | CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE STARS

. . . a belated happy, happy new year, and wishing you all the very best for 2014!
How has your new year been so far? Here, it has been a non-stop whirl ever since christmas, and there were champagne toasts and merry merry dinners, much needed family time and pretty holiday cards, last minute cooking and new year's baking, and now it is monday again, and have been thinking very hard about where {chasing sofia crumbs} will be headed for the new year (and there is still much to consider), but first a recipe for a bright & beautiful start.

The idea for these chocolate truffle stars (or chocolate truffle reverse-tartlets) came up when I was designing my new year's card. Back when I made these lemon tartelettes, I also tried the chocolate truffle tartlettes by miette, and they were fantastic. The only problem was, because the chocolate ganache was so rich, a whole tartlet felt slightly too rich. But I didn't want to give up on these chocolate treats because they truly were delicious. Thoughts of making them in smaller bite size portions came up momentarily, but making canape-size tart shells wasn't very appealing, and besides, I thought these treats deserved a prettier look (than my probably wonky canape tart shell attempts).

Fast-forward to christmas time. I had a brand new star-shaped cookie cutter, and the phrase "bright & beautiful new year" was appearing on my new year's card design. It also helped seeing this beautiful photograph of salted caramels (taken by my idol Katie Quinn Davies, full post here), and the idea for chocolate truffle stars was born. These are reverse-tartlets with the pâte sucrée crust in the middle and the chocolate ganache on the outside rather than the other way around. I tried topping them with a pinch of fleur de sel, and they upgraded the intense chocolate flavor (at least in my opinion, but I was in a euphoric state so please feel free to omit this last step if you are skeptical) and set a lovely contrast. Make sure that you get the ganache as glossy and smooth as you can, and also keep them in the refrigerator until serving time because ganache becomes sticky and soft at room temperature.
Happy baking, and hope your 2014 is bright & beautiful!


* { chocolate truffle stars adapted from : miette by meg ray with leslie jonath — chocolate truffle tartlettes }