I was unfamiliar with this cake when I saw it come up in the book. Is it supposed to taste like a madeleine? I wondered. The cake is prepared in a quarter sheet pan and then cut into bars. If frozen, it can be cut into other shapes as is the case for the Lemon Meringue Tarts. The madeleine cake is a secret layer in the middle to separate the lemon curd and meringue top. It is rather versatile.
A family of cream puff swans! I’ve made these before and loved the process of assembling the different choux components to make these pretty pastry creatures. Dusted with powdered sugar it looks like the splashing/rippling in the water.
Doing a bit of catch up on my posting. I just finished up the Pate a Choux chapter in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. The choux dough for Eclairs is also used for the Swans and Paris-Brest so I made one batch and went to town piping different shapes.
I tried a couple of versions of the Paris-Brest in Paris, which inspired the one I made this week using the recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. Thomas Keller’s take on the pastry incorporates peanut butter in the pastry cream for an American flair.
I’m talking about the cronut again? Yes. I’m addicted. I made my own version which I’ll call a cro-not. Mine are close but I’ll need a few more tries (Chef Dominique Ansel tested about 10 versions) before I confidently say I’ve got it. And even then, after spending an entire day making them, Jenn’s Cronut Truck is not in the works.
It’s been two months since I had my first cronut but the food memory is still fresh and I’m happy with how these cronuts turned out. A big thank you to my friend and photographer, Johnny for being ambushed into a photo shoot. I wanted to concentrate on baking and not accidentally drop my iPhone in the fryer. Yes, he was compensated with a fresh cronut.
Photo credit: Jenn Yee
