Pastry with Jenn

January 20, 2013 2 Comments

Afternoon Tea: Jacques Genin and my caramel-making story

This post is one of many documenting my week in Paris, a present to myself for graduating pastry school in the fall of 2012. Every moment was spent eating and one post wasn’t enough. It’s now a short novel. Kidding. I hope.

Time for my first of three afternoon tea posts. Sadly I heard this past week (1/14/13) that Jacques Genin will no longer be carrying pastries. Yes his fortés are his chocolates and caramels but I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon tea I had there. Hopefully it will continue in some form.

Tea for two at Jacques Genin in the Marais (3rd arrondissement)

January 11, 2013 Post a Comment

Bouchon Bakery Project: Shortbread

After a couple of weeks of more involved cookies, we get back to the basics with this shortbread recipe. Just five pantry staples: butter, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt. At first I was underwhelmed with the idea of doing this recipe. It didn’t seem that interesting but after consuming more than my fair share of cookies, this recipe now sits very high up on my go-to list.

January 10, 2013 Post a Comment

Bouchon Bakery: TKO’s (Thomas Keller Oreos)

C is for Cookie

There are a couple of cookies I consider classics, one being Chocolate Chip and the other, the Oreo. Thomas Keller’s Oreo or TKO for short is a much more sophisticated sandwich cookie. The dark exterior comes from the cocoa powder in the dough and Chef Keller asks for cocoa noir or black cocoa to get a deep, rich flavor that is not as sweet as the traditional Oreo. The cookie is balanced with a sweet, white chocolate ganache filling that is smooth in contrast to the chalky consistency of the store bought version.

UPDATE 1/14/13: Serious Eats has featured this recipe on their blog with permission from Chefs Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel. You can view the recipe here

January 2, 2013 Post a Comment

Afternoon Tea: Craftsman & Wolves

It was a warm fall day in October and I had a table reserved by the window at Craftsman & Wolves. I was out to try their new afternoon tea, launching a year after the shop opened up in the Mission. Already a fan of the rebel, I was excited for the tea experience and happily photo-documenting what I ate.

December 29, 2012 Post a Comment

Bouchon Bakery: Better Nutters

The classic Nutter Butter made better? Thomas Keller’s recipe consists of a delicate buttery peanut cookie with oats and chopped roasted peanuts and is paired with a peanut butter buttercream. Making this cookie is a bit more time consuming as you have to prepare the dough, chill it for at least 2 hours and then proceed to roll, cut and bake. I did the recipe over the course of two days and it didn’t seem so daunting.