Happy Spring everyone! It’s March 31, 2019 and yesterday we enjoyed a 60 degree spring day and woke up to snow and frigid temps this morning – that’s Ohio for ya!
I know it’s been awhile since I posted a new recipe, but I can assure you I have been busy cooking and baking up a storm each weekend! In fact, I set a New Year goal to master two baking techniques: puff pastry and pate a choux pastry.
They are both classical pastry types, but quite different in texture. Pate a choux is a cooked preparation, egg-based dough that puffs up in the oven creating a tender hollow pastry shell to be filled with your favorite filling. Puff pastry is a cold butter based preparation that bakes up into light and flakey layers. I have to say, pate a choux is easier of the two to make and my family and co-workers have enjoyed both sweet and savory cream puffs with a variety of fillings using this pastry dough (I promise to post a recipe at a later date). Puff Pastry was more difficult to master and it took a few trials until I found the perfect recipe and method for me. Now, let me just send out a little disclaimer that I did not try the traditional (and quite laborious) method, which involves several steps of adding butter, turning, folding and rolling the dough with time in between for resting, in order to get perfect lamination layers. However, I am quite satisfied with my recipe that yields “beautiful golden brown, flakey layers of yumminess”– try saying that 5 times fast!!!
Once I mastered the recipe, I even did a blind taste test with my husband comparing home-made vs the frozen stuff you get in a box. Nothing against the frozen stuff, I’ve used it many times in the past, but no more! Home-made won hands down for taste, texture and puffiness and can be made for a fraction of the cost; and it’s just not that difficult to make, so I encourage you to try it out for yourself and let me see your results!
This recipe uses frozen grated butter, which I found to be the easiest way to incorporate the butter into the flour. Be sure to chill your grater and rolling-pin in the freezer, as keeping the pastry cold is key to your success.
BASIC PASTY INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cups Flour
- 2 sticks of butter (frozen)
- 1 Cup Ice Cold Water
- 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
PREPARATION
- add flour to a mixing bowl
- gradually grate frozen butter into the flour and lightly mix with a fork. I found that grating the butter in 4 steps works very well. Basically grate a 1/2 stick, mix with fork, and repeat until all of the butter is grated and mixed in.
- add lemon juice to the water (lemon juice will help tenderize the dough)
- gradually add the cold lemon water to the flour/butter mixture, gently stirring with the fork, just until dough comes together (you may or may not use all the liquid, but do not add too much water)
- on a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle about 1/4 thick (roughly 16″ x 9″)
- fold dough into thirds, rotate 90 degrees and roll out once again into a rectangle–repeat this until you have folded and rolled 3 times.
- fold dough into thirds and cut in half.
- wrap each half tightly in plastic and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours before using.
- dough will keep several days in the fridge, or can be frozen for several weeks.
MINI FRUIT STRUDEL
MINI STRUDEL INGREDIENTS
- 1 puff pastry dough sheet
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup fruit preserves
- egg wash (1 egg w 1 tsp water, lightly beaten)
- 1 cup powder sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 Tbs cream (milk or half & half are fine, too)
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 400F
Unfold one puff pastry sheet and rollout out to flatten the creases.
with a pastry cutter, cut dough in half long ways then into 6 sections, making 12 little rectangles
place 1 tsp of preserves in center of each rectangle
fold one side of dough over preserves
brush egg wash onto top of folded layer and fold other side over the top to bring the layers together
place strudel on a parchment lined baking sheet, folded side down and cut slits into the top of each, to allow air to escape
bake in oven until golden brown for 20 minutes (do not sneak a peek!). Remove from oven and place on rack to cool before icing.
In a small bowl, mix powder sugar, vanilla and cream until smooth and glossy and a consistency for drizzling. Pour glaze into a small zip-locked bag, make a small cut in one corner with scissors and pipe glaze onto each strudel.
allow glaze to dry completely and enjoy!
