Dissolve Crescents
Dissolve 1 cake or envelope of yeast in ¼ cup lukewarm water and add ½ cup flour to make a ball of dough. Cut a cross on top of the ball, drop it in a bowl of warm water and leave until it rises to the surface. Mix together 3 ½ cups flour, ½ cup warm milk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sugar and 4 tablespoons soft butter. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Work in the sponge, sprinkle the dough lightly with flour, cover it with a towel and let it stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Roll out the dough in an oblong shape and put ¾ cup soft butter, shaped into an oblong cake, in the center. Make 2 turns, as for croissants, and refrigerate the dough overnight. Make 2 more turns. Roll out the dough into circles about 1/8 inch thick, as for croissants, and cut it into wedges. Put a little franchipan and a few raisins on each wedge and roll them up like croissants. Let the crescents rise on a buttered baking sheet until they are double in bulk. Brush them lightly with beaten egg and bake them in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Franchipan (Almond Filling for Pastries)
Work ½ pound almond paste with ½ cup granulated sugar and 3 eggs until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add 1 cup softened butter, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and a little vanilla or lemon extract.
Charlotte Parisienne
Put enough brioche dough in a buttered deep round mold, like a charlotte mold, to half fill it and let the dough rise in a warm place until it almost fills the mold. Tie a piece of white paper around the top of the mold to make a collar 1 inch high above the mold. Brush the top of the brioche with dorure and bake it in a hot oven (425° F.) for about 25 minutes, until it tests done. If the brioche browns too quickly, cover it with a piece of white paper. Cool the brioche. Slice off the top and scoop out most of the inside, leaving a shell about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Spread the outside of the shell and the top slice with thick apricot jam and sprinkle it with finely chopped toasted almonds or pistachio nuts. When you are ready to serve the charlotte, fill the shell with a mixture of assorted cooked fruits mixed and thickened with the apricot jam and flavored with a little rum or kirsch. The fruit may be warm or cold as preferred. Put back the cover. Cut through the crust and serve the fruit and sauce with a piece of the crust.
Since Lent is upon us, this is an appropriate time to give you the recipe for a traditional Lenten specialty.
Hot Cross Buns
Dissolve 2 cakes or envelopes of yeast in ½ cup lukewarm water. Mix together 1 cup warm milk, ½ cup butter, ½ cup sugar, 3 eggs, ¾ cup currants, ½ cup raisins, ½ teaspoon salt and a little rum or vanilla. Add the dissolved yeast and 5 cups flour. Knead the dough in a buttered warm bowl, sprinkle it lightly with a little flour, cover it with a towel and put in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours, or until it is double in bulk. Punch the dough down and let it rise another ½ hour. Shape it into small round buns. Arrange the buns in a buttered baking pan. allowing a little space between them since they will spread as they rise. Let the buns rise until they are double in bulk. Bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) until brown. Decorate the buns with a cross of icing, made by mixing confectioners' sugar to a paste with a little cream, or sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar.
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