Nowhere does April bloom with the special gaiety that is hers in Paris, where the flower vendors' trays on every corner burst forth in a riot of color, the chestnut trees on the Champs Elysée blossom in all their snowy finery, and the streets glisten with rain one moment and are dry the next. Best of all, I love the shop windows in all their Easter glory. I am tempted to press my nose like a gamin against the windows of the charcuterise tileries, cohnftseries, pâtisseries, and boulangeries, so vivid with their specialties de Pâques, the most elaborate display of the year.
Now that we are dealing with pastries. I am particularly glad that my last trip abroad took me to Paris in April, so that I could again see, after fifteen years absence (many of them spent working under the restrictions of wartime rationing), how delicate is the French pastry chef's art, what skill his exacting trade requires.
The ingenious Greeks were the first to discover and develop almost every one of the basic arts, including the art of pastry making. But the French later adopted pastry making as avidly as they have taken so many of the ancient arts to their hearts. In fact, the French have turned the making of baked foodstuffs of all kinds into an important national business. Their chefs began to specialize in one particular kind of pastry in order to concentrate their skills, and finally formal categories developed: there were pâtissiers, or pastry chefs, boulangers, who baked breadstuffs, and charcusiers, who made meat specialties. Gallic temperament being what it is, the rivalry between these groups became so heated at one point that the police had to step in to quell riots.
This is what had happened. The pastry chefs were aroused because the bakers were making let petits gâteaux-little cakes-and anting into business that properly belonged to the pâtisserie. Hut the pastry chefs themselves were not entirely without sin-they were selling hams baked in a pastry crust, which encroached on charcutiers' territory. It was not an easy moral problem to decide, since meat specialties were the province of the cbarcutier and pastry belonged to the pâtitssier, Alors, the charctiers won the exclusive right to prepare all the cooked meats, and the pâsissiers persuaded the boulangers to stop making cakes. That is the way the system works in France to this day, and no one would dream of violating this long-established gentlemen's agreement.
There arc two major differences between the French pastries of this country and those of France. In France there is greater variety in shapes, fillings, icings, and decoration. There the pastry chef works as creatively and artistically as a jeweler works in fashioning his metals, stones, and enamels. The second difference is that of size. The French gourmet believes that large pastries are the work of a chef of poor taste and inexpert craftsmanship. I remember how infuriated Madame Ritz would be if the pastries on her tea tray were one iota larger than the size established by the Ritz as being de rigeur. And Robert W. Goelet, who built and owned the old New York Ritz and who had lived a great part of his life in Paris, was as adamant about this as Madame Ritz. Believe me, this sometimes made life difficult for me and for my pastry chef, because many American guests felt they were being cheated unless the éclairs and the petis fours were as large as those they we re accustomed to seeing at home.
In France, if you have a sweet tooth (and who hasn't?), you may eat several pastries. But perfect eclairs arc never larger than your middle finger; napoleons, dartois, and other puff-paste tidbits are a mere three inches long. fruit tartelettes only a trifle bigger than a silver dollar, pet its chaussons (fruit turnovers) about two inches at their longest point. Cream puffs and little iced cakes shaped in Squares, rounds, or triangles are just bite size, like a bonbon.
In France, the term pastry covers all the sweet cakes, tarts, petits fours, fraindises, and gâteaux served at a tea or a soirée, or with dessert, particularly frozen dessert. In America, pastry usually refers to a pie or tart of some sort. while other baked sweets are called cakes, cookies, and so on. The word used for the uncooked dough with which tarts arc made is similar in English and French. Here it is called paste; that is, pie paste, puff paste, and so on. In the language of the French chef it is a pâte (not to be confused with a pâte, which is a delicately seasoned meat or fish paste). In France, all doughs and batters are pales. Puff paste, however, is also called feuilletage or pate feuilletée, and sometimes millefeuille.
The following pastes are used not only for desserts but for other courses also. Those that do not contain sugar are used as crust toppings for meat pies, to make appetizer tarteletters with cheese or other savory fillings, and for turnovers with meat or fish-paste fillings.
Be sure to follow the recipe as meticulously as a chemist mixes his prescription; be especially careful about chilling the paste as indicated in several of the recipes below. And do not discard even a scrap of the trimmings-they can be used to make wonderful little "extras." Roll them lightly into a ball and use them to make sartelette shells, meatpie crusts, or palm leaf cookies. Or cut the puff paste into exquisite little crescents or diamond shapes, and use them to garnish elaborate plats.
Pâte Feuilletée(Puff Paste)
Sift 4 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a howl or in a mound on a pastry board, make a well in the center and add 1 cup very cold water. Mix together carefully and gently, taking care not to "work" the dough, and add another ½ cup water or as much more as is needed to make a fairly firm dough. This paste must not have any elasticity, but if should have enough moisture in it to permit rolling it out easily without forcing and working it. Form the paste into a ball and let it stand in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Knead 1 pound sweet butter with the hands, working it in a bowl of ice water if it starts to get soft, and squeeze out any water. The butter should be pliable and waxy, not soft or creamy. Put the chilled ball of paste on a lightly floured board and roll it into a square about 1 inch thick. In the center, place the cake of butter, flattening it a little. Fold the third of the square of paste that is nearest you over the butter in the center and then fold the third farthest from you over that, making three layers of paste with the butter between the bottom two. Then fold a third of the paste at the right-hand side over the center and a third on the left-hand side over that, to make a square a third the size of the original and nine layers thick. Chill the paste for 25 minutes. Roll it out on the floured board again. into an oblong 1/ 2 inch thick and 20 inches long. Fold the third nearest you over the Center and the third farthest from you over that. Turn the dough so that the open end faces you. Rolling, folding, and turning in this manner is called a turn. Make a second turn and return the dough to the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Then roll, fold, and turn 2 more times, to make 4 turns in all. Chill the dough for another 20 minutes.
In order to finish the puff paste, 2 more turns will he required; if the pastry is to be baked right away, the last 2 turns are made at this point. However, the paste can be made up ahead and stored in the refrigerator for several days before it is baked. If this is to be done, wrap the dough in wax paper or aluminum foil and put it in the refrigerator. Make the final 2 turns when you arc ready to shape the pastries. After the final 2 turns, roll the dough to a thickness of 1 /8 to ¼ inch, depending upon how it is to be vised. For bilking, use a very heavy pan, lightly moistened. Cut the paste into the desired shape. Flip each piece when placing it on the pan, so that the side that was uppermost is face down on the moistened pan. Let the paste stand for 15 minutes and bake until brown on the lowest rack of a hot oven (425°F.).
Pâte Brisée à Vomer (Pastry far Tarts)
Cream ¼ pound butter with 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. With a pastry blender mix in 2 cups flour. Add 6 or 7 tablespoons cold water, or just enough to make a firm dough, handling the dough as lightly as possible. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper or aluminum foil, and chill it for several hours before using it.
Pastry for Fruit Tarts
Follow the recipe for pastry for tarts but add 1 small egg to the butter, sugar, and salt mixture.
Pâte Sucrée or Pâte Sèche (Sweet Pastry)
Sift 1 cup flour into a bowl or in a mound on the pastry board. Make a well in the center and put in it ¼ cup creamed butter. 5 tablespoons sugar, a little salt and 1 egg. Mix all together by gradually pulling the flour into the ingredients in the center. If the mixture is too stiff to roll out, add a few drops of water. Chill the paste for several hours before using it.
Pâte à Tourte (Pastry for Two-Crust Pies)
Cut 5 tablespoons butter and 5 tablespoons lard (or other shortening) into 2 cups of flour sifted with ½ teaspoon salt, mixing the butter and lard in with the finger tips or with a pastry blender. Add 6 or 7 tablespoons cold water, or enough to make a firm dough, handling it very gently. Chill the dough for several hours before using it.
Pâte a Paté (Pastry for Meat Pies)
Cream together 4 tablespoons butter and 5 tablespoons lard. Add ½ teaspoon salt and 1 egg. Mix in 2 cups flour with the finger tips or a pastry blender and add about 6 tablespoons cold water, or enough to make a firm dough. Handle the pastry very gently and mix it carefully and just long enough to combine the ingredients. Use for meat pies and pates that arc enclosed in a crust.
Napoléons
Roll out puff paste into a sheet 1/8 inch thick and about 14 inches long and 12 inches wide. Lay the sheet on a buttered baking pan and prick it all over with a fork. Bake it in a hot oven (400° to 425°F) until it is golden brown. The cake should be light but not puffy. With a very sharp knife, cut it into three strips, each 4 inches wide. Form a 3-layer cake, using pastry cream (March, 1956) between the layers. Brush the top layer with apricot puree and ice it with white fondant icing (March, 1956). Put a little melted chocolate in a tiny paper cornucopia and make stripes across the icing. Carefully cut across the chocolate stripes with a small knife to make the conventional design used for napoléons. With a sharp knife dipped in boiling water slice into pieces 1 ½ inches wide.
Mille-Feuille
Follow the recipe for napoléons, filling the layer with thick apricot puree mixed with the pastry crumbs left from cutting the baked strips. Or fill the layers with whipped cream and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.
Mirlitons
Line 12 individual dec]) tart molds with puff paste and prick the paste well with a fork. Put ½ teaspoon apricot jam in each mold and fill the shells with the following mixture: Beat 2 eggs with ½ cup sugar until they are light and fluffy, flavor with a little vanilla and add 4 of 5 dry macaroons, crushed to make very fine crumbs. Sprinkle the tarts lightly with chopped almonds and bake them in a moderately hot oven (375° to 400°F.) for 12 to 15 minutes.
Cbausson aux Pommes
Roll puff paste ¼ inch thick and cut it into an 8or 9-inch circle, using a plate as a guide. Spread the center with thick applesauce or with apples cooked for cbauSSOns, leaving clear a 1 ½inch rim all around. Moisten one half of this rim with water and fold it over the other half to make the circle into a half-moon. Seal the edges together and make liny nicks with a small knife around the curved edge to give a decorative scalloped effect. Brush the top with dorure (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk) and prick it in several places with a fork. Lay the cbausson on .c1 moistened baking pan and bake it in a hot oven (400° to 425°F.) for 30 to 35 minutes. About 5 minutes before taking it from the oven, sprinkle the turnover with powdered sugar; this gives it an attractive glaze. Serve cool or lukewarm.
Apples for Chaussons
Peel, core and slice 1 pound apples. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and in it saute the apple slices until they begin to soften. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste, and cook until the mixture is thick. Add a little vanilla or a few drops of lemon juice or 1 tablespoon of rum. Cool the apples and use them to fill the chausson. Two tablespoons of raisins may be added to the apples, if you like.
Petits Chaussons
Follow the recipe for chausson aux pommes, but make tiny individual turnovers. Fill them with the apple mixture or with jam or pastry cream and bake them for 12 to 15 minutes in a hot oven (425° to 450° F.).
Chausson aux fraises
Follow the directions for chausson aux pommes, but instead of using apples for the filling, spread 3 or 4 crushed macaroons or ladyfingers over the paste and over these put 1 cup strawberries, washed and thoroughly dried, and 2 teaspoons red currant jelly.
Conversation
Roll out 2 separate pieces of puff paste, one piece 1/8 inch thick and the other ¼ inch thick. Cut them into 8inch circles, using a plate as a guide. Turn the thinner layer onto a moistened baking sheet. Spread the center with pastry cream (March, 1956) leaving a clear border of about 1 ½ inches around the edge. Moisten the edge with water, place the other layer on top and press the two edges together to seal them. Make tiny nicks with a small knife around the edge to give a decorative scalloped effect. Make a smooth paste with confectioners' sugar and 1 egg white and spread this over the top. Cut very narrow strips of puff paste, brush them with dorure (1 egg beaten with I tablespoon milk) and arrange them in a pattern on top of the cake. Bake it in a moderately hot oven (375° to 400° F.) for 25 to 30 minutes.
To make individual conversations, line individual tart molds with puff paste, prick the bottoms and fill the molds just to the top with pastry cream. Moisten the edge of the pastry with water and cover the tarts with circles of puff paste. Trim the edges and seal them Finish the tarts as you would the large conversation and bake them for 15 to 18 minutes.
Gâteau Jalousie
Roll out 2 oblongs of puff paste 12 inches long and 4 ½ to 5 inches wide, one piece 1/8 inch thick, the other ¼ inch thick. Lay the 1/8-inch-thick layer on a moistened baking sheet. Spread the center with red currant jelly or raspberry jam (or a mixture of the two), leaving a border of about ¾ inch all around the rectangle. Fold the thicker rectangle in half lengthwise and, starting 1 ½ inches from each end. make parallel cuts, ¼ inch apart, across the fold to within 1 ½ inches of the side. Moisten the edges of the bottom layer, unfold the cut layer and cover the bottom layer with it. Seal the edges will. With a sharp knife make tiny decorative nicks, ½ inch apart, along the edges to make a scalloped effect. Brush the top of the cake with dorure (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk) and prick the edges in a few places with a fork. Bake in a hot oven (400 ° F.) for about 20 minutes. Brush the top with thick apricot purée or jam and sprinkle the edges with granulated sugar or chopped almonds. The gâteau jalousie may be served as a whole cake or it may be cut crosswise into 1 ½inch slices before serving.
Allumettes Glacées
Roll puff paste ¼ inch thick and cut it into strips 4 inches wide. Add enough confectioners' sugar to 1 egg white to make a smooth paste and spread the paste over the lop of the puff paste strips. Cut the strips crosswise into pieces I ½ inches wide and lay them on a moistened pan. Bake the allumeltcs in a moderately hot oven (375° to 400'F.) for 10 to 12 minutes. Put the baking pan on the lowest shelf of the oven so that the sugar will not brown too quickly.
Palmier (Palm Leaves)
Roll puff paste 1/8 inch thick, 10 to 15 inches long and 4 ¼ inches wide. Sprinkle the strip with granulated sugar. Fold over the long sides so that they meet in the center and sprinkle the strip again with granulated sugar. Fold over the long sides again so that they meet in the Center. You now have a long strip I inch wide and ½ inch(hick. Cut die strip crosswise into slices ¼ to ½ inch wide, Lay the slices, cut side down, on a buttered baking sheet and spread them open to make a small V. Bake the palmists in a hot oven (425° to 450° F.) until the bottom is caramelized and brown, then turn them over to caramelize and brown the other side.
Darioles
Line 6 baba molds with puff paste or tart paste, prick the bottoms with a fork and put ½ teaspoon butter in each. Fill the molds three quarters full with the following mixture: Beat 2 eggs with I/2 cup sugar until they are light and add 2 tablespoons flour and I cup cold milk. Flavor with a little orange (lower water. Bake the darioles in a moderately hot oven (375° to 400° F.) for 15 minutes.
Galette des Rois
Sift 2 cups flour and ¼ teaspoon salt into a bowl or in a mound on a board, make a well in the center and pin into it ¾ cup butter and ¾ cup water. Mix the ingredients together with the finger tips, handling the mixture as lightly as possible. Form the dough into a ball and chill it for 1 hour. Roll the dough as you would pull paste, making 4 turns in all and chilling it after the second turn. Roll the paste into a round or oblong shape about ½ inch thick, lay it on a buttered baking sheet, brush the top with dorure ( 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk) and prick it well with a fork to form a design. Let the galette stand for 10 minutes and bake it in a hot oven (400° to 450° F.) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is brown. Serve cool or lukewarm.
When this cake is served at a Twelfthnight party, a very tiny metal doll or an almond is pressed into the dough as a symbol of l'Enfant, the Christ Child. Whoever finds the token in his piece of galette becomes the king (or queen) of the evening's festivities and leads the games at the party.
Pithiviers (Almond Cake)
Roll two pieces of puff paste, one 1/8 inch thick, the other ¼ inch thick. Cut each into an 8-inch circle, using a plate as a guide. Turn the 1/8inch-thick layer onto a moistened baking sheet. Spread the center with crime d'amandes leaving a clear border of about I ½ inches around the edge. Moisten the edge with water Cover with the other layer and press the two edges together to seal them. Make tiny nicks with a small knife around the edge to give a decorative scalloped effect. Brush the top with dorure (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk). Make a little rosette design on the top with a knife and prick the crust in several places with a fork. Bake in a hot oven (400° to 425° F.) for 20 to 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before taking the cake from the oven sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar to caramelize and glaze the top. Serve lukewarm.
Crème d'Amandes (Almond Cream)
Blend ½ egg white with 5 ounces almond paste. Add gradually 2/3 cup pastry cream and mix all together thoroughly. Or blend 2 egg yolks with 5 ounces almond paste. Add gradually 3 tablespoons softened butter and mix all together well. If desired, flavor the cream with a little vanilla or with 1 tablespoon rum or kirsch.
Gateau Dârtois
Roll out 2 pieces of puff paste, one 1/8 inch thick, the other ¼ inch thick. Cut each piece into a scrip 12 inches long and 4 ½ to 5 inches wide. Lay the 1/8-inch-thick layer on a moistened baking sheet. In the center spread crème pâtissière (March, 1956) or crèeme d'amandes, leaving a clear border about ¾ inch around the rectangle. Moisten the border and cover the cake with the ¼-inch-thick layer. Seal the edges all around and make tiny nicks at regular intervals with a small knife to give a decorative scalloped effect. Brush the cake with dorure (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk), prick it lightly with a fork, and with a small knife cut a decorative design on top. Bake the gateau in a hot oven (400° to 425° F.) for 20 to 25 minutes. Five minutes before removing the cake from the oven, sprinkle it with powdered sugar. The gateau may be served as a whole cake or it may be cut crosswise in 1 ½inch pieces to make individual pastries.
Tarte aux Fraises (Strawberry Tart)
Line a pie pan or individual tart pans with tart paste and prick the bottom well. Put a piece of wax paper on the dough and fill the pan with dried beans or lentils. Bake in a hot oven (425° F.) for 18 to 20 minutes. Discard the beans and the paper. Cool the shells and fill them with strawberries. Glaze them with melted currant jelly.