|
How
Sweet it is This is the age of running shoes, diet books and food taboos, but there is still one part of our lives that exists outside of calorie counting. That is the field of glorious desserts, be it a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream or the insidiously good afternoon fix of a chocolate truffle. Even after a prudent meal of grilled fish and vegetables, most diners greedily dig into the richest dessert on the menu. And so, it is in every good cook’s interest to have a dessert or two up ones sleeve even if your chief culinary interests lie elsewhere. For
those of you who are beginning dessert cooks and for the rest of us who simply
don’t seem to have the knack for pastry, I’ve compiled a few simple rules to
follow. ·
When rolling out dough, never push it so far that it begins to spring
back. You have overstretched the gluten. Dough shrinks back when it is baked and
results in an uneven and tough crust. ·
If you have an unbaked pie shell that develops a hole, roll out a bit of
unbaked dough, brush it with water and use it as a patch for the offending crack
or hole. ·
When using the tines of a fork to prick an unbaked pie shell, prick it
directly down from top to bottom, not holding the fork at an angle. If you prick
it sideways you tend to make large holes and the filling will leak through. ·
It is always best to refrigerate or freeze unbaked tart or pie shells
before baking. ·
Always cool a baked pie or tart on a rack to prevent the shell from
becoming soggy. ·
If you have a batch of over whipped cream; you can make it edible by
folding a small amount of unwhipped cream. The resulting cream will be dense
rather than light, but it will be useable. A
well-made dessert communicates with those who are going to eat it long before
they take the first bite. What appears on the outside is a promise of what
awaits within. The pastry cook should always be aware of this promise. Once you
have created anticipation you either fulfill it or disappoint. After all, part
of the pleasure of a great dessert is the admiration and appreciation that comes
to the cook. Pie
shell made with a Rich Short Dough Makes
one eight-inch pie 1
¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 8
tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 1
egg yolk 1
teaspoon sugar Pinch
of sea salt 3
tablespoons of cold water (approximately) 1)
Put one and three quarters of a cup of flour into a bowl. Add the butter
and cut into the mixture until it resembles oatmeal. 2)
Combine the egg yolk, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Beat well. Add
enough water to make one third of a cup. 3)
Pour the egg mixture into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until the
dough begins to ball up. Gather the resulting dough and refrigerate for one
hour. 4)
Preheat the oven to 400 F. 5)
Sprinkle to top of a counter with two tablespoons of flour. Turn the
dough out onto it and roll the dough into a circle about 14 inches in diameter.
Use this to line an 8-inch tart tin, preferably with a removable bottom. Press
the dough against the inside. 6)
Chill the dough for 15 minutes. Line the bottom and side of the dough
gently with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or
until golden brown. As the dough bakes, the pastry might rise slightly. If it
does, press it gently in the centre to make it lie flat once more. Remove the
shell from the oven and let cool. Remove the aluminum foil. |