Better Snap To It And Write A Damn Article

Once again my updating of the site has lapsed somewhat due to life getting in the way, but there will be more Pastries Of The Week and a whole lot more now that I have my new study to work in.  Unfortunately, I don't yet have my new 'puter to replace the failed MacBook Pro, so I am banging this out on a creaky old MacMini with a crappy old French keyboard (typos ahoy8).
Back to the food.
Not much experimentation to report at the moment, due to circumstances beyond my control, but I did dig out an old Mrs Beeton recipe for Ginger Snaps . The only potential issue with this recipe is that it includes 'golden syrup' which may be hard to come by outside the UK.  I have been hoarding some since a visitor brought some over last year. (Remind me to tell you about my Marmite tax on the guest room).  I followed Mrs Beeton's recipe as closely as I could, but used butter rather than lard and added levure chimique (baking powder) to type 45 flour (a basic, plain flour).
I also used a recipe The Daughter gave me for butter-free chocolate cake, which I am hoping she will write up on here herself, but then I, of course, layered in caramel spread and Nutella and then smothered the whole thing in caramel chocolate ganache.
Restraint: I have none.

Fougasse aux Anchois

Ingredients: 

For one fougasse around 300g:

• 180g plain flour


• 110ml warm water


• 2g fresh yeast


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 10g roughly chopped anchovy filets


• 1 beaten egg


• Dish of water at the bottom of the oven

• Prep time: approx 1 hour


• Proving time: 2 1/2 hours


• Rest time: 50 mins


• Baking time: 25 mins

Instructions: 

• Make a pile of the flour directly on your workspace, with a 'well' in the middle


• Gently pour in the warm water and work into a dough


• Knead for a full 5 mins until smooth


• Form into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest 35 mins


• Crumble in the yeast and work it into the dough for 5 mins


• Add the salt and do the same


• Work in the anchovies, the n form into a ball once more


• Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for 90 mins


• Once the ball has doubled in size, fold it in on itself


• Reforrm the ball and leave to rest a further 15 mins


• Roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 3cms deep


• Place on a baking tray and slash with a sharp knife a few times, then pull at the sides of the rectangle to widen the slashes


• Leave to prove for a further hour


• Thoroughly glaze the fougasse in beaten egg


• Place in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins (don't forget the dish of water), keeping an eye on the colour


• If the fougasse browns too quickly, lower the temperature to 180

Mi-Cuit au Chocolat

Ingredients: 

Makes four:

• 150g patisserie chocolate (75%) plus 4 x 10g squares


• 45g sifted plain flour (plus a little extra for lining ramekins)


• 3 medium eggs


• 100g diced butter (plus extra for ramekins)


• A little icing sugar for presentation

• Prep time: 15 mins


• Freezer time: At least 4 hours


• Oven time: 15-18 mins at 190

Instructions: 

• Butter the insides of 4 ramekins and place them in the fridge


• Melt the 150g of chocolate in a bain marie, adding in the diced butter and gently mixing until smooth


• Remove from heat and add in the flour and eggs,again mixing until smooth


• Take the ramekins from the fridge, dust the insides with flour


• Distribute mixture evenly between four ramekins


• Place 10g chocolate on top of each


• Place in freezer for a minimum of four hours


• Cook for 15-18 mins at 190


• Turn out onto individual plates and dust with icing sugar

Sleep? Well it's hardly as important as food, is it?

Dear Internet,
Lying there at 3am, totally unable to sleep, my head had started buzzing with food thoughts (well there's a shocker!) so I thought I might as well use it positively (I predict some napping later).
Pastry of the week?  Well I've found a recipe in a book on breads that I bought years ago but have never, come to think of it, actually used.  The recipe is actually for anchovy and black olive fougasse, so I shall attempt to adapt it accordingly.  My main concern is how to get the texture to match that of the one from the boulangerie.  I aim to post the results and recipe tomorrow (Friday).
I need to get my bum in gear and write up some more of my tried-and-tested recipes, (as well as a bazillion other things on my list) so I'll make a start this morning with Mi-Cuit au Chocolat.  This gorgeously chocolatey dessert is perfect for dinner parties, or just for when you want things prepped well in advance, so you can relax and enjoy dinner with your family.  They require at least 4 hours in the freezer before cooking, but can be made up to 15 days in advance.  Being made in individual portions means that you have a great deal of flexibilty with regards to numbers, and they look gorgeous too. They are very rich and chocolatey, so I recommend cream or plain vanilla ice cream as an accompaniment.  Even at 4am my mouth is watering at the thought of them.  Good job the new exercise bike arrives this week.......

Pastry of The Week 3rd September: Fougasse aux Anchois

Well here we are with the inaugural Pastry Of The Week (POTW) as chosen by The Daughter: Fougasse aux Anchois. Thanks. That'll be easy.
Fougasse comes in many forms, some an oiled bread similar to focaccia, some, like Fougasse Aigues Mortes, more of a cake.  The Fougasse aux Anchois is a lattice made from either pastry or dough, I'm not sure; it has a pastry-like texture on the outside, but a doughier inside, with (as you may have surmised) chopped anchovies in it, and is a speciality of the South. It is very salty, crispy on the outside and moist and more bread-like on the inside.  I recommend smearing it with cream cheese, or using it as an accompaniment to a mild soup.
At this point I have no idea how to recreate it, so I will be spending some time researching this week.  Further bulletins as events warrant.
Catch you later, special llamas!

 

Pastry of The Week 3rd September: The Results

Being confused as to the nature of the dough/pastry for the fougasse as made by my favourite boulangerie, I did want to ask the boulanger but he was frantically busy evry time I was in there this week and I have no desire to rub him up the wrong way (oo-er).  I settled for trying a bread-based recipe from a book called 'Tous les Pains' that I bought 5 or 6 years ago and have never got around to using (despite bookmarking several recipes).
Looking at the results, I am now 100% convinced that the fougasse we bought was made with pastry and I will have to find a good time to pick the boulanger's brain.  I'm feeling pretty good about the fougasse I made, however.  It looks ok for a first attempt, and we will find out at apéro tonight how well I did as far as taste.
All-in-all, I could quite cheerfully boot The Daughter around the room for choosing that as the first Pastry Of The Week.  It took hours and hours to make, which is probably why the boulanger does a pastry version.  I will update with a verdict on the taste later.  The Daughter had better bloody well like it......

Macarong

Blimey! I hadn't realised how long it was since my last post!  And there won't be many in the next few weeks as it's far too nice out to be inside blogging. Take that, internet!
I shall maybe bang out some stuff soon about my current obsession with parmesan (sooo goooood) and there is a culinary goal for August: master macarons. A stupid  challenging choice, perhaps, given the temperature here in August, but what the hey.
First attempt was yesterday, with a new kit purchased from one of my favourite shops, Marie-Paule Cadeaux (if you're ever in the neighbourhood, pop in and check out the kitchenware and feel free to put points on my fidelity card!).  The initial stages went well, and Daughter and I were very optimistic, but they were still gooey underneath despite the cooking time recommended by the recipe that came with the kit.  We should perhaps have left them longer but we were worried about them going brown.  Looking at other recipes online, the sugar content may be a little out of proportion.  Or we simply cocked it up somehow.  The actual kit (silicone icing pouch and macaron tray) was excellent quality, the accompanying multi-lingual booklet not so much (as borne out by the errors in translation etc).
We shall be trying out various recipes until we find one that suits: further bulletins as events warrant.
I'm going out to play now.