with apologies

I have not made an entry in this blog for some time, but I wanted to let you know it has not been abandoned! I have spent the winter nursing my elderly dog carver, who was diagnosed with bone cancer 13 months ago. He now has spinal stenosis, and canine cognitive dysfunction, which is basically doggie alzheimers. all of my non-baking time, as well as my blogging time, has been devoted to him. check out his blog if you like! in the meantime, happy baking! I will be back!

back to work!

I do not bake much in the summer. My work slows down to a crawl. While we usually have 10 events or more a day, in the summer months we are lucky to have four a week. Everyone in the kitchen slows down in the heat, doing only what is necessary, lingering in the walk-ins. We do each other's jobs while our co-workers are on vacation, enjoying the variety in task. But today it officially felt like fall! The sky was still dark as I headed to the train. The day began in a fog. I arrived in the kitchen later than I had planned, after a sleepless night taking care of my sick elderly dog. It was a full day, with cheese cakes that had to be cut and plated for fifty in time for lunch, flats of strawberries to be cut and macerated, along with finishing all items for the first day of our new menu. I worked through my break, just finishing in time for the lunch parties to begin, when the Executive Chef told me the bad news-he had forgotten to tell me that a cake was needed for 30 people for tomorrow, at 730 a.m. Who eats cake for breakfast? And me with a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, not able to stay late. So I feverishly began to measure out the ingredients of a genoise in between directing the waitstaff to their platters of cookies and spooning strawberries onto cheesecake.

Then the call from the front desk came. the Health Inspector had just arrived.

Now, I work in the cleanest and most up to code kitchen that I ever have-the imitation lavender scent of fabuloso floor cleaner being a smell I will always connect to the club- but the word health inspector will get the adrenaline flowing in any chef. The kitchen staff scrambled, looking for hats, like a scene from a Julia Roberts movie. I could hear the notes of brown eyed girl in my head. we freshened plastic buckets of sanitizer, wrapped everything we could get our hands on in plastic and waited. the inspection went well, but we lost a breathless hour of work while we watched him go from station to station, computer in hand.
I managed to get the genoise in the oven and baked before I had to fly out the door, leaving instructions for the night crew on where to leave the cooled cakes for me and how to plate and garnish the new desserts. As I wrestled out of my chef whites I had the flash of what was happening-the busy season has begun!
I am excited about my new menu, and it inspired a new direction for this blog. every month I will share the recipes and techniques I use for my menu at work. I have three desserts that change, along with a seasonal sorbet, and a tiny cookie that we use as a mignardise. I will write about a dessert item each week, ending with the sorbet and cookie. I hope you enjoy it!

September's Menu

Honey Mousse with Fig cream, caramelized figs and an orange honey lace fan
Roasted Peach Turnovers with Ginger Ice Cream and a Chunky Blackberry Compote
Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with Kahlua Fudge Sauce and a Hazelnut Linzer Cookie
Fresh concord grape Sorbet

read this book right away!

I just got a copy out of the library-have I mentioned how wonderful the Boston public library is? they have everything, and I can have all my books delivered to my local branch down the street. amazing. I always preview cook books at the library before I buy them-this way I can test a few recipes, see if I like how they are presented, before making the commitment.
anyway, Hello, Cupcake, written by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson has made it onto my purchase list. it is a beautiful, creative book that shows you step by step with Alan Richardson's gorgeous photographs how to construct the coolest, cutest cupcakes I have ever seen. Horses with wafer cookie necks! penguins with chocolate cookie wings! how to make a whole pack of different breed dogs! i cant wait for any excuse to try my hand at these delightful cupcakes. I added a link to their website, which gets updated with more ideas. fun fun fun!

Mango Mousse

This is a cheery, light confection that is a great do-ahead dessert for when you are having company come over. I reach for this mousse when the season is changing, and I am tired of the winter fruits, but the first local berries have not arrived. I love mango for it's fresh, unusual flavor and its beautiful color. Although I love the smooth texture of mousse on its own, it is equally delicious with bits of diced fresh mango folded in at the end. and it will look speckle-y! we are lucky to live in a section of Boston (Jamaica Plain) that is rich with Latin markets, and close to Brookline, where there are many Indian markets. Both of these shops are a great place to buy inexpensive ripe mangoes. For the quickest dessert in the land, slice super fresh mango and sprinkle it with fresh lime juice-delicious!

many baking friends have expressed a little fear around making a mousse-I think anything that involves a lot of folding makes a green baker a little nervous-but mousses are very simple to put together and fast! I like to think of the process as making 3 bases that will be put together-the egg base, the cream base and the gelatin flavor base. Once these three steps are prepared, a few quick folds and you are done! what could be simpler?

mango mousse

1 cup mango puree
1 envelope powdered gelatin or 4 sheets
1 1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
4 egg whites
1 cup heavy cream
diced mango (optional)

First step-measure out all the ingredients. I have not discussed the idea of mise en place yet-french for everything in it's place. It is a very good idea to have all your ingredients measured and ready before beginning the process of baking anything. this includes having your baking pans greased and lined! But it is imperative when making a mousse-timing and temperature is everything when mousse making, or making anything that is gelatin based.
so, once everything has been measured out, put a small pot of water on to boil. place the fruit puree, 1 cup of the sugar, and a pinch of salt into a small heat proof bowl, and put it on top of the boiling water to warm it up and to dissolve the sugar. you want it to feel hot to the touch.

while this is warming up, dissolve the gelatin in cold water. while powdered gelatin works fine, I want to take this opportunity to sign the praises of sheet gelatin. sheet gelatin, usually an import product from France, is gelatin that is pressed into thin clear sheets. it is easier to use that powdered, a much purer product made from superior protein sources and has a much cleaner taste. I became a convert last winter while making homemade marshmallows last winter for a drinking chocolate dessert. while the marshmallows made from powdered gelatin looked fine, they had a noticeable odd flavor-almost gamey. I tried the same recipe using sheet gelatin, and they came out lighter, fluffier, and with no noticeable taste at all! I will never go back! If you use sheet gelatin, you do not need to measure the cold water. once the gelatin is dissolved, you will be able to take it out of the water with your hands, squeezing out the excess water. I hope you get a chance to try it!

o.k. so back to the mousse. once the gelatin has softened, remove the fruit puree mixture from the stream bath and place the gelatin in another heat proof bowl, and dissolve that over the steam.
Once it is completely dissolved, stir it into the fruit, and place it in a large bowl, to let it cool down a bit.


In yet another clean bowl (yes another bowl) or in the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tarter until they are a soft peak. Something to keep in mind about egg whites is that they are easier to separate when they are cold, but beat much stiffer and more quickly with out becoming grainy when they are at room temperature-or even warm! so if you forgot to take the eggs out, once you have separated them, you could warm them by whisking them in a bowl over that handy pot of boiling water you have. Just keep them moving or they will begin to cook. They only need to be warm to the touch to whip up nicely. once they have reached this stage, begin to slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until the whites are stiff. put aside.

now, in ANOTHER bowl (I hope you have a lot of bowls) beat the heavy cream until it reaches a soft peak. you are now almost ready to fold!.

whisk the fruit/gelatin mixture until it cools down a bit. it is important that it does not get too cool, or the gelatin will begin to set up. when it is warmish, whisk in about 1/4 of the whipped whites. this lightens the fruit mixture and makes it easier to fold everything together without deflating the rest of the whites. Now plop the rest of the whites on top, and gently fold the two together. the trick to folding is to make a smooth motion with your rubber spatula, down the middle to the bottom of the bowl, then over to the top. with your other hand, move the bowl a quarter turn, then fold again. when the whites are almost completely Incorporated, do the same process with the whipped cream. fold in fruit if you feel like it. Now you are done! Pour the mousse into glasses-martini glasses are fun, or wine glasses-anything that will show off your hard work. let it set up the the fridge for at least 4 hours, or over night. I like to serve this mousse with a salad of fresh mango and lime zest, garnished with a slice of dried mango.

A word about egg safety-you may have noticed that this egg uses raw egg whites. Although I have never encountered it, salmonella is a serious food born bacteria that can seriously harm (or kill!) someone with a compromised immune system-that's your friends who are young, elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system. Please do not feed them raw eggs! and for those of you who are just plain nervous about raw eggs in general, you can find cartons of pasteurized egg whites in the dairy section of most markets. I do find that pasteurized eggs do not perform as well as fresh ones, but peace of mind is worth a mousse that is perhaps a touch less light.

The work of Roland Mesnier

Roland Mesnier was the White House pastry chef for almost 25 years. Recently retired, he has published three books, two cookbooks- Dessert University and Roland Mesnier's Basic to Beautiful Cakes, and a memoir, All the Presidents' Pastries.

The memoir chronicles Chef Mesnier's childhood in the small town of Bonney, his rise from an apprentice to working for chefs in some of the finest hotels in the world, including the Savoy in London, to his position as White House Executive Pastry Chef. My favorite part of the book is the early chapters detailing Chef Mesnier's early days as a baker's apprentice. They offer a wonderful window into a world that, at least in the U.S., is almost extinct. As an apprentice, the budding young chefs would spend a year washing pots and mopping the floors of the kitchen before they were allowed to even crack an egg. The apprentice would live with the family they worked for, sharing meals. Early hours, long days and very little wages marked the introduction to the pastry world. Only the most diligent, committed and hard working would be allowed to continue on with their education. It is no wonder the French revere their bakers-they have earned every fold in their white toque!

Of course, the heart of the book is the years Mesnier spent in the White House. In the 25 years Mesnier spent as Executive Pastry Chef, he worked under the Carter, Reagan, Clinton and both Bush administrations. Having to learn the taste and style of each family as the administrations changed hands, Mesnier offers a fascinating glimpse into the stressful life of cooking for the first families, but always with a professional hand. I have to admit that I felt I it was a little TOO professional. He admits that Nancy Reagan was difficult to please and that with the Clintons it was like having two Presidents in the White House (double the work!) since Hillary would be giving her own lunches and dinners as the same time as Bill. But I was left longing for juicier tid-bits. He must have had to sign a hefty non-disclosure form to work so closely with the first families.

The impression Mesnier did leave me with was how incredibly stressful the the job was-on call 24 hours a day, always on display, your work always judged-you were only as good as last night's souffle! and so much was hanging on impressing visiting dignitaries, and being sure not to offend them.

What surprised me most was the desserts that were served in the White House. Instead of plated desserts, Chef Mesnier would make display pieces for the tables, showcasing his sugar work, which he is a master of. There were a lot of sugar sculptures that would be punctuated with molded sorbet, the actual edible part of dessert. I found myself hungry for more talk about the food-its preparation, the tricks of the trade, the complex flavors. After the third big dinner, I did not want to hear any more about sorbet!

So to get down to some solid food talk, I highly recommend Mesnier's Dessert University, a fabulous collection of White House recipes that includes excellent instructions on technique. I have not made anything from this book that I did not love. He even includes a chapter on basic sugar work, ambitious for the home baker. This book is peppered with White House stories as well, and somehow feels more intimate. But the reason to buy this book is for the recipes, well tested with clear instruction, innovative ideas as well as the classics-try the basic crepes-this is a must have for any one who loves to bake.

I just got my hands on a copy of Chef's new cookbook-Roland Mesnier's Basic to Beautiful Cakes. I have not had a chance to bake anything from it yet, but it follows in Mesnier's Dessert University tradition of combining great technique, fascinating white house stories, delicious sounding confections and gorgeous photography. I will report back when i have had a chance to delve in!

happy memorial day!

Nothing says summer like strawberry shortcake-so to kick off the unofficial beginning of summer, here is my version-slightly sweet, tender biscuits smothered in whipped cream and macerated strawberries.

Strawberry Shortcake

for the fruit

1-2 pints of strawberry
sugar to cover them
zest of one orange

for the cream

1 pint heavy cream
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces butter, cold and cut into small pieces
2 cups heavy cream

pre heat your oven to 375 F

rinse the berries in water, remove the tops, and slice them. add the orange zest (and maybe a splash of grand marnier if you have a bottle laying around) and sprinkle the top with sugar. mix with you hands and let sit out at room temp while your biscuits are baking.

time to make the biscuits!

in a food processor, pulse together the dry ingredients. I use part cake flour for tenderness. if you do not have any, go ahead and use all purpose flour.
cut in the butter by using quick pulse motion-if you just run the processor at this stage, you risk the chance of the heat of the machine warming up the butter and making a doughy mess. besides, it is too easy to over process the dough. be gentle! pulse! it is ready when the mixture looks like coarse corn meal and is a pale yellow color.
I always stop with all the mechanics at this point and dump everything in a big bowl. I like to add the cream by hand, so I can keep a hand in the dough. like when making pie dough, weather, water content in the flour & butter etc. can effect the dough-you do not want to add too much cream or the dough will be difficult to work with-a sticky mess that will cling to your hands!
drizzle half of the cream over the flour mixture. fluff the mix with your hand, and add some more. when the dough comes together you are done. if you need a little more cream, this is o.k. too. you are looking for a dough that stays clumped together, but is not too sticky. I give the dough about 4-5 folds while still in the bowl.
lightly flour a large cutting board. you can lightly flour the table, but I like just being able to pop the cutting board in the sink and not having to clean up such a big mess. plus, if you wash it in a dish washing machine, you can guarantee that the surface you're rolling the dough out onto is sterile. I flour the surface, then roll my rolling pin over it so it gets coated in flour, but not too much. pat down the dough with your hands as much as you can, then use the pin until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick. I use a rectangular cutter to avoid having tons of scraps and having to re-roll them, making a tougher biscuit. Place the biscuits on a parchment covered cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
in a small bowl, whisk together an egg & some milk or heavy cream until the egg is well mixed in. brush the tops of the biscuits with this, then sprinkle the top with sugar if you like-I like the crunch of coarse sanding sugar, but it is not necessary. bake, spinning the pan 180 degrees every 10 minutes to ensure even baking, until the biscuits are golden brown and feel firm-ish to the touch. a cool trick is that an almost baked biscuit will feel heavy-a baked one will feel lighter. same with scones. try it out, it is a great test for done-ness.
while the biscuits are cooling, whip up the cream until it reaches stiff peaks. I use a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this, but it is not too difficult to do by hand. if you are using a machine, avoid the temptation to use speed 10-I usually let my cream beat up slowly-it gives it more time to add more air, and it allows you to make sure you do not mistakenly end up making butter.
I think shortcakes are best when all the layers have time to meld together, so if I am serving them to guests I like to assemble them about an hour ahead of time, and let them sit in the fridge. Pull the out about 15 minutes before serving so they are at room temperature.
Happy Summer!

Blueberry muffins (or any flavor you like!)

I wear many baking hats at the club, making desserts for the dining room and private functions; I bake bread from time to time, make biscuits or a cracker for the savory menus, and I make a ton of breakfast pastry. Out of all the things I make, I think the thing I receive the most compliments on are my blueberry muffins. And the truth is, I love to make muffins. Simple, highlighting the seasons brightest flavors, a fresh muffin is a delight.

Muffins are tiny quick breads, a mixture of flour, leavening, fat and eggs. Most muffin recipes call for vegetable oil as the fat, and I think this is a big mistake. For a tender crumb and the best flavor, the fat has to be butter. Here is how I do it!

Blueberry muffins

1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 orange and one lemon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 ounces of butter, cold and cut into bits
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup light cream
2 cups of fresh blueberries.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F, and spray a muffin pan with veggie oil spray, and line the tins with muffin cups if you have them-if not, make sure you spray really well.

next I measure out all the dry ingredients into one bowl, including the zest. add the butter. using a food processor with the steel blade, or using a stand mixture with the paddle attachment cut in the butter, until the mixture turns a pale yellow and looks like coarse corn meal. I think it is easiest to use a food processor, but a stand mixer works just as well-just make sure you do not over mix.

In a large bowl whisk together the vanilla egg & cream. plop the butter/flour mixture on top, add the berries, and gently fold it all together. If you are gentle enough, the berries should not break apart. it is o.k. of you see little chunks of butter here and there, but not too many. You know you are finished folding when you do not see any bits of dry flour. as soon as this is true, stop! you do not want to develop the gluten. treat it as if it were pie dough-be nice!

fill the muffin cups all the way up for a good looking, big domed pastry. I always sprinkle the top with sanding sugar-the coarse big chunky sugar that looks like crystals-for a sweet crunch, but they are fine without. Place the pan in the middle of your oven, and give the pan a 180 degree turn every 10 minutes for even baking, until they are done-in about 30 minutes. Use a toothpick or cake tester in one of the middle muffins to check for done-ness. The top will spring back when you give it a poke as well.

if you did not have paper liners, after 10 minutes of cooling, lift the muffins up and let them finish cooling on their sides, still in the pan. this will keep them from sticking, and will keep the bottom from getting steamed.

this recipe is a great one to play with-use any fruit you like. really juicy fruits like peaches should be tossed in a little flour so they will not leak too much liquid, altering the proportions. hard fruit like apples should be sauteed first until they have a little give. take away the orange zest, triple the lemon zest and add poppy seeds. when you are feeling tropical, try mango with lime zest-yum! the other day I took the zest out, whisked instant espresso powder into the cream/eggs and added banana chunks and chocolate chips-these were the chef's favorite. but do not forget the humble blueberry-the classic muffin.