S'Mores Pie

In culinary school one of the staples that is etched into your memory is how to make pastry cream.  Pastry cream is a basic component that any pastry chef should know how to make on a whim, this stuff uses simple ingredients, but just like ice cream you can add all tops of fun things to it, to jazz it up.  A splash of coconut milk and you have coconut cream, want to make a fancy banana pudding, mash in some bananas and Viola you got yourself an A+ dessert. 

Looking for something simple to throw together I made a simple pastry cream and whipped in some lovely melted dark chocolate and made the most amazing chocolate cream pie.  Filled it into a graham cracker crust and topped it off with toasted meringue and the S’mores pie was born. 

One thing I didn't do before starting my pie making, was to check all my supplies and tools.  I had recently purchased a mini blow torch that I was super excited to test out so I started to piped the meringue on the top with a Wilton 1M tip, then got ready to torch that bad boy and realized I didn't have any lighter fluid.  So I improvised and slide it into the oven on the broiler setting to get it all nice and toasty.  

(NOTE: Sorry it should be 2 CUPS of Whole Milk)

Vanilla Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream

I can openly admit that I have an addictive personality. When I fall for something, I fall hard and kind of become a little obsessive!! I’ve made ice cream a few times, but it was nothing major, until I got my own ice cream machine and become a full blow ice cream stalker. I’m kind of in love with ice cream, I mean full on FATAL ATTRACTION in love with this creamy crack!!

In the last couple of days, I’ve picked up about four books specifically on ice cream and have poured through them. Ice Cream is a fascinating creature to me. It’s a simple, but complex product that is created from pure and simple ingredients, but can be transformed into some amazing and extraordinary!!

Currently these books have become my holy grails.

(Photo Source)

They both offer so much informative information about the process of ice cream and the recipes…WHOA MAMA, the recipes.

Surprisingly ice cream is not that difficult to create; it always makes me smile when people are astonished at the fact that I make ice cream. Kind of makes me feel like a super wizard or something. Truth is, with good products, anyone can become an ice cream wizard.
The above ice cream was adapted from a recipe from from David Lebovitz's book “Perfect Scoop”. The recipe produces such a creamy rich ice cream. It took me all of an hour to make it and he hardest part was trying not to eat it directly out of the machine and actually being patient to let it freeze.

"Mixing the right things, the right way to create perfection"

I'm Back!!!

It’s been a long road, but I’m back!!!  Culinary school was such an amazing experience and one of the best decisions of my life.  It was hard, stressful, but it provided me with that foundation I needed to ensure my success in this business.  After I was done, I was required to complete an internship at a local bakery and then worked at a few different places in town to kind of get my feet wet in the field. 

Dollface Delights has always been my baby, just waiting for the right time to be reborn.  Re-branding was a very important issue to me, because I needed to ensure my company really reflected the direction I wanted to grow in. 

So with lots of late nights, tons of post notes and butt load of hard work…I’m finally up and running and ready to take on the pastry world head on.  If you get a moment, please check out the new website, I am so very proud of it.

www.Dollfacedelights.com

Breads

My first two classes of school are officially over and we are on a 2 week break for the Holiday. I knew things would be intense, but school is a mixture of excitement and stress...which I LOVE!!

The last class we focused on breads and I can say I have found a new love. It amazes me that you take these cheap ingredients, flour and water, and turn it into the most amazing product.

Here a few pictures of things we made the last 3 weeks.

Butter Cookies

My journey into culinary school has begun and so far it’s more exciting than I could have dreamt. I am loving every part of it even wearing my “fancy” uniform each day. We are learning methods versus just recipes, which is really cool.

Last Friday we started baking doing chocolate chip cookies. This was my first time every scaling (weighing them) my ingredients. I thought it was going to be really complicated but it was actually quite easy, and I think I like it better than the traditional method most cooks use. The cookies were very easy to make and we hand mixed everything. This allowed us to get a feel for how the product should actually feel, but it came together really easy.

We used Callets in our cookies which are basically a chocolate morsel, but it’s made with real cocoa butter, unlike the ones we normally buy from the grocery store, which is almost like an imitation chocolate. They melt much better than Hershey's or Nestle chips. They made a HUGE difference in the taste of our cookie, but those Callets are very expensive. I didn’t get a photo of my chocolate cookies, but we will make them again on Thursday for our practical so I will snap a few then.

Last night we made three cookies.

The Strassburger cookies( a traditional butter cookie) with strawberry baker’s jam

The Brysselkex (a Sable cookie) - Which we turned into checkboards.

Biscotti (twice baked cookie) - They were flavored with orange zest and almonds.


Tonight were are working on a fruit tart and some other goodies, so stay tuned for my info!!

Puff Pastry

I can’t not explain how frustrated I get when I get a recipe stuck in my head and things don’t go as planned. I was at Target and came across the November issue of Everyday Food, and saw a section about savory pies. There was a recipe for a Puff Pastry Pie filled with Ham and Gruyere. After drooling all over the pages I knew this had to be my dinner for Sunday, so I set things in motion.

Ran to the grocery store, got some yummy maple glazed ham, pesto jack cheese and off to pick up my pastry puff. Where is the puff pastry, I walked around the store for 15 minutes looking for pastry puff. I finally found someone who worked there and when I asked what section it would be in, he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language.

What is this puff of pastry you speak of lady…REALLY GUY… according to the 3 stores I called, Puff Pastry is a seasonal product and won’t be on the shelves for another week or two. In what world is Puff Pastry a seasonal item, I mean I love to stuff my face with that flaky goodness all year round. So my whole dinner plan went down the drain.

Has anyone tried making puff pastry from scratch?

Cream Biscuits

I have a lot of cookbooks, but honestly when it comes to baking this has to be my favorite.

Every recipe I have tried from this book has been easy and come out perfect. Last night I was skimming through and decided to try their cream biscuit recipe, which looked easy.

The whole process took less than 25 minutes and most of that was sweeping up the large amount of flour I had somehow dumped all over the kitchen floor.

The biscuits use a limited amount of ingredients, but they make magic. I slathered mine with tons of honey butter and it was a great night.

Cream Biscuits

(From Baking Illustrated)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 Preheat oven to 425°F

2 Sift together dry ingredients, then add cream; mix until it holds together.

3 Knead for about 20-30 seconds, then press into 8 in cake pan, turn out and cut with biscuit cutter. (This is important, don't use a glass!!! You need something with a sharp edge to ensure they come out fluffy and high)

4 Bake for 15 minutes. (Better to take them out when they are slightly underdone).

5. Serve immediately

SLATHER WITH HONEY BUTTER, JAM, NUTELLA