Pete Fred

I stashed some of the puff pastry from last weekend in the freezer, not having anything in particular in mind for it. And then I thought, chaussons aux pommes (apple turnovers)! Still warm from the oven they were irresistable, which goes a long way towards explaining the utterly shameful fifteen minutes during which I gorged all four.

Just tried this method. It had nice browning and temped at exactly 71C/160F. Sorcery indeed.

I've been making soufflés this last week. Lots of soufflés. My interest was spurred by a video David Lebovitz posted about the soufflés at Comice in Paris, and also a podcast that mentioned the Grand Marnier one at The Ritz London. I've never made a soufflé before, and only eaten one once, so didn't have much experience to draw on. I ended up making a fair few in an effort to dial-in the times, temperatures, techniques, ingredients, etc.. I'll post the photos but I'm not sure they add a great deal. You had to be there, tasting, I guess. There's plenty of conflicting advice in books and on the internet, plus endless superstitions about how to achieve perfect results. In the end, I found the section in McGee about meringues and soufflés cut through all the bull and demystified the process. I didn't have soufflé dishes or suitable ramekins so ended up making them in tart rings: large 10x5.5cm (4x2") and shallower 9x3.5cm (3½x1½"). First, the Comice chocolate soufflé... I was intrigued in the video by the technique of 'mounting' the hot cream and partially melted chocolate with a portion of the egg whites. Lebovitz was so discombobulated by this that he changed the method slightly in his home version by first fully emulsifying the ganache, then loosening with a bit of meringue, and finally folding in. When I tried it that way, the initial chocolate/cream emulsion broke. I rescued it with a splash of hot water and managed to continue as directed, but I wouldn't try that way again. When I did it like Chef Gedalof, everything worked like a dream; I presume the egg whites provide the necessary water for a stable emulsion. Anyway, it's a very good soufflé. Recommended. On to the Grand Marnier soufflés... The base is puréed rice pudding* which gets mixed with the liqueur then the egg whites. (The whiter ones are actually vanilla. There's a LOT of Grand Marnier in the others, and I was reluctant to splash with abandon just for these tests.) Let me tell you, Grand Marnier soufflé is the bomb. Go on, treat yourself. There's a couple of other bases I want to try at some point, more traditionally using pastry cream or a roux or fruit purée, but that's enough to be going on with. A man cannot live on soufflés alone. At least I now know the touch and visual cues to look for, and my preferred level of 'doneness'. *chilled rice pudding purée, by the way, has a fantastic texture, hitting a sweet spot somewhere between pastry cream and a firm, elastic ice cream. Too good.

I prefer it; the texture is more delicate, and it seems to 'dissolve' on the tongue. I know laminating with the butter on the outside sounds a bit crazy, but I find it easier to work than classic.

@Jim D. Yeah, I'll just have to make a tweak or two next time. My inverted puff rose well, and when I placed the tray on top I could tell my cobbled-together spacers could've done with a few more millimeters; that, together with too much weight, meant I could feel the pastry pressing onto the filling. This video gives you an idea how it works (and some bakers put the tray there from the start; not sure what the difference is).

I'm a few weeks late with this year's Galette des Rois. They're traditionally eaten here for Epiphany, but you'll find them in shops from before New Year right through to the end of January. I wanted to try a technique I've seen pastry chefs employ whereby part way through baking a tray is placed on top to limit the expansion of the puff, resulting in a flatter disc with less of a gap above the filling.. Unfortunately, I slightly misjudged the height of the spacers for the tray, which compressed the layers too much. The texture of the pastry was delicate and melting, but it would've been nice to see all the hard work I'd done during lamination. Here's some of the ropey off cuts that constituted a cook's treat...

This thread gets a mention in the Guardian's "How to make the perfect..." series.

A slab of the meringue brittle from 'Sweet' by Ottolenghi/Goh... It had a nice crunch with a hint of coconut, and, perhaps most importantly, it's another way to use up surplus egg whites! The book suggests coating the base with white or dark chocolate. I tried one with dark, but thought it too overpowering. I might try white next time, or just leave well alone. (A couple of takes here and here.)

I'm a sucker for a good almond croissant. The ones at my local bakeries are a bit disappointing, unfortunately. But from time to time one of them will have a bag of discounted croissants, so I make my own... I punch up the almond flavour by toasting the almonds and not being shy with the bitter almond extract; a good dunk in rum syrup gives the base a pleasant crunchy chew; and overfilling the cream means the overspill caramelises nicely on the tray. Miam-miam, as they say over here.

Individual steamed sponge pudding... The topping was from the seemingly infinite stash of plum caramel that I made last year ("freeze up to 3 months"?... pffft!), and the custard was extra-thick from using cream instead of milk.

To yesterday's leftover leek and onions, I added some chicken and dried mushrooms, and popped a lid on top... This was the first time I've baked a suet pie crust in the oven. I liked the more defined crunchy top that yields to the soft, squidgy pastry that soaks up the filling.

Individual steamed allium pudding... The basic filling is leeks, shallots and onion. As a bit of an experiment I zhuzhed it up with caraway seeds, za'atar, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce... The leek/caraway combo was a good 'un. I'll have to remember that one.

Today is La Chandeleur (Candlemas) when the French go crazy for crêpes, so I thought I'd join in with an orange and vanilla gâteau de crêpes (or mille-crêpe cake in franglais)...

Until recently, I never knew that croissant butter was a thing... I went all in on the Frenchiness and smeared it on a warm baguette... It's tasty stuff - how could caramelized, butter-soaked croissant purée not be! - but very rich. User discretion is advised.

@TdeV My neighbour said it reminded her of an implant. I didn't like to ask if she was speaking from personal experience.