Pain Au Sucre

[Lindacakes]

Can someone point me in the direction of a recipe for pain au sucre? I just came back from my first visit to Paris, primarily a pastry orgy, and this was the big revelation for me (besides kougin amman, which I also loved and would like to attempt to replicate).

The one I had was round, and had thumbprint-size indentations. Filling the indentations was what seemed to me to be butter and sugar creamed until light and fluffy. Not wholly melted, either, just blobs of sugary butter.

That was the most outrageously delicious thing and should be sold on street corners of New York from those little quilted metal carts . . .

I bought a kougin amman from the corner pastry shop by the metro, took the metro to Fauchon and bought another kougin amman. Went outside to eat it. Threw the first one away and then went back in to buy three more. With no embarassment whatsoever.

[artisanbaker]

it's usually a piece of brioche that is made into a tiny "pizza" and dotted with butter and sprinkled with sugar. it's baked quickly and often the butter/sugar mixture does not completely melt into a homogenous sauce....

you can see pix in "Special and Decorative Breads" by Kayser etc...a great book btw and worth getting for any serious baker.

like most wonders in France, it's all about the "matieres premieres" or basic ingredients.

happy baking

[nicolekaplan]

i think there is also a recipe for it in the nancy silverton pastries book

[Lindacakes]

Wow, thank you so much! That's it, not quite melted, so decadent, actual butter. I will try those two sources.

[djyee100]

kougin amman, which I also loved and would like to attempt to replicate

I was surfing David Lebovitz's Paris-based website and found a recipe there for kouign amann. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/recipes/index.html

[Lindacakes]

Fabulous -- thank you. I am going to bake that thing.

[Desiderio]

I am very intrigued ( sp ) by this dessert ,I will definately make it soon .Thank you for bring it up and for the link to the recipe ( its seems faboulus ).

[Lindacakes]

Not eaten one?

Has a crispy carmelized coat to the outside, soft buttery interior and then a custardy sort of dollop or something, more like a hint of custard. I haven't read the recipe yet, this is just going by how it tastes.

It's the chewy carmeley taste and texture with hint of eggy custard that seals the deal. Just a really nice thing to eat.