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Pithiviers


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When was the last time anyone made a Pithiviers?

Whose recipe did you follow?

What did you fill it with?

How was the response to it by those that were lucky enough to eat it? Had they ever had one before? Did they like it?

I am longing for a Pithiviers, right this moment, so I figure talking about it will help.

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I've been making lots of Pithiviers for the bakery I work for. Unfortunately, since most people are not familiar with them, they are not selling well, and I will probably discontinue making them. I'm willing to bet that if I take my remaining almond filling (a modified frangipane) and puff pastry, and make mini pithiviers and call them "Almond Turnovers", they would sell much better. :wink:

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I'd bet you're right about that. :sad: What a shame. It ruins the decadent luxuriousness of it, doesn't it?

You know, I had decided never to marry again. But if I ever found a man who would make me a fresh, warm Pithiviers, who would then serve it to me in bed with a large pot of fresh hot black strong coffee, that would do it. I would become his slave. So to speak. :biggrin: But nothing else would do it. No, no almond turnovers. It would have to be a Pithiviers. :wink:

P.S. I like your blog, very much. :smile:

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Okay, I'll bite. I know I have seen these before but didn't know what they were. A quick google search gave me enough info that I'm intrigued - they are also eaten as a savory - huh!

I'd love to make one now. Anyone have recipes, tips, advice, address to send it to :)

And the pretty ones with the swirls on top - are those just cuts in the puff?

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I've been making lots of Pithiviers for the bakery I work for. Unfortunately, since most people are not familiar with them, they are not selling well, and I will probably discontinue making them. I'm willing to bet that if I take my remaining almond filling (a modified frangipane) and puff pastry, and make mini pithiviers and call them "Almond Turnovers", they would sell much better.  :wink:

I think maybe I've had something like this without knowing what they're called? At my local bakery we order by pointing and saying, "... and one of those..." :wink:

SB (is it pronounced "Pithy-veers"?)

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I love pithiviers and do make them from time to time. I use Jacques Torres' recipe here with the exception that I make my own puff pastry.

I think they're very good and, as Jacques says, they're great for a potluck as you can make, freeze, then bake once you get to your party.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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And with that - I'm off!  I'll post the pic as soon as its done (probably tomorrow).  Thanks John.

De rien! And I can't wait to see the results!

One note, you probably already know but be careful not to go too deep when you score the puff pastry; otherwise it will split and not be so attractive.

gallery_35656_2316_41394.jpggallery_35656_2316_52214.jpg

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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Chocolate Pithivier - The recipie is in one of Simon Hopkinson's books not sure which one. Still on the menu at Bibendum and if you like chocolate.......it's amazing\(But I can't eat a whole one - some chocoholics can).

Edited by ermintrude (log)

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

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We make this in the pastry program at the school where I teach; as such i have seen some very sad ones and some nicely done ones as well. One caveat, especially with the large ones -- bake a long time. Then bake some more. Undercooked puff is greasy and cardboardy. I like pistachio frangipane.

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gallery_35656_2316_41394.jpg    gallery_35656_2316_52214.jpg

John, those are BEAUTiful! I know the answer must be "practice" but how in the world did you cut that so evenly? (Looking at all the google images, they all seem to be scored perfectly. These people are machines!)

I get around town on my Rollerblades. When invited to dinner, I put a frozen pithivier in my backpack and I'm out the door.

I love how Jacques Torres wrote his recipe. There's even a story to it! And he even gives us a mental image of him skating around town with a frozen pastry in his backpack! Too cute.

Mark

The Gastronomer's Bookshelf - Collaborative book reviews about food and food culture. Submit a review today! :)

No Special Effects - my reader-friendly blog about food and life.

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I'd bet you're right about that.  :sad: What a shame. It ruins the decadent luxuriousness of it, doesn't it?

You know, I had decided never to marry again. But if I ever found a man who would make me a fresh, warm Pithiviers, who would then serve it to me in bed with a large pot of fresh hot black strong coffee, that would do it. I would become his slave. So to speak.  :biggrin: But nothing else would do it. No, no almond turnovers. It would have to be a Pithiviers.  :wink:

P.S. I like your blog, very much.  :smile:

:wub: Ooooh...a redheaded slave who can cook...shame you live so far away... :laugh:

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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last time I had one was last Epiphany...oops wrong subject...

Pithiviers are very similar to Twelveth-Night Cakes. :smile:

:wub: Ooooh...a redheaded slave who can cook...shame you live so far away...  :laugh:

:laugh: I'm not sure whether the mention of slave services in exhange for warm pithiviers brought on any of the excellent responses above. If it did, it was worth it. :biggrin::wink:

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...

gallery_35656_2316_41394.jpg    gallery_35656_2316_52214.jpg

John, that's too gorgeous!  Did you do that scoring with a kinfe?  A wheel of some sort?

Sadly, I could only ever aspire to do such fine pastry work. This particular one was prepared by my pastry chef/instructor Didier Averty. He works with amazing speed and precision. He did all of this free-hand. For years, he was the guy who did all the chocolate lettering at Dalloyau, so there you go...

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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As smoke pours out of my oven from the butter seepage...what do people do to control this problem? 

By the way, its looking good and will be out of the oven in 20 minutes!

Rob,

here's a list of things which might help next time...but there's always a lot of butter involved with puff...

1) make sure you did the right amount of turns with the dough so that the butter is properly incorporated into the layers...too few turns and the butter layers are too thick, thus melting more and causing seepage. too many turns and the butter disappears and you don't get flaky layers.

2) start off with a pretty high heat so that you can get maximum lift (up to 425F on a home oven). you need the heat to melt and immediately turn the moisture to steam to lift and separate the layers of the puff pastry

3) make sure the puff is rested and cold before baking

4) once you get color on the outside of whatever you're baking, turn the oven down to finish the baking so that you don't have raw layers of dough which would be undesirable.

5) make sure the dough is rolled out thin enough. most people don't roll puff thin enough and they end up with too much dough and then end up with raw unbaked layers.

not necessarily in the above order!

hope this helps.

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Here it is. This is my first one obviously, but I'm happy with it. I enjoy making puff, but could definitely benefit from watching someone else do it. I filled mine with almond cream and Armenia blueberry preserves.

I probably could have scored my decorative lines deeper, but was afraid to based on the previous warnings, however, I did leave my puff thicker than I should have, so if I had gone thinner, I might have been deep enough.

gallery_41282_4652_8887.jpg

gallery_41282_4652_9068.jpg

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Here it is.  This is my first one obviously, but I'm happy with it.  I enjoy making puff, but could definitely benefit from watching someone else do it.  I filled mine with almond cream and Armenia blueberry preserves.

I probably could have scored my decorative lines deeper, but was afraid to based on the previous warnings, however, I did leave my puff thicker than I should have, so if I had gone thinner, I might have been deep enough.

gallery_41282_4652_8887.jpg

gallery_41282_4652_9068.jpg

Looks lovely, was it as yummy as you hoped?

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