Inside Pastry

Bonjour religieuse, watercolor, 9" x 11"

Who isn't captivated by the sheer beauty of French pastry?

But it's what's inside that really counts.

Are you persuaded by just a pretty face?

Any patissiere worth his pates aux choux is very much obsessed by what's inside. Top Parisien patissiere, Carl Marletti shows a luscious cross-section of a religieuse and shares the ingredients in quite an innovative way. Do visit.

The innards of a macaron from Patisserie des Reves' chef Pierre Conticini's cookbook, Sensations. Who knew what mysteries lurked within?

A page from a guide to Pierre Herme's L'Ecole Ferrandi. Herme mentions many times that he'd like to be an architect - but he is, isn't he?A cross section of a piece of cake at Des Gateaux et du Pain.

In my mad pursuit to paint French pastry I nearly fell in a faint over this FAB book, Encyclopedia of pastry dough - 100 kinds of pastry dough and petit gateau (旭屋出版MOOK) Essential reading for professionals and pastry artists.

If only I knew a bit more Japanese besides
'Arigato...

Wouldn't it be lovely to know the French names of all these yummy ingredients. Any volunteer translators out there?

Second best to knowing what's inside...

Would be a proper knife to cleanly cut through the pastries to achieve a perfect cutaway cross section. A PBer mentioned Kyocera ceramic knives as the best and I'm getting one today. It's Japanese of course. Yellow Bird tells me if I had a proper knife I wouldn't make such an awful mess...c'est la vie

BONJOUR Inner Life of Pastry!
 

bien elevee

 A little French paw clutches the patisserie counter in anticipation. I wondered
Mom, how come my 1st sandwich cookie was an Oreo?

Not a framboise macaron..?

I've no remembrances of things (madeleine) past.

I cut my eye-tooth on home-made, rock, hard oatmeal cookies.

I never made religieuses with the aid of a kid's cookbook. Thanks Mom for letting me place raisin 'buttons' on the gingerbread men. C'est comme ca.

My marshmallows were not exotically flavored delicate affairs like these pastel guimauves.

Mine came in a puffy bag and I popped them one-by-one into my mouth without thinking. I enjoyed roasting them over the stove on a fork, especially when you were out of the house Mom. How I never burnt down the house is amazing.

Claes Oldenburg got it right.

Our cakes are clutzy

Everything is so darn big.

No wonder we go nuts over delicate Paris pastries?

When we grew up eating this?

Where was our early taste-bud training?

French kids learn to become little locavores early, cooking what's in season.

Mom, I'm a bit miffed. A bit deprived.

I have a lot of catching up to do. And it's such hard work.

I'd like to send you all bites of everything I have to taste to catch up. The next best thing is, Paris patisserie guide. I met the editor at BEA last month. She was telling me what hard work it was, having Paris pastry chefs drop off new cakes everyday to taste. It took heavy arm twisting to get those chefs to divulge their secret recipes. Pastry isn't all fun and games you know.

Pictures in this book are almost better than the real thing in fact, so take a bite.

bien elevee = qui a reçu une bonne éducation.

BONJOUR PASTRY EDUCATION!

Patisseries Religieuse

After much research, I wanted to share with you my observation: the French are obsessed with puffy, airy things...
Firstly patisserie Religieuse- made of puff or pate chou pastry - really 2 cream puffs, one sitting on top of the other and filled with flavored pastry cream. The Religieuse got it's name from it's violet-colored icing matching the cardinal's robes.
There's a long tradition of "puffy" cuisine in France. Here a soup en croute..hidden under pâte feuilletée. Plus profiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, beignets, eclairs, gougères
Height seems to be a desirable thing in France..
Not to be left out of the picture, French painters love to paint these puffy creations, like Manet's "La Brioche."
Manet was inspired by Chardin's "Brioche" in the Louvre
As well as what appreared on his dinner table...
And where would we be without airy, bubbly, fizzy French Champagne???
Another example of the French propensity for puffery - Marie Antoinette had a very puffy hairdo...
The master of puffy dresses = Christian Lacroix, French of course.
Here's an exam on French pastry !
You'll find out if French patisserie is
Your cup of tea/votre tasse de thé
and if you have CHEF potential!

Bonjour Pouffismo !