Praline

Take almonds, toasted and peeled hazelnuts, sugar put in copper bowl cleaned with salt and vinegar, heat over strong flame and you get caramelized nuts. Cool and grind and you will get praline.  

Charlotte cafe, Charlotte parfait chocolate

La cena!

Apfelstrudel

Petits fours

Macaroons

cherry blossom in Paris

candid violet flowers

My violet flavor macaroons with bits of candid violets and blackcurrant  ganache/vanilla buttercream. They are delicious! 

Mille feuille

Brioche

Chef Thierry's chocolate creation

More gluten free puffs

Today was a great day for 2 reasons: I have made my first gluten-free bread and it turned out great and Chef  Thierry offered to test gluten-free choux pastry, as he saw how I was trying different recipes during the week and wanted to see what can be improved. I offered to test 2 different recipes. I gathered the ingredients, and translated the recipes to him, he mixed and baked. When he took the puffs out of the oven they were unbelievable: they were light and airy just like the "real thing". We cut them, savored the taste and compared. They were great, one was exactly how i wanted them to be, the other was dense. But there is always a room for perfection. Chief Thierry suggested to make a couple of adjustments. I feel I am close to making a perfect gluten free puff pastry!  

 

My first gluten free bread!

I did my first gluten free bread with herbes aux provance!  It was very "herbaceous" dense and moist and it was very good. Maurice, my bakery prof  is great. He is very helpful and gives me great advice although he has never done gluten free bread. His knowledge of yeast and baking is a huge help to me. By the way, it is rice flour on the top. 

 

Saint-Honoré

Saint Honore is patron saint of bakers. This rich cake combines the base of pate sucree/pate a foncee and pate a choux topping. The cake is filled with two types of cream: chibouste and chantilly on the top. The little choux buns around the edge are filled with creme patissiere and dipped into caramel.   

Somehow this one turned out great for someone who does it for the first time. Chef said ça c'est  super-bien! I was thinking about my gluten-free flour mix that I wanted to blend for bread-baking class. Today I tried a new mix of 5 different flours. The boulangerie Chef suggested to put one bread in the proofer and other in the fringe and see tomorrow how it will go. I hope my first GF bread will turn out right tomorrow.    

Paris-Brest (gluten free)

I tried new GF mix today. The Paris-Brest looked good but the dough was too dense. Will have to improve it! Inspired by a bike race this pastry is meant to resemble a bike tire: there is a ring made of pate a choux inside the praline flavored butter cream.

Religieuse

These are made by Chef. 

Eclairs

My favorite pastry. These are coffee and chocolate flavors. Eclairs are choux filled with creme patissiere that can be flavored with coffee essence/chocolate ganache and dipped into fondant of the same flavor. Fondants are tricky - never add water - sprinkle it!  The skill of pastry chef is judged by the quality of her eclairs!!! Deceivingly simple. Have to be perfect.  I made mine gluten-free and the "other Chef" like like them a lot. My Chef said : ça fait drôle, ça fond dans la bouche! He looked content though. ça marche cette pâte!  

Chaussons italiens

These are made by Chef.

Pain complet, Jalousies/Dartois, Tarte aux fruites

Pithiviers

Chaussons au pommes, Tarte aux fruits en bandes

Feuilletage normal and feuilletage inversé (the most difficult kind of dough - puff pastry, thin layers of butter alternating with "leaves" of dough )

Tarte marguerite, Chouquettes

Pâte à choux!

Lintzer torte, Tarte multi fruits

I have made these gluten-free and two Chefs said my version was better then the one with wheat flour.  C'est mieux comme ça!

Tarte a l'orange, Tarte aux noix

Tarte au Citron and Tarte au citron meriguée

Forgot to take pictures, sorry!

Tarte aux pommes, Tarte Bourdaloue, Tarte Alsacienne, Tarte amandine

I am living in Paris now. I am enrolled in French pastry and bread baking course at Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise – Ferrandi. I still find it hard to believe! But it is real and the school is going to be a huge part of my life for the following months. 

The school is in a great location in the center and you can see Montparnasse Tower on one side and Eiffel Tower on the other side! One of the kitchens was a view of Effel Tower, can you imagine that! Another important detail is that I told them I was gluten- intolerant, and it was not a problem. Well, I will be baking those French baguettes but will not be able to even have a bite. One cannot but marvel at my willpower.