Barquettes & Tartlets

Barquette tins are shaped like small gondola boats. Tartlets are round fancy moulds. They are easily available in the market. If you don’t find them you can use any ordinary tart moulds. I have used different shapes like you can see in the picture. I have a wonderful collection of these mini tart moulds in different shapes which are gifted to me by my sis-in-law. I adore those!

When you think of tarts the instant picture about them is something small filled with lemon curd or jam filling. I like to do alterations in the recipe and try to use non ordinary things to give it a not so common look or taste. They are as much fun to make as they are to nibble.

These tarts are homemade made out of scratch from short crust pastry dough. Its look is simple, its medley of textures is surprising and it’s taste the most important part is – sublime. I find short crust pastry the most easiest and less tricky of all the other pastries. It is surely less time consuming and less messy to handle while rolling out and shaping the dough. Of course one has to take certain precautions while handling the dough. In all these pastries only the ratio of flour and fat differs.

Barquettes & Tartlets filled with Cream Cheese Icing & Seedless Red Grape

Once your barquette shells are baked, rest them for quiet sometime until they are at room temperature. You can prepare your filling along side. You can either make sweet or savoury filling depending on the occasion and time. You can also prepare your pastry shells 2 days before the actual serving. I prefer to do that, so that you don’t have to do all at once on the same day. These tarts are a quickie.

These bite sized pieces are irresistible. I have filled them with a delicious cream cheese filling and studded them with a seedless red grape. You can use a slice of your favourite fruit. They look gorgeous and tastes heavenly. Similarly you can also stuff them with a savoury filling topped with cheese and they are perfect for a large gatherings. In no time they will vanish from the platter!

In my next post I will display how to decorate your cute pastry shells with savoury fillings and will give you more ideas about it. You can be creative and innovative with whatever things you have at home and sometimes surprise yourself. They are a lovely surprise treat to make as a gift for someone special.

Bye for now,

The Baker,

Chica's Bakehouse

Blackforest Gateaux - It rules!

The first time I heard the story of Black Forest Gateaux was when I was a Patisserie student. Before that I have vivid memories of cutting the cake on my birthdays during my childhood. I remember fighting with my elder brother to have the biggest piece of the cake or eating all the cherries from the cake, though I succeeded very few times.

This cake is nothing but layers of chocolate sponge sandwiched with fresh cream & cherries. The top is then covered with extra whipped cream & chocolate shavings and cherries again. The description of the cake did not attract me much; it’s the story behind this cake which I loved the most.

As its name implies, Black Forest Cake comes from the Black Forest region of Germany. The first written recipe for this very popular cake appeared in 1934, and there are many theories as to its origin. It is said that some believe its name 'Schwarzwalder Kirsch Torte' is a tribute to the Kirsch (cherry distillate) flavour that is prominent in this dessert. (Kirsch is made in over 14,000 distilleries in the region.) Others say that the chocolate shavings that garnish the cake remind people of the thick trees that grow in the Black Forest. The cake's origin, itself, also has a few stories. There is also a story that a Dutchman who settled in the region invented the cake. Although we may never know its true origin, let’s agree to the fact that this cake shouts of celebration, of party and of happiness.

To begin this cake we first make a chocolate genoise sponge. This is a very light sponge which absorbs the flavour of rum or kirsch that we use to soak it. It is a bit tricky to make genoise sponge but like we always say practice makes it perfect. The eggs and sugar are beaten until thick. As the batter thickens it becomes lighter and paler in colour. The difference between a regular sponge cake and a genoise is that we add warm melted butter which makes the genoise light and gives a nice flavour. The melted butter needs to be warm, or else it will spoil the batter. Once baked this sponge can be stored in the fridge for a few days. I prefer to use a fresh sponge each time.

For icing the cake we need to use generous amount of whipped cream. Cherries can be used in canned form or fresh. I prefer using canned in the layers so that the cherry syrup can be used for soaking the sponge along with cherry liqueur or rum. When in season fresh cherries are always the best options for the decorating part. I keep the stem of the cherries so that they are easier to pick and also look gorgeous. Chocolate curls can be made well in advance and they come really handy on the day of final dressing up of the cake.

I am off to enjoying the cake now and bake something more, see you soon again!

Your Baker,
Chica's Bakehouse

Sables - The French Butter Cookies

This week I tried a new recipe of a French Butter cookie. It is called as “Sables” in French which means sand. Why it is called sand because of its texture which is crumbly and like shortbread, a bit smooth as well. It has a beautiful shiny appearance. These cookies are one of my favourites. They are just so perfect with tea or on its own.

It is said that Sables were first made in Caen, France in the 17^th century. A hotel called Mere Poulard made it very popular. At the Poilane Bakery in Paris, France they are known as Punitions (The Punishment). This is because, as the story goes, they were thought to be so good that they'd call the kids to come in to the hotel La Mere Poulard after school for a snack and the cookies were offered to them as a little 'punishment'.  They'd say, "Come and get your punishment!” I would say what a beautiful treat for a punishment, who wouldn’t want it?

It is very important to use the best quality butter for this recipe. Best quality does not necessarily mean the most expensive. There are varieties of butters available in the market. With a bit of experiments and knowledge one can choose the best quality butter.
These cookies can be made in any fancy shape and finally you can sandwich them with chocolate ganache or preserves of your choice. They can also be flavoured with different nuts and zests. If you keep them plain it is easier to store in a box without worrying about its icing getting messed up.

I choose this hand shaped cookie cutter to make these super attractive, tasty, delicious sables. I really enjoyed making these cookies and they are so easy to make. I think one should really give it a go before experimenting something complex.

I am trying to inculcate the habit of blogging regularly and hopefully I will come up with something exciting soon.

Yours Baker,
Chica's Bakehouse