Bouchon Bakery Project

Galette des Rois with Pistachio Frangipane

January 3, 2017

galette des rois pistachio

It is my third time making this traditional French pastry to kick off the new year. You can see my first version and read a bit more about the pastry here.

I changed things up a bit with the filling. Almond frangipane can be pretty strong and, in the past, I’ve balanced it out by incorporating chocolate pastry cream. Note, not all recipes call for frangipane (almond cream + pastry cream). Many call for just the former. However, I like the richness from the pastry cream. So this year, I re-worked the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook’s recipe and made a pistachio frangipane. I highly recommend buying pistachios without shells, unless you enjoy shelling and rubbing off the skins. It took me 1 episode of Dinner at Tiffani’s on the Food Network to get through them all. As much as I enjoy clearing another episode off my TiVo queue, I’d prefer not to have the extra step.

Marshmallow Snowmen

January 7, 2015

Let’s all sing together now shall we? “Do you wanna build a snowman…” or perhaps just the faces in this case. I was inspired to make these marshmallows after seeing a set at Williams-Sonoma during the Christmas holiday. I used my favorite recipe, Vanilla Marshmallows, from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. For the lovable faces, I melted chocolate and whipped up a batch of royal icing.

Bouchon Bakery: English Muffins

July 29, 2014

In pastry school, I fell in love with homemade English muffins and I’ve been obsessed with making them ever since. Taste them fresh and you can never go back to store-bought, unless of course, you’re in a pinch and need some for your egg bennies. Last year, I made Napa’s Model Bakery English muffins, my favorite. The bakery cooks them on a cast-iron griddle with a lot of clarified butter so the muffins get super crisp and almost flaky. So good.

So how do Bouchon Bakery’s English muffins compare? The main difference is in the cooking method. They’re baked vs griddled. Second, the recipe calls for a (4 day) starter. The things I do for homemade goodness. Read on to find out how I did with this recipe.

Bouchon Bakery: Hot Cross Buns

April 18, 2014

To celebrate Easter I made Hot Cross Buns from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook. Prior to this I had not eaten nor made them before so it was a brand new experience for me. Traditional buns are made from a yeasted dough with currants and cinnamon icing. Thomas Keller’s recipe uses a brioche dough and incorporates cranberries for a bit of tart contrast and cardamom is in the icing for a more pronounced spice flavor.

Bouchon Bakery: Mille Feuille

February 10, 2014

millefeuille1

I was about 10 when I had my first mille feuille, shared with my family in a little cafe in Paris…Epcot. I know I know, really now, a theme park? After a re-visit a few years later armed with a bit more pastry know-how, surprisingly, their mille feuille was rather authentic. The patisserie did get a remodel back in 2012 so I’m not sure what the establishment is like now but I hope there is mille feuille for others to experience and fall in love with like I did.

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