CROQUEMBOUCHE

Croquembouche

FOR PASTRY PUFFS
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
7 large eggs 

FOR PASTRY CREAM
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, mixed with 2 teaspoons hot water

FOR CARAMEL
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Heat oven to 425 degrees. To make the puffs: In a medium saucepan, melt butter in 1 1/2 cups water with salt and sugar. Remove pan from heat, and add flour. Return pan to heat and, using a wooden spoon, beat vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. (A film should form on the bottom of the pan.) Cool slightly, and add 6 eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously.

Make a glaze by beating the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water, and set aside. Using a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and a 1/2-inch-wide plain tip, pipe out mounds that are 1 inch high and 3/4 inch in diameter on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with egg glaze, and smooth the tops. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on racks. (The puffs can be made ahead and frozen until ready to assemble.)

Make the pastry cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks, gradually adding sugar, until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Beat in flour. Scald milk, and add in dribbles to egg mixture, reserving 1/2 cup. Place mixture in a clean pot over high heat, and stir vigorously until mixture boils and thickens. If it seems too thick to pipe, add reserved milk. Remove from heat. Using a hand whisk, beat butter into egg mixture, one tablespoon at a time.

In a double boiler or heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, melt chocolate and espresso together until smooth. Add chocolate mixture to the pastry cream; let cool completely. Just before assembling croquembouche, fill a pastry tube fitted with a 1/4-inch-wide tip with pastry cream, insert tip into puffs, and pipe in cream to fill.

To make the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine 2/3 cup water, sugar, and corn syrup, and bring to a boil over high heat. Do not stir. Cover pan, and boil until steam dissolves any crystals. Uncover, and boil 5 more minutes, or until syrup is amber in color. Remove from heat. Dip the bottom of each puff into the caramel, and arrange puffs in a pyramid.


To make a spun-sugar web to wrap around the croquembouche: Cut the looped ends of a wire whisk with wire cutters, or use two forks held side by side, and dip the ends into caramel. Wave the caramel back and forth over the croquembouche, allowing the strands to fall in long, thin threads around it. Wrap any stray strands up and around the croquembouche. Serve.

FRIED PIE CRUST

Great Grandma Claxton's Fried Pie Crust

9 cups flour
2 tablespoons salt
1 large can evaporated milk 2 eggs
4 tablespoons baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
1 milk can of water
1-1/2 cups lard

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Cut in lard. Beat eggs slightly and mix with milk and water. Mix with other ingredients. Roll into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill dough.

Roll out very thin and cut in circles. Place prepared fruit on one side; fold crust over and pinch sides to seal.
Fry at 375 degrees in cooking oil, turning once, until brown, 2 to 4 minutes

BUTTERMILK DROPS

BUTTERMILK DROPS

 These are one of the easiest types of doughnuts to make, because the dough is dropped by the spoonful into hot oil. The cinnamon-sugar coating is also a New Orleans tradition.

Buttermilk Drops

Makes 16 to 18

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Vegetable oil for frying

Combine the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well to mix the ingredients.

Combine the egg and egg yolk in a mixing bowl and whisk well. Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter, and whisk well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together and only small lumps remain. Do not beat the batter until smooth.

Combine the remaining sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

Heat at least 2 inches of oil to a temperature of 375 degrees in a Dutch oven or deep skillet. Place a few layers of paper towels on a baking sheet and top it with a wire cooling rack.

Drop balls of dough about the size of a walnut into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry the balls for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side, turning them gently with a wire mesh spoon.

Drain the drops on the rack, blotting them gently with additional paper towels. Fry the remaining dough in the same manner. Roll the drops in the cinnamon sugar, and serve immediately.

The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 hours. Fry the buttermilk drops just prior to serving.

Variations: Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries or raspberries, sliced strawberries, or diced cherries or peaches to the dough.

PATE BRISÉE-CLASSIC PIE CRUST

Classic Pie Crust
Pate Brisée 
　
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.

I chill, and when possible freeze all the ingredients when I make pie crust. If you freeze the butter and lard you can grate them by hand right into the frozen dry ingredients. Pastry LOVES cold. I do this all by hand and it's common sense. You don't need a processor.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces (I use half lard and half butter)
1/4 to ½ cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
　
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month