brest dessert ever

Flaunting: Although my desserts have aways met with applause (or maybe mumbles of pleasure through crumb-filled mouths), I've been meaning to challenge myself by stepping up and attempting pastries, since most of my recipes center around solid American baked fare: cakes, pies, cookies, etc. I took initiative and acquired an inexpensive pastry book ("both sweet and savory!"). In the ongoing epic that is my growing knowledge of Jewish cultural events, I was invited to a pomegranate-themed Shabbat dinner this past week. I waffled about what to make and was about to settle for some variation of vegan cupcakes but decided to step up to the challenge (threat?) of French pastries.

I was not successful.

Not by my standards, at least.

But it came out awesome! I made a Gâteau Paris-Brest (ha ha, Brest), which is essentially a giant ring-shaped cream puff pastry filled with pastry cream and topped with sliced almonds. I added pomegranate seeds to the pastry cream and reduced pomegranate juice with additional sugar to make a (not thick enough, perhaps needed more sugar to make a syrup?) sauce. The creamy sweetness was complimented wonderfully by the tangy sauce and crunchy seeds. Here is a piece, two days later:



There is also a piece of King's Galette (I think?) hiding behind the gâteau, courtesy of Housemate Emily.

I don't think it was at the high temperature for long enough to form the hard pastry that resists deflation upon cooling. I also forgot to vent the oven during that time, which is supposed to help the steam escape, but once done may have also cooled the oven (it's an old oven) and prevented the gâteau from getting to the correct temperature. I was under the impression that I was in a rush, so rather then let it bake longer, I just let it cool and scooped out the still-moist bits. I made a double batch of pastry cream (good, since a lot of the cream boiled over, all over the stove), but next time I may even attempt a triple, since I think the cake could use more. I'd be interested to try this with all sorts of other fruits or chocolate, and it's boosted my confidence in branching out.

Needles to say, there were many breast jokes made during dessert. Even more needless to say, most of them came from me. Way to be mature, Ebeth, way to be mature.