Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

Thank you all for the kind comments. Since these are Rose's recipes, I guess I didn't think to mention that they were also delicious--it almost goes without saying! Suffice to say, everything tasted even better than it looked!

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | November 18, 2008 6:40 PM #

Matthew...These are absolutely beautiful. Amazing job!

Reply to this      Posted by: Bill | November 18, 2008 1:54 PM #

Matthew, these are glorious!! You have a wonderful talent for turning out beautiful pies, and I bet they tasted as good as they look. Thanks so much for sharing, very inspiring!

Reply to this      Posted by: Julie | November 18, 2008 9:47 AM #

Gasp - that montage would make a fantastic poster! What wonderful art!!!

Stunning!!!!!

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | November 18, 2008 9:45 AM #

Great pictures Matthew! The pies look awesome. You are one talented baker!!!

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | November 18, 2008 9:22 AM #

Sales of the book are likely to go way up when people see these pictures! Excellent!

Reply to this      Posted by: Jeannette | November 18, 2008 3:02 AM #

matthew, I am so proud of you! Mr Pie!

Shall PPB need to be translated or republished, YOU should do the new photos. Your pies and everything I've seen from you is very accurate to what is in the book!

Reply to this      Posted by: hector | November 18, 2008 12:06 AM #

It has been a while since I've shared pictures, so I thought I would post a few pictures of some pies I have made since June. All of these are from the Pie and Pastry Bible (with the exception of the cheesecake ice cream and pumpkin cheesecake).

Pie Pictures

From top to bottom, left to right:
Plum Flame Tart
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake (adapted from Rose's Pure Pumpkin Cheesecake)
Kiwi Tart with Lime Curd
Gascon Apple Pie (Pastis Gascon)
Cherry Lattice Pie
The Best All-American Apple Pie with Triple Vanilla Ice Cream
Open-Faced Fresh Blueberry Pie with Cheesecake Ice Cream
Coconut Ice Cream Pie
Concord Grape Lattice Pie

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | November 17, 2008 9:11 PM #

Thanks Hector. Maybe I'll buy some.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | November 28, 2007 9:09 AM #

Rozanne, in Hawaii what is called apple bananas are like regular chiquita bananas (yellow skin, white flesh), just as thick but shorter. The only difference is that apple bananas are super tasty and sweet, and if bought fresh or home harvested you can leave them out until the skin turns near black and thin, and the flesh is still good (not as firm, a bit mushy, but great flavor).

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | November 27, 2007 10:25 PM #

Hector, we do have pasteurized cream (as opposed to ultra-pasteurized) here in Canada, but we do not have unpasteurized cream. I am so glad we do b/c as you said pastry cream and creme fraiche taste so much better. By the way what do apple bananas taste like? I remember seeing a posting from you about it.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | November 27, 2007 10:16 PM #

Hector:
I have not seen unpasturized dairy products...but we do have milk and cream that are pasturized...but not ultrapasturized. The dairy company is called Ronnybrook Farms...and they are quite pricy. I'm sure that the unpasturized products...if available...are to be found somewhere in NYC.

Reply to this      Posted by: Bill | November 27, 2007 5:48 PM #

Bill, your Napoleons could not sound any more delicious, thanks for sharing.

Can you find unpasteurized milk/cream in your area? You must try it for any pastry creams confections. I've read you can find some from Canada.

Your cupcakes must be perfect by now, from all that experience you have been sharing.

Glad you all could eat from my Thanksgiving meal thru the computer! I need not post a picture of my full freezer now!

Rose, I've just received your cookie book as a present, the first thing I've pointed was the cathedral. I do want to make it, but thanks for the advice, it must be a team effort. Will look for an opportunity in the future.

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | November 27, 2007 3:01 PM #

My thanksgiving Baking was a success. I made Napoleons for the first time. The were inhaled by my sister's guests (why waste all that time chewing?). I had prepared all of the components of napoleons for other recipies...but combined the pastry cream, quick puff pastry, and fondant together for the first time. I had been using Julia Child's puff pastry recipe for years...and always felt like it was a cop-out...sort of cheating. Rose, i was so happy to see the recipe in the pie and pastry bible and to see your note that sometimes it can work even better than classic puff pastry (depending on what you are using it for). I also prepared a coconut cake and chocolate fudge cupcakes with mousseline buttercream (all my cupcakes were perfectly uniform thanks to a pastry bag and scale. YEAH!

Reply to this      Posted by: Bill | November 27, 2007 12:28 PM #

Hector:
Bravo! Everything looks delicious

Reply to this      Posted by: Bill | November 27, 2007 12:23 PM #

Dear bloggers, hope you all enjoyed a great THANKSGIVING, or heard about it (for the countries that don't celebrate).

My 6 dinner guests thanked all evening long to Rose's recipes. Everything was good, and the baking and cooking techniques learned were great to practice! I do recommend not 1 but 2 sous chefs.

Please click on the link below and scroll down, the final pictures are posted. My favorite part was the stuffing. I will offer to make the stuffing all the years to come, it is so tasty and a show stopper when baked inside the turkey after such neat surgery. I may improve and work a little on the food styling of the stuffing, make it more decorative than just a pile of brown picks and bits.

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/thanksgiving/Rose-s-Celebrations.html

Enjoy, will be posting my Saturday Thanksgiving a bit later.

P.S. But above the stuffing, was THE PIE!

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | November 26, 2007 2:07 PM #

Let me shoot the first product of my Thanksgiving table. I tried to post last night after my wonderful 6 guest left w/o first helping me wash all dishes, but I felt sleep on my computer, which is rare!

THE PIE. Following Rose's recipe for pecan pie(tart). Pre-baked shell. The chocolate lace is not just beautiful but compliments the taste. I think this pie & lace is on the cover of a food magazine, I've spotted last week. Bitter chocolate lace, thin profile pie as a tart on a flaky cream cheese unsweetened non-cookie crust, are like putting each of your feet on a separate scale and register the same weight: perfect balance. The pie was served with a dab of extremely lightly sweetened bourbon whipped cream. One of my guests, the one who can't cook, gave compliments! The lack of sugar on the whipped cream enhanced the flavor of dairy, and the touch of alcohol made this flavor very palatable (try drinking heavy cream straight from the box, and you will know what I mean). Rose: thank you for doing the research for us on how to assemble the best pecan pie! I hope the pictures give credit to this incredible composition of flavors, texture, and color.

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/thanksgiving/01-THE-PIE.html

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | November 23, 2007 1:03 PM #

Back to gobbling a la Rose's Celebrations.

November 19th, I assembled the Graavlax with everything I can find locally. I used 1 lb each of 3 different fish, instead of only 3 lbs of salmon. Fresh island Mahi Mahi, flown in Atlantic Salmon, and fresh island grade #1 Ahi (red tuna sashimi). It was very inexpensive, except for the Ahi: you do find Ahi inexpensive in Hawaii and indeed excellent freshness and taste, but my fish monger tempted me with the grade #1 which is not even red (but pink due to the high fat content and lack of cartilage).

Photo here, pay attention to the colors, the photo captured the true colors pretty accurately!

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/thanksgiving/2007-11-19.html

and click on any picture to take you the full progress page.

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | November 21, 2007 1:55 PM #

Matthew, very easy to do, the difficult part is making the raspberry sauce, but if you this stocked ahead of time since it freezes/re-refreezes well, then it is a blitz.

I would suggest you simmer the cranberries for shorter than the recipe's 10 minutes, if you want to keep the sauce more whole. Cranberries turn into puree soon after they pop, one of those fruits that seem hard and tough when raw, but turn softy when lightly cooked.

And most definitely make it ahead of time, weeks ahead. Basically this is a conserve which I believe improves in taste when aged.

I made my batch yesterday. I did find it a bit bitter, perhaps due to too much lemon grind. Lets see how the flavors merge in a month.

I am hoping my guests will be impressed that one can make their own cranberry sauce. It is an iconic U.S. fruit, hope Luca's parents enjoy it! (they are flying back with us on 11/17).

Hey, try the Rick Rodgers turkey breast roll breast, it is super easy, and there is just no better way to make a breast roll than filled with prosciutto and covered with panceta! It just can't get dry this way.

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | October 25, 2007 12:12 PM #

I'm going to try that cranberry sauce this year. Let me know how it turns out.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | October 25, 2007 6:14 AM #

Thanksgiving brings friends and a lot of pies together: Great Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, and Low-Profile Pecan Pie.

I will pie my life away this year with the book Rose's Celebrations. Please enjoy the daily progress:

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/thanksgiving/Rose-s-Celebrations.html

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | October 25, 2007 2:27 AM #

Elicia, the cream cheese does not impart any noticeable flavor to the crust! Neither the vinegar!

Not sure which one is flakier, the cream cheese one or the cheddar one. I am sure Matthew would know!

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | August 27, 2007 4:09 PM #

Hi Hector, M very tempted to try the cream cheese crust but worried it will be a tad less crispy and maybe not suited for savoury tarts. So, to have a cheese flavour, the cheddar one seems to be the only option! Looks like I can prebake a few days ahead - will do a trial batch and report back.

Thks Patrincia for clearing the air! I just want to make sure I'm making a proper quiche for the party!

Reply to this      Posted by: Elicia | August 27, 2007 5:01 AM #

Hi Elicia - I'd say pie pastry is the most popular crust for quiche in the US, but anything goes - even no pastry at all: Italians call it Fritata (although I do prefer it with crust).

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | August 26, 2007 5:29 PM #

Elicia, I am very happy with the Cream Cheese Flaky Pie Crust. It is plenty flaky!

Re: blind baking ahead and storing airtight. I have stored tartlets crusts for 8 weeks! In a vacuum jar, refrigerated. If you don't have a vacuum jar, I would store at room temperature, and perhaps for only 1 week.

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | August 26, 2007 2:58 PM #

Thks Patrincia & Matthew, I've blind baked pate sucre and packaged frozen shortcrust pastry and stored airtight for several days and it was ok. Just worried abt flaky pie crust though as I've never done it and it is humid here!

In fact, I've not done quiche before, and have always thought that it was done with puff pastry and not flaky pie pastry! The ones I've tasted from french bakeries seemed puffy, crisp and flaky like puff pastry, unlike fruit pies! Am I mistaken?

Nice to note that the filling mellows after a day. However a very crisp and flaky crust is a must! Thot of attempting the cheddar crust as I cannot use the lard crust (the requirement is for 'meat-free'). Any good advice?

Reply to this      Posted by: Elicia | August 26, 2007 9:27 AM #

I think you will be fine to bake the crust a couple of days ahead of time and keep it at room temperature. I can only think of one time that didn't work for me, and like I said, it was unusually humid so it lost some of its crunch. My experience with quiche is that somehow the filing can taste even better the next day, but the crust isn't as good after refrigeration. Of course, if you have time, a small test batch is great to see how it will work where you are.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | August 25, 2007 4:21 PM #

Thks Matthew! I will definitely shape and line the tartlet pans ahead, but am worried I won't have time to do the baking of the crust in the morning - its for a brunch and I have tons to do! I figure I will have to bake 3 batches(blind baking) as I wld only fit one tier into the oven at a time - that wld take an hour blindbaking and an extra hour to bake the filling! Maybe when I bake the filling, the crust will re-crisp!

Reply to this      Posted by: Elicia | August 25, 2007 1:03 PM #

Elicia - Rose does mention on page 436 that the quiche can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days, then reheat in a 350F oven for 15 minutes.

Do you have time to experiment a little? I don't see why you couldn't make the pastry shells through the prebake step listed on pg 346, cool completely, and then freeze them in an airtight container until you are ready to proceed. Isn't that what the premade frozen pastry cup people do?

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | August 25, 2007 1:01 PM #

If possible, I would bake the crust the day of the event. You can make the dough a few days ahead and refrigerate it, or even freeze it, already shaped. If that is not an option, then I would store the baked crust air tight at room temperature. Definitely avoid refrigerating the baked crust as it will loose its crispness. Humidity and moisture are the enemies of baked crust, so if it is humid where you are, you may have trouble storing it already baked.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | August 25, 2007 10:43 AM #

Hi baking buddies, Need some advice in the pastry dept! Am doing some party bites for a friend's small marriage registration reception, and mushroom quiche is on the menu. Since I have to prepare several types of food, am now planning on whatever I can make in advance!

Will be making the morel mushroom quiche in PPB in individual 4" portions (replacing morel with shitake of course, as we do not have morel here!) Was wondering if I can prebake the crust 1-2 days in advance? If possible, shld I store it at room temperature airtight, or in the fridge? I've prebaked shortcrust pastry, but have never made flaky pie crusts! Any expert advice?

Reply to this      Posted by: Elicia | August 25, 2007 9:31 AM #

Wow, top 100 list. I hope you'll share your list sometime Rose.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | August 15, 2007 5:02 PM #

thank you Rose! will do.

Luca asked if I could find Torta Linz in your bibles to make the world a better place . . . he is very Northern Italian!

I will use a 9" tart pan, instead of a 10" as your recipe lists. (don't have one that size, and I to buy silicone next). I think the 1" less will be perfect, I will have extra dough for future use, plus I will need less conserve. I've just opened my third jar and that should suffice the linzertorte. I don't want to open my last jar of Cordon Rose Raspberry Conserve, which is HEAVEN IN A JAR, this last jar is saved for you know what . . .

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | August 15, 2007 4:15 PM #

Rose, quick question. Baking Linzertorte. Can I assemble it (crust, conserve, lattice, etc), and then bake it 2 days later? Normally for flaky pie crust it would be ok, but not sure about this almond crust, plus I do notice that conserves soften the crust!

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | August 15, 2007 3:01 PM #

Thanks for the advice. I got a rolling pin sleeve (what an excellent trick!) and kept the flour in the freezer. I was not so deft in the "working fast" department, but the quiches turned out to be wonderful and the crusts were delicious.

Reply to this      Posted by: Marie Wolf | August 15, 2007 10:06 AM #