Basque Pastry Cream Pie With Almonds Food

GATEAU BASQUE

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to cook until it comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla and brandy.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
• Make the cake: Combine cherries and brandy in a small bowl; let soak 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk pate brisee to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom leaving edges to overhang. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pastry cream in a large bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula to loosen. Pour into chilled crust, spreading evenly with an offset spatula. Drain cherries and scatter evenly over pastry cream.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining disk of pate brisee to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Score surface in a diamond pattern with the edge of a ruler. Lightly brush overhanging edge with egg and top with scored pastry. Press to seal and trim dough along edge of tart pan. Lightly brush top with egg wash. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes on a wire rack. Remove tart ring and cool completely on rack. Serve at room temperature.

BASQUE CAKE

Steps:

• To Make the pastry cream Filling: In a sauce pan, combine the milk and 1/3 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• Mix 1/2 cup of hot milk into egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Continue cooking over medium heat until mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Combine and sift the flour and baking powder. Set aside
• Cream 1 1/8 cup sugar and 3 eggs until light and fluffy. Fold in the sifted flour mixture in three increments, being careful not to overmix.
• Put half of the dough into the greased pan. Spread the dough so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Place pastry cream to within 3/4 inch of the edge. Add the second half of the cake dough, making sure to enclose all of the filling.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

GâTEAU BASQUE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Working with a mixer (use a paddle attachment if you have one), beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla; the mixture should be smooth. Add the flour mixture all at once, then pulse the mixer to begin incorporating it. Mix on low until blended.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather into a ball, then divide in half.
• Shape each piece into a disk - the dough will be sticky - and put each between sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a round just a smidge wider than 8 inches. Keeping the dough sandwiched between the parchment, refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or for up to 3 days).
• When you're ready to bake, center a rack in the oven, and heat to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch-by-2-inch round cake pan. Remove the dough from the fridge, and leave on the counter until pliable, about 10 minutes. Peel away the paper.
• Fit one round into the pan; if it breaks, just press the pieces together. Either fold the extra dough over and onto the base or trim it; don't fuss about precision here. Spread about 3/4 cup of the jam over the base, leaving a 1-inch border bare and adding more jam, if needed.
• Top with the second piece of dough, lightly pressing down around the edges and, if you can, tucking the dough under a bit. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect; the dough is soft, and as if by magic, the layers fuse in the oven.
• Brush the top with the egg wash, and use the tines of a fork to etch a crosshatch pattern.
• Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a rack, and let rest for 5 minutes, then carefully run a table knife around the edge of the cake. Unmold onto the rack, and then quickly and carefully turn the cake over onto another rack, crosshatch side up, so that it can cool to room temperature. Wrapped well, the cake will keep for 2 days at room temperature.

BASQUE PASTRY CREAM PIE WITH ALMONDS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 365 F.
• Measure and pour milk into a medium saucepan. Wash outside of lemon and orange and dry. Cut peel from lemon and orange. (Try to take only the colored part of the peel.)
• Place peels and cinnamon stick into milk. Add butter. Bring milk to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Set aside to cool.
• Separate whites from the yolks . Reserve yolks. Place egg whites in a large bowl.
• Add granulated sugar and mix well. Add the rice flour and mix very well, ensuring that there are no lumps.
• Remove lemon and orange peel and cinnamon stick from milk and discard. Pour milk into the bowl of egg whites and sugar, and stir. Pour it all back into the saucepan and return it to the stove. While continuously stirring, bring to a boil. As soon as the milk boils, turn the heat down to a lower simmer. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Beat the two egg yolks with a tablespoon of water.
• Place one of the puff pastry sheets on a cookie sheet. Brush all edges with beaten egg yolks. Spread out thickened pastry cream on puff pastry.
• Carefully cover with the second sheet. Using a fork, seal all the edges. Brush the entire top pastry sheet with the beaten egg yolk.
• Chop almonds and hazelnuts very coarsely using a knife or food processor (big chunks are fine). Spread them evenly over the top of the pantxineta . Using a sifter spread powdered sugar generously over the top.
• Bake in the center rack of the oven for approximately 25 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy!

GâTEAU BASQUE WITH ARMAGNAC PRUNES

Steps:

• Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer running at low, add the butter. When the butter has been incorporated, add the egg, 2 egg yolks, the lemon zest, and the Pernod. Mix at low speed until the dough just comes together. Divide the dough into two-thirds and one-third portions. Wrap each portion in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Lightly butter a 9-inch ring mold (1 inch high) and set it on a baking sheet.
• Roll out the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured board into an 11-inch circle, 1/3 inch thick. (The dough may be a little hard to work with. Don't worry if you have to patch it together-when it bakes, the mistakes will disappear.) Roll the dough around the rolling pin, and then unroll over the ring and gently tuck the dough into the corners, letting the excess fall over the edges. Fill the shell with the cooled Basque pastry cream. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a circle slightly larger than the pan. Place the dough over the pastry cream. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the ring to seal the bottom and top layers of dough together. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Whisk the remaining egg yolk with a little water, and brush the gâteau with this egg wash. Score the top of the cake with paring knife in a crisscross or harlequin pattern.
• Bake about 35 minutes, until golden brown.
• Whip the cream and crème fraîche until it holds soft peaks.
• Cut six wedges from the gâteau. Spoon some Armagnac prunes and their syrup over each piece, and finish with a dollop of whipped cream.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, bring the milk to a boil, and then turn off the heat. Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl, and then whisk in the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and is a pale yellow color. Whisk in the hot milk a few tablespoons at a time, progressing to a slow steady stream. Return the mixture to the stove, and cook over medium heat, whisking until thickened.
• Strain into a baking dish or bowl, and place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the custard to keep it from forming a skin. Poke a few holes in the plastic to let the heat escape. Cool it in the refrigerator. When the pastry cream has cooled, stir in the rum, Armagnac, orange-flower water, and almond extract.
• Place the prunes in a bowl and pour the hot tea over them. Cover and steep 1 hour. Strain the prunes, reserving 1/4 cup tea. Place the tea and sugar in a small sauce pot, bring to a boil, and cook 2 minutes. Pour the syrup over the prunes. Add the Armagnac to the pot, bring it just to a boil, and pour it over the prunes. Cover and steep at least 30 minutes. Cool the prunes and store them in the refrigerator.
• The pastry dough must be made at least 2 hours before assembling the gâteau. It's a good idea to make the pastry cream in advance as well, as it must be chilled before using.

BANANA CREAM PIE IN ALMOND CRUST

Steps:

• For crust: Cream butter and sugar in processor until smooth and fluffy; add egg and blend until smooth; add flour, 2/3s cup of almonds (retaining 1/3 cup for topping), baking powder and salt and process just until combined; gather dough into ball; flatten into disk.
• Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Press dough into 9-inch diameter glass pie dish, trimming excess even with edge of dish; crimp edge decoratively; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F; line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake 12 minutes; remove beans and foil and bake until crust is set and edges are golden-brown, about 20 minutes; transfer to rack and cool.
• For filling: Pour 2 tbs water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over; let stand 10 minutes to soften; pour milk into medium saucepan; scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk; add bean; bring to simmer; whisk yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in medium bowl until thick; gradually whisk in hot milk; return mixture to same saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture just begins to boil and thicken, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes; add softened gelatin and stir to dissolve; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream and chill until cool, about 30 minutes.
• Beat cream, confectioners' sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract in large bowl to stiff peaks; carefully fold 1 ½ cups whipped cream into pastry cream; fold in bananas; spoon mixture into pie crust; spoon remaining whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip; pipe whipped cream over filling, covering completely; chill until set, at least 3 hours and up to 6 hours; just before serving, sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup of toasted almonds.
• Note: Because of the bananas, this pie is best eaten the day of making as they do turn brown as time passes - the flavour's still great, though.

GATEAU BASQUE (FRENCH PASTRY CREAM VERSION)

Steps:

• Make dough by mixing all dough ingredients in a lrg bowl. Do not knead dough too much, but rather allow it to rise for 2-3 hours.
• Make pastry cream by heating the milk in a saucepan together w/the vanilla bean split lengthwise. Remove from heat, cover & allow the vanilla to infuse for 20 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, rum & 2 egg yolks. Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan & bring the milk back to a gentle boil. Gradually pour it over the flour/sugar mixture while whisking vigourously. Return mixture to the saucepan, reheat to a gentle boil (stirring freq), remove from heat & set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
• Roll out 2/3 of the dough to fit the base & sides of a shallow 9-in rd cake pan. Spread the filling over the dough, fold over the dough edges & brush them w/a little beaten egg yolk.
• Roll out the remaining dough to cover the filling completely, glaze w/beaten egg yolk & bake for 45 minutes.
• Allow to cool slightly, refrigerate till cold & dust w/powdered sugar prior to serving. Garnish w/red berries as desired.