2022 Tour de France - Stage 5: Lille to Arenberg.
Chaos! That is a good way to describe today’s stage and my workday. I started this dish about 24 hrs ago, thinking I would finish it prior to work. That didn’t happen and the day was completely bonkers. For the riders, their day was crazy due to the 11 separate stretches of cobblestone paths they raced on. There were close calls, spills and lots of….well, CHAOS! Anyway, this recipe was amazingly simple and delicious. They start with a pâte à choux, and get topped with a little sugary disc that melts and becomes craggy and lightly crunchy. Not only are they regionally specific, but I thought they’d be fitting as they kind of resemble stones. You can eat these plain, top with some confectioner’s sugar, fill with custard, or slice them open and top with some whipped cream or french vanilla ice cream! A recipe write-up will be forthcoming, but here is the direct link for now.
Craquelin from NY Times Cooking, Dorie Greenspan
Craquelin
9 tbsp cold butter, cubed
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
Sea salt
1.25 cups AP flour
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Puffs
½ cup whole milk
½ cup water
1 stick butter
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 cup AP flour
4 eggs + 1 egg white
For the craquelin: Pulse the butter and sugar, along with a pinch of the salt, in a processor, about 15 times. Add in the flour and continue to pulse until it starts clumping. Then, add in the vanilla, and pulse until combined.
Dump it out onto a work surface and lightly knead until it all comes together in a mass.
Divide the mass and place one half between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll out until very thin. Repeat with the other half. Place both in the freezer, for at least 1 hour, until you’re ready to bake the puffs.
For the puffs: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low, add in the flour, and begin stirring constantly, and aggressively, with a rubber spatula. Once the dough starts leaving a film on the bottom or sides of the pot, you need to continue cooking and stirring for another three minutes.
Transfer the dough to a mixer, fitted with a paddle, and stir to cool for about 2 minutes to cool the dough.
Meanwhile, combine the eggs in another bowl and lightly scramble. Add the egg mixture in, by thirds, beating on medium speed. Continue beating until the dough appears a bit shiny and runs off the paddle evenly.
Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out rounds of dough onto two parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Reserve.
Grab the frozen craquelin from the freezer. Using a 2-inch dough cutter, cut out rounds. Top each of the portioned out puffs with a disc of craquelin. Return the remaining craquelin discs to the freezer.
Bake the craquelin in the oven for 30-34 minutes, rotating and turning the baking sheets half-way through. Remove from the oven and cool on racks. Repeat with remaining puff dough and craquelin discs.
To serve, top with confectioner’s sugar, or mix together 2 cups cream with ¼ cup sugar and whip until soft peaks form. Slice a 2-inch opening and spoon in some whipped cream.
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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