Today, in class we made Blitz Puff Pastry, finished our Block Puff Pastry, made pastry cream, Frangipane, and caramelized apples for our Apple Tart Tartin. First we added a fold to our Block Puff Pastry. We had to do a book fold, which as four layers. We had to fold the rolled out dough in half to find the middle, then folded the dough in half of the half so the edges were touching in the middle. Then fold that dough in half, like when closing a book. After we folded the second last fold. We went to make the Blitz Puff Pastry. Blitz Puff Pastry is a dough that is similar to the rubbing method, in this method you want to roll the butter into the flour. I thought this way to make Puff Pastry was pretty easy because once you get all of the dough combined and rolled out. You fold it into a tri-fold (3 fold) then a 4 fold right away. In a Blitz Puff Pastry, there isn’t a lock in part in this dough. After we did a 2 folds on the Blitz Puff Pastry, we made pastry cream.
To make pastry cream:
Step 1: Measure ingredients.
Step 2: Combine milk and sugar. Put the sugar and cornstarch in with the egg yolks and whisk together. (If you don’t whisk the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks together right away you will have clumps of egg in your pastry cream.)
Step 3: Put your milk on the stove and wait for it to simmer.
Step 4: Temper the milk with the egg yolk. Tempering means slowly add the hot liquid to the cold liquid so it doesn’t cook the egg. If you add all of the hot liquid fast, the eggs will cook. 
Step 5: Put the pastry cream back on the stove at a low heat. Whisk together until it starts to bowl.
Step 6: Add the butter. Once the butter is all mixed in, take the temperature and log it into a book.
Step 7: Put on an ice bath. Wait until temperature is below 41 F, after 41 F put into a container to save for later or use immediately.
After we made the Pastry Cream, we made Frangipane Filling. For the filling you just use the creaming method. I liked making this because it was simple and it was also reviewing our knowledge of the creaming method. After we made the filling. We made caramel sauce so we could bake our apples in the caramel sauce for the Apple Tart Tartin. We used the wet method, which is putting liquid in with the sugar and not stirring the sugar. Occasionally brush the sides of the pan with water to prevent crystallization. Once the caramel was cooked, we put it evenly in containers then put the apples in. Then cooked for 25 minutes in the oven. Tomorrow, we will continue with it and finish our Apple Tart Tartin.
I thought today was a review of what we used yesterday or what we already learned in other classes, but also we learned new things. I love working with my hands and learning different techniques to different pastry items.
Samantha's Desserts 