Lately, I've been spamming my family with photographs of all the sweet things I bake. I've sent them pictures of braided bread, of croissants, of cookies and of apple turnovers, but they haven't yet had the chance to try any of it. Time to make them some surprise treats!
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crème patissière + crème surprise
in baking class, all-year, basics
Some people just can't get enough of crème patissière. Thomas is one of them and I've seen some of my friends eat it by the spoonful. Me? Not so much. I can really enjoy one or two spoons, but I quickly turn from "mmm, this is delicious" to "pff, I've had enough." This is why I don't get excited about éclairs the way other people do. Petits choux, yes; éclairs, no. It's a difficult balance.
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choux pastry
in baking class, all-year, basics
It's simple. If it's your birthday, you get to choose the dessert. Go ahead, you can choose whatever you want.
In my house, choosing whatever you want has mostly come down to choosing one of my mom's three signature desserts. Not that there aren't any more options...these are just the most popular ones [...]
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let's begin...
in musings
I had to give him a little nudge in the right direction, but Thomas got me the most perfect birthday gift last year. For years, my not-so-perfect kitchen design had me avoiding recipes that called for a dough to be rolled out, but no more! I now have a wonderful marble pastry slab to help me out with all my puff pastry, cookies and pie crusts. And that's not all... This particular pastry slab came with a few words of encouragement from Marlijn: To Begin, Begin.
Such a simple advice, but so on point. It's worked for me so far.
I began breathing on a cold November evening in 1985. Obviously, I haven't stopped since.
I began baking when I was, I don't know, six years old? First, of course, I just helped out my mom when she made pancakes or chocolate cakes, but I grew to make everything from those family staples to cinnamon rolls and French macarons. Now, I'm the one teaching my six-year old niece how to flip pancakes.
I began writing when I was in primary school. My first success was a short poem about an ant named Erika. Since then, I've ventured into the slightly more serious fields of book and music reviews and, the last couple of years, academic papers. I've even tried my hand at fiction. (Didn't work.) Mostly, though, I write simply to gather my thoughts. I have a lot of those.
I began reading blogs when a round of expert procrastination lead me to Joy the Baker two years ago. Now, my days start with coffee and half an hour of reading what my favorite bloggers have been up to.
I began a baking course on September 30, 2014. Since then, I've had trouble getting to sleep on Tuesday nights because my mind is filled with impressions and ideas. I have never felt so inspired in my life and I secretly dread the day that this course will end.
I began thinking about starting my own blog in October 2014. I began experimenting with content and design on January 2. I began creating this blog on March 3. Today, Les Filles de Madeleine goes online. Now, I really begin.
Let's see where this goes, shall we?