Pastry
Pastry by Richard Bertinet.
If you are a little hesitant about making anything with pastry this is the book for you. The first chapter goes into very helpful detail on how to make the lightest of pastry. Plenty of colour illustrations to lead one step by step through the process.
I skipped the next chapter on salted pies and tried the sweet pastry first. I made the “Frangipane mince pies” on page 136. Absolutely delicious when still slightly warm from the oven. Instead of being topped with pastry these are covered with almond cream which is a fluffy almond meal sponge. Many of the sweet recipes use this almond cream which blends well with the fruit flavours. As soon as the stone fruit season is back I will try the Peach, Rosemary and Almond Tarts.
There are a few recipes that are a little more unusual like the hot-water crust for pork pies on page 85. Another, “Chorizo bites” (pg.153) would be ideal for snacks or to serve with drinks.
A few biscuit recipes are included using the sweet pastry recipe or using up the egg whites and other left over ingredients. There are four alternative cream recipes that are very helpful to have on hand for many of the pastries such as éclairs, millefeuilles or chouquettes.
Jeanette
