Apple Strip Tart

Apple Strip Tart:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Roll puff pastry to 21 inches in length and 6 1/2 inches width.

3. Cut 1 1/2 inches in width and brush the edge with egg wash. Continue to dock the puff with a fork creating air to escape during baking.

4. Place puff pastry in the cooler since it is tempermental and needs to always be cold.

5. At this time cut and peel your granny smith apples 1/8 inch thin. (yes, very thin. Perfect time to practice knife skills). Keep apples in lemon water if not playing on puff immidiately.

6. Place 6 apple slices in 7 rows on the puff and brush with butter. Place sugar and cinnamon over the top of the apples and bake until crisp and golden brown. (about 40 minutes).

7. Once hot, brush apricot sugar or apricot jam over the top of the apples to make them shine. (this will keep the fruit sweet and pretty).

This French dessert is a base to learn about pastries. Everyone at culinary school became frustrated with this because of the tedious apples and puff pastry. But, once baked, its delicious!

Vanilla bean cupcakes with Italian almond/vanilla buttercream

Vanilla bean cupcake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 pure cane sugar
1 1/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
3 Tab vegtable oil
2 vanilla beans
6 large egg yolks, room temp
3 large egg whites, room temp

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk all dry together and 1 1/2 cups of sugar together.
3. Whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, vegtable oil, egg yolks, and vanilla bean scraped out.
4. Whisk egg whites on medium speed in a stand mixer till frothy.
5. Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue to whisk for four minutes to stabalize the foam and then set aside.
6. Place the flower mixture in stand mixer and while stirring, add the wet ingredients.
7. DONT FORGET TO SCRAPE BOWL.
8. Then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites with out over mixing until all is combined.
-Fill with whatever you’d(muffin tins or cake tins) like and enjoy!

Italian Buttercream:
-Everyone seems to be so afraid of the famous Italian buttercream but once you master the steps, its a sintch! Yes, it will curtle on you. It separates on me all the time and actually, it should be considered a step when making this frosting.

1 1/2 cups sugar
5 large egg whites, room temp
pinch of cream of tartar
4 sticks or 1 pound of unsalted butter
1 tsp of almond extract (STAR INGREDIENT)
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat sugar and 1/3 cup of water to 236F.
2. Once at 236 F, you can start whiiping your egg whites till medium peaks. Remember, its important your egg whites are at room temperature so that when you poor the hot sugar syrup it wolnt just cook the eggs and make a soupy mess! yuck!
3. Once sugar syrup reaches 242 F, then you SLOWLY drizzle into egg whites. You will start to notice it rise very quickly.
4. Continue to whip till cool.
5. Add small amounts of butter at first and then all at once.
6. This is when most of you will start to see it separate and become yellow. DONT PANICK! its normal, continue whipping till light and white.

Lemon Macarons

212 grams almond meal
212 grams 10x (powdered sugar)
82 grams egg whites

90 grams egg whites
pinch f sugar

236 grams water
158 grams sugar
1. preheat oven to 350.
2. sift almond flour and powdered sugar together, then add the egg whites and vanilla together to a paste.
3. Place second group of whites in a bowl and whisk.
4. Heat 236 grams of sugar and 158 grams of water to 248 degrees.
5. Once the sugar has reached 24o, whip room temp egg whites till medium peaks and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup to create a mirangue. Whip for five minutes to stabalize the egg whites.
6. Fold the mirangue and almond paste together and place in a pastry bag to pipe.
7. Bake until done. (they should not look gummy or bumpy)