My Madison Bistro

With the exception of the height of summer, I no longer have any excuse to not bake my own bread. I’ve baked this loaf a few times now, playing with the proportion of whole wheat to all purpose or bread flours, and I’ve found my own little nirvana when it comes to a regular loaf of bread.

Each slice is soft but with a little extra heft, courtesy of the whole wheat flour. It’s easy enough to bake as often as you need bread, and it doesn’t require any special equipment. I enjoy the “me” time of kneading bread; the repetitive motion is both mentally relaxing and stimulating. It can be meditation, it can be time to work through a problem. Kneading bread is whatever you want it to be.

It takes no specialized skills, either. If you’re new to bread-making, just set a timer and lose yourself for a few minutes. The whole process of bread baking will make your house smell fantastic, from the yeasty aroma during the rise, to the beckoning scent of fresh-baked bread wafting from your kitchen.

Continue reading “Sandwich Bread”

Tags: bread

I’ve wanted to make a napoleon for a few years now. What took me so long?

Well, I had always imagined I would make my own puff pastry before doing so, but the opportunity never really presented itself. However, recently I happened to have an extra sheet of thawed puff pastry after making some pot pies, so rather than do something kind of boring (like turnovers), I decided to try napoleons.

If you like puff pastry, you will quite possibly adore these.

Continue reading “Mille-Feuille Napoleon with Crème Baumanière”

Tags: pastry cream, puff pastry, raspberries

Eclairs. Fruit Tarts. Napoleons. Cakes. Cannolis. Fruit Pies. Cream Pies.

What do these desserts have in common?

They all can include pastry cream, a silky custard that is an important component to many recipes, but is also rather decadent on its own. You’ll find this custard filling an éclair, topping the prebaked pastry shell in a fruit tart, nestled between layers of baked puff pastry in a Napoleon, and sandwiched between cake layers in a Boston Cream Pie.

Pastry cream happens to be an easy custard to make. Unlike crème anglaise, which can easily turn into scrambled eggs if you’re not careful, the addition of starch in pastry cream helps keep the custard smooth.

Continue reading “Pastry Cream”

Tags: eggs, milk, vanilla

I have to admit, pretty much the only reason I made this cake was to try out a new bundt pan. I also made this cake on a whim one morning, when I wanted something sweet for breakfast but didn’t want to leave the house to obtain it elsewhere. I mostly had the ingredients I needed, except for the lemon, so I omitted it.

It was likely a mistake.

The cake was very moist, the blueberries quite packed with flavor, but overall, it could have used a little extra punch from the lemon. If I were to make this cake again, I would definitely keep the lemon. In the fall, orange and cranberries would be an excellent substitute.

Continue reading “Blueberry Bundt Cake”

Tags: blueberries, cake