our first baking workshop...Fun + 3 French Desserts and lunch with homemade meatballs = DELICIOUS!!!

     Today we hosted our first ever BAKING WORKSHOP...and we weren't shy about digging right into some of the more difficult desserts to make.  Our students today mastered 3 French pastries....Merinques, Macarons, and Profiteroles with homemade chocolate sauce....yes it was a delicious day!  Oh and we had time to squeeze in lunch with some homemade meatballs that were quite tasty.    Here's some fun snapshots of our day.

Here are the recipes we mastered today:

"Authentic French Meringues from a patisserie in France."

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites

• 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.
2. In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
3. Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

Macarons

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup finely ground almonds

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until whites are foamy; beat in white sugar and continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks. Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl and quickly fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, about 30 strokes.
3. Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, onto prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold the batter a few more times and retest.
4. When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).
6. Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 10 minutes; let cookies cool completely before filling.

filling:

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

whip butter, sugar and vanilla (add coloring if desired)

Pipe filling in between two macarons.

Profiteroles

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
•  ice cream 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat until scalded. When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and beat it with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat for 2 minutes. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan. Dump the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the eggs and pulse until the eggs are incorporated into the dough and the mixture is thick.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe in mounds 1 1/2 inches wide and 1-inch high onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should have about 18 puffs. With a wet finger, lightly press down the swirl at the top of each puff. (You can also use 2 spoons to scoop out the mixture and shape the puffs with damp fingers.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, then turn off the oven and allow them to sit for another 10 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Set aside to cool.

For the chocolate sauce, place the cream and chocolate chips in a bowl set over simmering water and stir just until the chocolate melts. 

For serving, cut each profiterole in half crosswise, fill with a small scoop of ice cream, replace the top, and drizzle with slightly warm chocolate sauce.