Puff pastry Sun for cocktails, appetizers, Birthday Party

Puff pastry sun is really easy to make and so funny to serve for your cocktails, Birthday Party, cool dinner... Each time I serve it, my success is guaranteed and it is so so good. To realize the sun make it simple buying puff pastry at you favorite store or online. 

Ingredients (only 2!!!)

2 frozen puff pastry sheets
1 black olive spread jar (7oz) or 1 pesto jar (7oz)

Directions :

Unfreeze the two rectangle sheets of puff pastry
Preheat the oven 400°F
Put one of the sheet on parchment paper on your counter
Cut the 4 corners of the sheet
Make the sheet round shape with a rolling pan
Put the round sheet into the fridge and repeat exactly the same actions with the second sheet
When the second sheet is round open the jar and layout black olive spread or pesto (your choice), cover all the puff pastry sheet stopping half inch from the edge
Remove the second round sheet puff pastry from the fridge and put it on the one with the black olive spread or pesto
Remove the parchment paper
Now you get 3 layers: round sheet - black olive spread or pesto - round sheet
Return an empty 2 inches glass in the middle of the puff pastry
With a sharped knife cut the puff pastry sheets drawing sun rays
Screw each ray twice
Remove the glass
Put the sun into the oven for 30 minutes
Check it
Leave it few minutes more if it is necessary
Serve it warm immediately or put it on a grid to evacuate the humidity below it and serve cool in a nice and big round plate
Now enjoy!

Suggestions, ideas...

Tip 1: you can make the sun sweet using Almond Butter, Strawberry Jam, Nutella...

Puff Pastry

Puff pastry frightens many bakers. For sure, one needs to leave enough time to prepare it.
It takes just a few strokes of the rolling pin to spread the dough and mix the butter with the moistened flour to create the puff pastry. Try it. It's fun!

Ingredients :

3 3/4 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 cups butter at room temperature*
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups ice water
4 sticks unsalted butter

Directions:

Moistened flour:
Add sifted flour and salt to mixer (with mixing paddle or dough hook) and pulse adding small amounts of water at a time. We want to form a crumbly loose ball. Do not over mix because that will toughen the dough.
Or by hand:
Make a fountain or a mountain of the sifted flour. Add salt around the outside and then make a hole in the center from top to bottom. Slowly add small amounts of water to the flour, pinching with your fingers or gently mashing with a fork until you can form crumbly loose ball.
Wrap the dough in parchment and then put it into a plastic bag. Let it rest in fridge for 20 min.
Making the dough:
Roll the dough into a square.
Place the rolling pin on the diagonal leaving the center intact and roll to the corner. Repeat it in each of the four corners. (see diagram) 
Wrap the butter. 
Step 1: Roll dough into ½-inch thick rectangle and fold it into thirds. 
Make a one-quarter turn and repeat step one. 
Rest the dough in fridge for 20 min.
Repeat step one two more times.
Rest dough again in fridge for 20 min.
Repeat step one two more times.
It's done!

Pineapple pie and coconut oil

Ingredients :

For sweet dough

1/3 cup of coconut oil

3/4 cup of unbleached all purpose flour

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 egg yolk
2 spoons of water (if the flour is too dry)

2/3 cup of brown sugar

For garnish

1 pineapple sliced

1 egg

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of lime juice

Directions :

Put flours and coconut oil in you mixer and mix with whisk K

Add sugar, egg and mix to obtain smooth dough

Spread and roll the dough on parchment paper, forming a disk (size of your pan)

Put the dough in the pan and refrigerate time to prepare pineapple

Preheat the oven thermostat 350 ° F

Cut and peel the pineapple in slices

Cut slices in half height

Spread pineapple forming a rosette on the dough

Beat the egg with sugar and lime juice

Pour the batter over the pineapple

Bake 40 minutes.

Ideas, Tips...

Tip 1: Put the pie in the lower level of the oven for 10 minutes. Pie will be better cooked below.

Tip 2: If you are gluten intolerant use gluten-free flour: rice, chestnuts, quinoa...

Parmesan Scones

Ingredients for 16 small scones :

5 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour or whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup Parmesan

1 egg

3/4-cup butter

1 cup half and half cream

Pepper

Prep 5 min

Cook 15 min

Directions :

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

In the mixer bowl, combine first baking powder then flour, Parmesan, melted butter cold, the egg beaten and cream. Mix and knead them briefly to get dough.

Roll dough out into a thick round. Cut into 16 wedges, and place on baking sheet or pan.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

You can serve them with smoked salmon, tomatoes salad... or make them smaller for one mouthful.

Le gâteau au yaourt

Très vite fait et facile à aromatiser, le gâteau au yaourt est un grand classique de la pâtisserie. Il se déguste en dessert, au goûter des enfants et aussi au petit déjeuner.

Ingrédients :

1 yaourt nature

3 quantités du pot de yaourt de farine

2 quantités du pot de yaourt de sucre

½ quantité du pot de yaourt d’huile

2 ou 3 œufs

1 cuillère à dessert de bicarbonate de sodium.

Arôme épices, vanille, café, chocolat, citron… vous pouvez laisser votre imagination en fonction de vos gouts.

Préparation :

Vider le yaourt dans un récipient

Ajouter les ingrédients en utilisant le pot de yaourt vide en guise de mesure.

Mélanger pour avoir une préparation liée et sans grumeaux

Allumer le four à 200°C, enfourner et cuire pendant 40 minutes. Vérifier la cuisson à l’aide d’une pointe de couteau.

Ingredients :

Yogurt cake is a classic French pastry. Very fast to make and easy to modify the flavor (vanilla, ginger, orange, chocolate...). You can eat it as dessert or snack for children and also for breakfast.

1 plain yogurt

3 quantities of flour measured with yogurt cup

2 quantities of sugar measured with yogurt cup

½ cup of oil measured with yoghurt cup

2 or 3 eggs

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Aroma spices, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, lemon ... you can let your imagination according to your taste.

Directions :

Put the yogurt in a Bowl

Add ingredients using the empty yogurt as a measure.

Mix the ingredients

Preheat the oven to 400 ° F, bake for 40 minutes. Check the cooking with a knife sticking it in the middle of the cake. The knife blade should be dry.

French Baguettes

A friend who lives in Boston sent me a homemade bread recipe. No milk no sugar no oil, the bread is excellent.

Ingredients for 2 Baguettes :

450 g (1 pound) of whole wheat or 225 g (1/2 pound) of white flour and 225 g (1/2 pound) of whole wheat

Salt 7 g (1/3 oz)

300 g (1 and 1/4 cup) of water
7 g (1/3 oz) yeast (1 pack)

Directions :

Mix everything gently: Flour / Salt / Water + Yeast

Let it sit and cover the dish with a damp towel: 3 - 4 hours min. / 12 max.

Knead to obtain a slightly elastic paste

Let it sit 30 to 40 minutes without cover

Oven: 8.5 - 250°C / 475°F

Cut dough in half and make baguettes
Put them on a special pan for bread

Bake for 25 min with a large dish full of water below

After cooking 10 min take out the water

Remove from oven

TARTE TATIN English version

The tarte Tatin recipe is a classic of French cuisine. Various versions are often served in restaurants. Chefs regularly offer their own recipe on their menus.

Tarte Tatin originated in the late nineteenth century in a hotel restaurant, run by two sisters in Lamotte-Beuvron in Sologne the heart of France in the Loir et Cher. Stephanie and Caroline Tatin invented by luck the famous tarte. The tarte cooked too quickly on top 
so one of the sisters decided to flip it over by putting the dough on top with caramelized apples now below. She put the tarte in the oven to finish cooking. It was a great success and the tarte is now named for the Tatin sisters!

Ingredients for 6-8 persons:

8 – 10 apples
½ cup of sugar
¼ cup of butter
1 short crust (pate “brisée”)

Directions:

Preheat oven 400ºF (200ºC).
Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters.
In a pie pan heat up the sugar and butter to obtain a golden caramel monitoring the cooking. When the sugar is caramelized (light brown color) remove from heat and put the apples rounded side first and then cut face.
Cover the apples with the pastry and bake for 45 minutes. 
Serve warm with sour cream or vanilla ice cream.