Pastry

Laminated doughs, choux, puff and filo pastries, step by step.

• Almond CroissantsTurn day-old croissants into bakery-style almond croissants: brush with syrup, fill and top with frangipane, then bake until crisp. Quantities, timing and fixes.
• Apple Strudel with Hand-Stretched DoughStretch a soft, elastic dough until you can see through it, then roll it around cinnamon apples and buttered breadcrumbs. Includes the rest, stretch and roll.
• Bourekas with Cheese and Potato FillingsFlaky puff pastry bourekas with two classic fillings, feta and potato-onion, shaped differently so you can tell them apart. Sizes, fillings and bake time.
• Chocolate ÉclairsBakery-style chocolate éclairs with straight piped shells, vanilla pastry cream and a shiny ganache glaze, plus piping lengths, temperatures and common fixes.
• Choux au CraquelinRound cream puffs baked under a thin sugar-cookie lid that cracks into a crisp crust and keeps every shell even. Craquelin ratio, sizing and fills.
• Churros with Chocolate Dipping SauceCrisp, ridged churros piped from an egg-enriched dough, fried at 180°C (350°F), rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with thick hot chocolate.
• Classic Puff PastryFull puff pastry with a détrempe, a flour-butter block and six single turns for tall, even layers. Gram formula, turn schedule, temperatures and how to bake it.
• Cruffins (Croissant Muffins)Cruffins made from laminated croissant dough coiled into muffin tins, baked crisp, rolled in sugar and filled with curd or pastry cream. Two-day plan.
• Danish Pastries (Pinwheels and Envelopes)Cardamom-scented laminated Danish dough shaped into pinwheels and four-corner envelopes with cheese and jam fillings. Formula, cutting sizes, proof and glaze.
• Eccles CakesFlaky round pastries packed with buttery spiced currants and peel, slashed three times and finished with crunchy sugar. Filling ratio and shaping.
• Galette des Rois (French King Cake)Two rounds of puff pastry sealed around almond cream with a hidden fève, scored and glazed. Covers sealing, scoring and a two-stage bake.
• Gougères (Cheese Puffs)Light, cheesy French choux puffs made with Gruyère, mustard and black pepper. A freezer-friendly party snack with sizing, bake times and fixes.
• Homemade Butter CroissantsTwo-day all-butter croissants with a honeycomb crumb and shattering crust. Gram formula, butter block, one book and one letter fold, proof cues and bake timing.
• Kouign-AmannBreton-style kouign-amann laminated with butter and sugar, baked in a muffin tin until caramelized and crackling. Fold schedule, sugar timing and unmolding tips.
• Mille-Feuille (Napoleon)Three sheets of pressed, caramelized puff pastry stacked with thick vanilla pastry cream. How to bake flat layers, set the cream and slice cleanly.
• Pain au ChocolatLaminated chocolate rolls with two dark chocolate batons in every pastry. A 12-piece formula with three letter folds, exact cutting sizes and how to roll them tight.
• Palmiers (Elephant Ears)Crisp, caramelized palmier cookies from just puff pastry and sugar. How to roll on sugar, fold the classic heart shape, slice cleanly and flip for even color.
• Paris-Brest with Praline MousselineA large choux ring topped with almonds and filled with nutty praline mousseline. Includes homemade hazelnut praline paste, piping guide and a timeline.
• Pâte à Choux (Choux Paste)A dependable choux paste that bakes into hollow, crisp shells for éclairs and cream puffs, with gram weights, the egg test and fixes for flat or soggy puffs.
• Profiteroles with Ice Cream and Chocolate SauceSmall crisp choux puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and finished with warm chocolate sauce. A make-ahead plan, ratios for the sauce and fixes included.
• Puff Pastry Apple TurnoversFlaky apple turnovers with a cooked cinnamon apple filling that stays inside the pastry. Square cutting, sealing and venting tips, plus a quick glaze.
• Puff Pastry Cheese StrawsTwisted puff pastry straws layered with Parmesan, Gruyère and smoked paprika, baked crisp for parties. Cutting sizes, chilling, bake cues and make-ahead notes.
• Puff Pastry Sausage RollsGolden British-style sausage rolls with a sage and onion pork filling wrapped in flaky puff pastry. Shaping, cutting and the safe internal temperature.
• Rough Puff PastryQuick, flaky rough puff made from cubed butter and four folds in about 90 minutes, no butter block needed. Gram weights, fold schedule and how to use it.
• Sfogliatelle RicceThe Neapolitan shell-shaped pastry: a lard-brushed dough rolled paper-thin, coiled, shaped into cones and filled with orange-scented semolina ricotta.
• Sicilian CannoliBlistered, crisp fried cannoli shells filled with sweet drained ricotta, orange zest and chocolate. Rolling thickness, frying temperature and filling timing.
• Spanakopita (Greek Spinach and Feta Pie)A crisp filo pie layered over a herby spinach, feta and scallion filling. Covers drying the greens, layering filo in a pan, and baking until set.
• Vol-au-Vents with Creamy Chicken and MushroomTall, crisp puff pastry cases cut and stacked by hand, then filled with a creamy chicken and mushroom ragout. Cutting guide, egg wash rules and fixes.
• Walnut and Pistachio BaklavaCrisp layered baklava with clarified butter, a spiced walnut-pistachio filling and a lemon-honey syrup. Layer counts, cutting plan and syrup timing.

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