As we enter Pastry Week on this year’s series of the Great British Bake Off, Mon Dessert claims the baking enthusiasts’ talents will be put to the test, as pastry is one of the most complex and difficult skills to master in the world of baking.
Now in it’s seventh year, The Great British Bake Off is one of Britain’s most-loved baking competitions where passionate foodies battle it out to be crowned the ‘UK’s Best Amateur Baker’. So far, contestants have been put through their paces and have successfully demonstrated flair and skill when it comes to baking cakes, biscuits and even bread. This week the difficulty is raised up a notch and the bakers’ talents will come under scrutiny as they take on one of the most complex baking skills to perfect, pastry.
Pastry - and more specifically French Patisserie - is in a league of its own as it takes you on an expedition where all your senses are challenged and satisfied at the same time. To create such delicate and cultivating cakes and desserts requires pastry chefs to be creative using a rigorous formula of precision and technique with their ingredients. Using an imaginative combination of textures, flavours, colours and processes, French Patisserie continues to be one of the hardest skills to master as consistency is key. Take macarons for example, each macaron has to look and taste exactly the same otherwise the magic is lost.
Mon Dessert has shared some of the most challenging desserts to master:
Eclairs
The chocolate éclair is one of the most common French Patisserie treats, however, this by no means suggests that it’s an easy feat. Trust us, mastering the choux pastry as well as the pastry cream and flavoured glaze is a lot more difficult than you think!
Mille-Feuilles
‘Mille-feuilles’ which translates into ‘thousand layers’ in French, is traditionally made up of three layers and the challenge comes with layering the puff pastry with whipped cream and vanilla-chocolate glaze. Getting the consistency’s just right is essential, as making it too heavy will cause the layers to topple!
Macarons
Macarons might be renowned for their simplicity, however, behind the scenes getting the shells to be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside is more challenging than you think! (Think you’re up to the challenge? Why not test out your French Patisserie skills with one our macron making kits: http://www.mondessert.co.uk/macaron-making-kit)
Croquembouche
The traditional French wedding cake, Croquembouche, is the ultimate showstopper but requires a lot of practice to ensure each element is exactly right. It’s made entirely of cream-filled puff pastries, just like the éclairs we spoke about earlier. And if making them isn’t challenging enough, they are then carefully stacked and decorated with caramel and spun sugar.
Based in London, Mon Dessert is an exquisite fine patisserie business that encapsulates the tradition, flavours and passion of French Patisserie to produce luxurious treats using forward-thinking and contemporary techniques.
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