We are thrilled to announce that our macarons will be available this Saturday, September 10 from 2:30 to 5:00 pm at Amour Wine Bistro. You can now buy them individually and I will have many flavors available. I am thankful for this opportunity given to us by owner Paul Heitz an expert in French cuisine, pastry and wine pairings. I was never a fan of wine pairings but after sampling a cocoa sorbet paired with a wonderful dessert wine I am sold!

Which led me to an epiphany: when food is paired with a wine based on its own merit and not on the winery dictating it, the experience is so different.

We've been advised several times to sell our macarons in supermarkets and other coffee shops but we've dragged our feet on this. Why? It takes us time and effort to make them, we simply can’t imagine our macarons in a grocery store or in the forgotten shelves of a gourmet shop without a trusted eye to keep watch over making sure that they don't get crushed or mishandled.

Which is why when Paul offered us the use of his establishment to sell our beloved macarons, we were psyched! For one thing, his restaurant goes very well with the French theme of the macarons, secondly, Paul and I had a long conversation about quality: the quality of the ingredients and the care you give in creating something you are passionate about are a shared philosophy.

So check us out this Saturday at Amour wine bistro. The plan is every Saturday this September and depending on the reception we may plan to expand to other days and times in the coming months! Please check our Facebook page for updated dates and times.

Didn't mean to be so quiet on this space the past couple of weeks. Sometimes when you get busy in the kitchen, sitting down to write a coherent post becomes impossible. My main focus the past few weeks was to miniaturize my pie recipes. Though the odd cake or cookie do get thrown in the mix.

So I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Surprisingly enough, no macaron experiments were done. However I did try out a graham cracker recipe. My purpose was not to sell graham crackers at Petites Bouchees but to use this as a base for my lemon or lime curd tarts. It's wonderful to be able to control the taste of your graham crackers instead of simply relying on store-bought ones. 

Graham Crackers

And the pies...

Sour Cherry 3" pielet

Apple 3" pielet

Pecan Pie Pop

I think I'm on to something with the pecan pie pop. The higher crust ratio is the perfect foil for its butterscotch sweetness and the roasted pecans round up this miniature sweet. I could easily eat 2 of these and I never was a fan of pecan pie until now.

More chocolate. The mousse on this one is to die for. The cake roll itself needs some more tweaking. Hubby said that it needed more chocolate, though I think the mousse itself provided enough kick. 

Chocolate roulade

Looking forward to more experiments next week. Hopefully this heat wave will pass so we can have weather more conducive to baking!

I have a backlog of recipes to blog about and I nearly forgot about this which I made almost 2 months ago. In case you all haven’t notice I have a penchant for petite sweets - I love them mini-sized. For me it’s not about how big the serving is, it’s how much each bite counts when it comes to flavor and satisfaction. In developing future treats for Petite Bouchees, I thought deep dish crumb pies would make a fabulous addition.

I got the inspiration from the book Sarabeth’s Bakery. I made it with apples because they were what was in season then, the book uses peaches and they're what I’m including in this recipe, so you all can try it when they come into season in a few months. I find the pie dough recipe interesting, but I still prefer the flavor of my go-to pie crust (which I have not tried in this application yet...experiments...experiments).

Innards

Individual Deep-Dish Peach Crumb Pies

{note...I used apples instead of peaches so don’t get confused with the picture, I used almost the same amount}

Tender Pie dough

14 tablespoons unsalted butter; at cool room temperature, cut into tablespoons
1/3 cup whole milk
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1. Beat the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at high speed until the butter is smooth, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, slowly dribble in the milk, occasionally stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides, of the bowl with a silicone spatula. The butter mixture should be fluffy, smooth, and shiny, like a buttercream frosting.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. With the mixer speed on low, gradually add the flour mixture and incorporate just until the dough forms mass on the paddle and the sides of the bowl are clean. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times until it is smooth and supple. Divide the dough in half. Shape each portion into a disk, about 1-inch thick. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate until chilled but not hard, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (The dough can be refrigerated up to 1 day, but it will be very hard, and should stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before rolling out. the dough can also be frozen, double wrapped in plastic, for up to 2 weeks. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.)

Peach Filling

5 ripe medium freestone peaches, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups; see baker’s note)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
seeds from 1 plumped vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for apple, I figured the same amount of apple, use the same amount of sugar and cornstarch, omitted the vanilla and used cinnamon

Streusel
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper. Generously butter the insides of six 6-ounces (3/4 cup) ramekins. Dust the insides well with flour, being sure they are completely coated, and tap out the excess flour. Set aside.
2. To make the filling, combine the peaches, brown sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Let stand while preparing the crumb pies.
3. To make the streusel, combine the flour, superfine sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir the melted butter and vanilla together in another small bowl. Gradually stir the butter mixture, just until evenly moistened (you may not need all of the butter). Squeeze the mixture in your hands until thoroughly combined. Crumble the mixture in the bowl to make fine crumbs with some small lumps. Set the streusel aside.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the first disk of pie dough, 1/8 inch thick. Using a 6-inch metal entremet ring or saucer as a template, cut out three rounds of dough. Stack the rounds on a half-sheet pan, separating them with parchment paper, and place in the refrigerator. (The dough softens easily and must remain cold.) Repeat with the second disk of pie dough. Working quickly, fit the rounds into the prepared ramekins, pressing evenly into the corners. Let the excess dough hang over the sides and gently form a ruffle. Place the ramekins on a half-sheet pan and refrigerate for 5 minutes.
5. Scoop the filling into the shells, piling it just above the edge of the ramekins. One at a time pleat the pastry over the filling - the center of the filling will be exposed. Gently press the streusel over the top of the dough and filling.
6. Bake until the tops are nicely browned, 50 to 60 minutes. To check the pies for doneness, use the rounded tip of a dinner knife to separate the top edge of the crust from the side of the ramekin and take a peek - the side crust should be golden brown. If not, bake a few minutes longer. If you are concerned about the tops overbrowning, tent them with aluminum foil. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and cool, about 20 minutes. (Do not let the pies cool completely, or they may stick to the ramekins and be difficult to remove. If this happens, remember that the pies are just as tasty if eaten directly from the ramekins.)
7. To unmold the pies, use your fingers to gently loosen the top edge of the crust from the ramekin. (If you wish, you may carefully run a knife around the inside of the ramekin to loosen the crust, but take care not to cut the crust.) Using a kitchen towel, pick up the ramekin. Cup your other hand and invert the pie into the cupped hand to unmold the pie. Place the right side up onto the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining pies. Serve warm or at room temperature.
    

To form the purses, fit the dough into the ramekins

Let the excess dough overhang and scoop the filling into it

Pleat the edges over the filling {reminded me of making gyoza }

I could find many applications for these adorable purse-like desserts. Specially when unmolded, they look adorable!

Here’s an event I did last week at the Boathouse at Rocketts Landing. The colors were mustard and navy and I so enjoyed putting this table together!

Cupcake & Macaron table, Boathouse Richmond, Va

Close-up of the cupcake decor

(please click on the pictures to activate the lightbox for more vivid display!)

I’ve hinted on a project that I have been working on for a few weeks now. Well, now it can be revealed. Petites Bouchees has ventured into the stylized dessert table business!
This idea has been percolating in my brain since last year, but it was only this year that I had the guts to go through with it.
Wedding professional consultant, Meghan Ely of OFDconsulting has been instrumental in connecting me with great vendors in the area, with whom I am so thrilled to be now working with on current and future projects.

Wedding Cake - Sweetest Thing Bakery

It’s so easy to get carried away with a first project, but I wanted to pay tribute to the lovely wallpaper I first laid eyes on in an adorable pastry shop in San Francisco called Miette. I couldn’t not include a candy station for which Miette is also known for and their macarons were the first ones I tried that got me hooked on these little Parisian confections.

Wallpaper Shortbread cookies

I was lucky that they made the wallpaper cookies that matched the backdrop (yes, I’m going to use the “wallpapered” structure somewhere in my house after this project) - whimsical hydrangeas and starburst floral patterns - so I mailordered them to make an appearance on my very first dessert table.

Peadee Pops by Flour and Iced

I won’t deny that this has been a learning experience - I think I’ve spent enough time at Michael’s and on the internet sourcing paper and crafting ideas to bring into the dessert table. Many times, I thought my head would burst thinking of all the little details that need to be done. Sometimes they just fall into place and sometimes you just have to accept that the tarts and buttermilk panna cottas have no room on your little (or big)scheme of things. It’s picking and choosing and always remembering that there is always that next dessert table.

A little candy station- I just adore the lollipops

Dainty cupcakes

And of course, how can we forget the macarons?

Rose Litchi Macarons

More macs

Thanks to:
Jenny West of the Sweetest Thing Bakery for the beautiful wedding cake
Krissy Salmon-White of Flour and Iced for the gorgeous peadee pops (aka cake pops)
Paper and Pigtails for the adorable labels
Roshan and Dale of Quarterman Photography for the cool pictures
 

Peadee Pop!

Now for the giveaway. I love Crate and Barrel (CB)! They always have such sensible and cool vessels that lend themselves to showcase your baked goodies perfectly. To celebrate the launch of my dessert tables, I am giving away two CB- $50.00 gift cards, just leave a comment between now and July 19, 2010 stating what you would like to see on a dessert table besides cupcakes and cake pops. I will pick 2 winners using the trusty random number generator. The winners will be announced on July 20th and email notifications will be sent to the winners and they should respond within a week or a new winner will be chosen. The winners will be required to provide a mailing address for the gift-card to be sent.This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

I have a couple of events coming up that will showcase my dessert tables. The first one coming up is called "An Engagement" which is a Bridal seminar and showcase to be held at the Downtown Hilton on July 25. See you future brides there!

Cupcakes and macarons seem to be the dessert of choice this October. I had so much fun making these and thought you all would want to see what this obsessive macaron maker was up to. The above dessert table was for a bead store opening. The Fandangled Bead store is located at the Shops at Stony point. I can't believe the selection of beads in this store.  I can see how gorgeous it would be to decorate a cuppie with beads except I have to make sure that no one eats the beads: "Warning, take beads off before eating!"

My other store event was for the 30th anniversary of Rostov's Coffee. The "Hungry" hubby has been getting coffee from them since 1985 and they have the best selection in my opinion. We like to mix the following beans (equal amounts): Excelso and Yirgacheffe.  And boy, did we underestimate how much macarons and cupcakes were needed. Since the owner was also having an oyster roast with other finger foods, I told her not everyone was going to eat dessert. Well, that day the weather was freezing and it was raining. Guess what the customers wanted first when they came in: coffee. And what went so well with coffee? Macarons! The 200+ macarons disappeared in 45 minutes. The 156 cupcakes? 30 minutes later.

Cupcake tower 1

Cupcake tower 2

Chocolate-Espresso/ Vanila Vanilla macarons

Caramel/ Pistachio/Passion fruit

In hindsight, it probably was not a good idea to put the macarons by the coffee area.

Chocolate cupcakes were the first to disappear

Owner said, she would order 500 of each next time. Ofcourse, I hope she was joking.

And here's another little project for a small wedding. Rose cuppies.

Rose chocolate cupcakes

                There will be over 60 restaurants participating and some of them are my favorites too. The first Broad Appetit last year recorded 7500 attendees and the food actually ran out that the rain that day was a blessing.

                The event this year is on June 7, Sunday from noon to 5pm. Now I know 5 hours is precious little time to sample all 60 restaurants (I’m participating as a vendor), but please leave room for dessert for my cupcakes and macarons. Now is the chance to taste them without buying an entire dozen! (And Rvafoodie  just twitted me and said that macarons make "a pre-meal amuse bouche & a between dish palate cleanser")

 For those on twitter I will twit on @kitchenmusings for my location and whatever is happening that day…maybe one of you can bring us food too just in case we are fortunate to be swamped and cannot leave our booth .

So instead I am plugging my Christmas macarons!

For macaron lovers out of town and for those in Richmond needing them by the 15th, the last day to put in your order is Dec 12th, noon!  If you live in a state that requires 2nd-day air, I can ship using USPS Priority mail which is a lot cheaper, email orders@petitesbouchees.com for more info.

Sorry, no more orders are being accepted for December 15th or for shipping.

Update 12/12/2008:

For the remaining dates of the December 20th and 22nd, those dates are almost full, especially the 20th. Order soon!

December 20th is technically full. Please call 804.332.8699 or email orders@petitesbouchees.com on what might be available.

Because of a recent influx of orders, Dec. 22nd orders are only for Christmas Macarons (flavors). 

I would also like to thank Lydia of the Perfect Pantry for selecting my macarons as one of the food gifts for food lovers!

Update 12/19/2008

I am no longer accepting any orders for the rest of the year.

Merry Christmas Everyone !!!

It turns out Jen has just started her own web-design business, Jennifer Brown Design! Talk about coincidence! Their company’s aim is to help small companies establish a web presence. Jen does a lot of the front-end stuff/content and Sketchy takes care of the backend like the database and the online store setups, but both can backup each other. What a team, huh!

We agreed to touch base the following week.

 After the initial meeting, Jen sent me a couple of designs. I immediately fell in love with them and it was hard to pick just one. Anyway, I settled on a design, picking elements from one and styles from another. What followed were a contract, project commencement and development until finally it went live this weekend!

The original logo concepts are designed by the talented Ximena Maier of Lobstersquad.  Jen deftly integrated them into the website and even created the front of a cute little store with the logo.

So go visit my virtual patisserie already! There are some links and content that still need to be added but the store is open for business! And don’t forget to check out the new version of “How to eat a Macaron.”

But come back here because I have a book to give away.

Well, what do you all think?

To celebrate the website’s launch, I am giving away a copy of “Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé.”

All you have to do is to leave a comment between now and October 12, that you would like to join in the giveaway.

My thanks goes to Jen and Sketchy for designing my website that has captured my personality so well down to the pink polka dots!

I’m slowly getting back into the groove of the business again. I did not realize how hard it was to get back into the swing of things after a long break. I was afraid I would lose my macaron mojo as I have not made these cuties in three weeks – quite unheard of in the Test Kitchen.

The “Hungry” Hubby reminded me that I was supposed to be creating new flavors for the fall. It’s not that I was lazy…well there was the umm…Olympics. Also, a little reality hit me along the way. Even if I could stand in the kitchen for eight hours straight, I was quite out of breath walking a mile. Truth is, I needed to get into shape – so I put time into my health first before the business. This is still my priority – quite hard but I’ve been hitting the treadmill or the exercise video before I even begin to whisk any eggs. And you know what, it feels good!

Anyway, I’ve already determined which flavors I wanted to add to my macaron line-up right after I took Pierre Herme’s class in Chicago. All I had to do was to put the recipes to work – with a bit of tweaking.

My first experiment with passion fruit and milk chocolate ganache was not too successful. The ganache remained hard even after the macaron sat at room temperature. There was also a slight catch in the throat after you ate it. This was not my memory of PH’s version. His was melt in your mouth delicious. So, I poured over the recipe again and tried to remember what his technique was when making ganache. He partly melts his chocolate and does not dump the heated liquid on it (most recipes have you boil the liquid and pour it over the chocolate) - he slowly emulsifies the liquid into the partly melted chocolate. Prevents graininess he said and makes for a smoother ganache. The softened butter also needed to be incorporated at 104F. My second attempt this past weekend was a success! Melt in your mouth ganache with a smooth marriage of passion fruit and milk chocolate.

One of my favorite fillings from all my experiments was cream cheese buttercream. Yep you read it right: cream cheese and buttercream. And boy is it the lightest filling ever! I’m still looking to streamline the process because it is very involved to produce. You have to make an English cream and beat it into the softened butter. And then you make Italian Meringue and then mix it into your English cream-butter mixture. Then you beat your cream cheese and then incorporate your Italian Meringue-English cream butter cream. See what I mean…whew! But what you get is an extremely silky filling that could hold up pretty well in hot and humid conditions.

Lastly, I had to include the rose-litchi and raspberry creation known as the Ispahan fetish of Monsieur Herme. I think I’m going to make my own litchi puree because the ones I got online were a bit watery making for a runnier ganache.

I’ve also ventured into the world of gelee-filled macarons. For example, the cream cheese buttercream definitely needs the tartness lent by the passion fruit gelee to throw the flavor over the top. And although the rose litchi ganache could stand alone, its flavor gets elevated to a higher level when you include the raspberry gelee.

So let me present my new macaron flavors for the fall:

• Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Macaron
• Cream Cheese Buttercream Macaron with passion fruit gelee
• Rose-Litchi Ganache Macaron with raspberry gelee

As a tribute to the Picasso of Pastry for giving me so much inspiration with Petites Bouchees, I am giving away two full sets of the Pierre Herme miniature collection (these do not come assembled.) All you have to do is to leave a comment between now and August 31^st stating what is your favorite Pierre Herme recipe or creation .

My good friend Helen has assembled this beautifully, check it out here. And the best part is, they are calorie free

photos by steve hedberg

Oh, the top left picture happens to be a favorite – roast-duck noodle soup from the only authentic (hate using that word but in this case it is appropriate) Chinese Restaurant in Richmond, Full Kee. And I’m happy to see Chef Nate of Louisiana Flair 's hot sauce make the cut too!

Okay,  I’m a wus! It looks like it might rain this weekend so I will not be at the Farmer's Market . And next weekend is shot too because my brother and his family are in town and we’re having a kebob party and I’m afraid of making macarons because they might get thrown on the grill by mistake !

I'm planning to do a post on how to make and eat Persian kebabs – specifically the barg and kubideh. So watch out for some mouthwathering skewered fare!

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