A Cream Puff Story

I have to agree,nothing is impossible.

We are so familiar with cream puff.If you you think it's true that you can conceive exactly the feeling of having a cream puff in your mouth then I shall say Beard Papa® is something that makes it inconceivable.If you are someone like me,define cream puff as whipped cream wrapped in flaky soft cake that can never be categorised to high class dessert,you must find a store near you and try a vanilla puff immediately;if you are a puff lover and and want to retain confidence on self-made cream puffs or would like to have different puffs every time then you'd better skip Beard Papa®,because you won't want to try others after a Beard Papa® cream puff.

It's clear that Beard Papa® has made effort on both the puff and filling,the outside short crust(don't ask me how it is done) makes the puff crispy and flavourful,with n appearance that resembles a flower with petals.To maintain its crispiness,Beard Papa insist fill the puff only after you've paid.It's normal to see customers waiting in line for filling their puffs,but there's more to see.Sometimes you can catch the scene of assistants processing vanilla sticks for the pastry cream filling!Isn't it impressive in this commercial world,especially in oriental world where vanilla is grown almost nowhere!

By a glance you may consider it "unbelievably expensive"--a puff=2kg flour?I became aware how this equation proved true after a first buy.

By compare I also bought some Brownie®'s puff,which is also praised highly by the public and runs much the same way with Beard Papa®.I'm sorry for giving it such an opponent.As you see,the puff dough has a crumb opping which makes it somewhat better than small puffs,but obviously flavourless and soft compared to Beard Papa®,the filling is...thumbs up if Beard Papa® filled its puff with whipped cream but now...the two versions of pastry cream is definitely not on the same level,just like the gap between high quality chocolate and very cheap one.Thank you Beard Papa®,I think I've discovered a pastry cream superior to Gourmet Corner's!

The Charm of Puff Pastry

My mother always say I cannot be an easy-going person.According to her,my mind is never clear enough and I'm just too critical about anything.

I used to ague.However,as I grow I have to say:"Mom,you are right."

My mother said she hated such situation when an old friend came to visit and asked:"What does your daughter like?"She didn't know he answer as a mother.She never buys anything with me following since my father sometimes does spend money only to meet with a quarrel.

Mom,this is not merely a problem of you,my every style changes so fast that even myself cannot make a long-time decision.

My taste on food can be a good example.also one of the biggest worries of my mother,although things have been made better when I became the cook.There are quite something on my dinner table described "none-edible"by my father or something initially specially for me but finally none end up in my mouth.

My eating habit is bad--I never say it isn't.From some day I suddenly find a particular dish is "to taste",it will be on my diet at amazing amount and frequency,until some time I consider it "disgusting",which means I've had enough,it disappears if there's never such a dish,not even a small bite when I am asked to have some quality ones.

So I guess puff pastry is in my fashion.This startled me so much because I've tasted so many publicly favoured such multi-layered pastries and never consider them tasty.Falling in love with such flavourless yet expensive pastry would sound nothing more than a joke.I tried to modify it by adding much sugar when making mine but,why not just have some good cookies?

I don't know when I began to fancy puff pastry.It was not earlier than last month I threw a bag of elephant ear into trash tin.Would it because puff pastry sound more challenging in hot summer?Je ne sais pas.Anyway,I discovered he subtly appealing butter flavour and substituted my daily cookie baking with Chinese pastry(similar to puff pastry despite that it doesn't puff).

China World Hotel Addicted

I have to confess I'm a little addicted to Gourmet Corner.Whenever I've got a chance to be closed,I couldn't leave if not change my money for its breads.You may think it's crazy but tell you the truth,don't be surprised if you see people crowd in that small corner 20 minutes prior to the half-price time,you'll only see an empty counter if you do not line that queue.If you really know bread,Gourmet Corner can be the right place.Their croissant is unofficially rated the best in China(because there isn't any official judgment).
Unfortunately,there has been a confusing rise on the price of plain croissant.RMB5.00 to 8.00,almost doubled!Although general prices are rising and several other items also got more expensive(chocolate croissant from RMB7.00 to 8.00,chicken pie and black forest cake slightly rose),even the clerk said she was astonished at such a big rise.Hmm...maybe it had been sold too fast?Anyway,that left the plain one no advantage to chocolate croissant.

Nonetheless,the queue wasn't shortened.Honestly speaking,I prefer croissant au chocolat,I also bought a plain one for my mother who prefers savory food and ever said pizza hut was an intolerable food-seller,she finished it in second and asked for more!
What makes its croissant different is butter,from the smell alone you can be sure it's made with real butter,the layers are so thine and crispy you cannot decide how to bite.The chocolate filling,though little,tastes qualified.
Brioche and muffin are too,buttery enough,authentic is what I can say.
Pretzel,another favourite of mine,I've tried making it.The colour was fine but my bread became noodles in alkaline water.
Chocolate doughnut with pastry cream:for the filling alone sweet teeth should try it!Y......yummy!

Watermelon Mousse with Agar

For me,mousse is a dessert to clean up the left-aways, where the unappetising turn to crusts.This mousse began with my overly sweet cookies made several days ago.

so easy that I gave up my cheesecake experiment after making once.It seems that you can never make it a nightmare.

Agar is made from marine plants,such as marine algae.I don't know how it is used in other cuisine,it is a versatile food when it is softened or dissolved in liquid:I like it in Chinese salads.also,it is one of the most important ingredients of commercially produced puddings and chewing gums.

I guess none-vegans mostly use gelatin to make mousse,nonetheless,I daresay agar is the basic ingredient in instant jelly powder(I never saw such item in stores here,though).Agar has a considerable higher set point,I'm not sure about the precise degree,it set easily today in my kitchen whose temperature was surely higher than 30C.So if you also like it stiffer,try agar instead of gelatin.

Watermelon Mousse:

Ingredients:

juice from 1/4 watermelon

250g cream cheese

400g none-dairy whipping top(of course,heavy cream works better)

25g agar

overly sweet cookies

Method:

1.Over low heat,dissolve agar in watermelon juice.

2.Cream the cheese,gradually pour in watermelon juice,mix well.

3.Whip the cream,fold in the cheese mixture.

4.break cookies too small pieces,place a layer at the bottom of a bowl,pour in some mousse,repeat layers.

You don't need to let it in cool down completely,in fact,mine had already begun to set when fold into the cold topping.

You may have to add some sugar if your cookies are not overly sweet or if your cream is sugar-free.

Agar salad:

Put some agar in lukewarm water(10-20C) for 20 minutes or until softened,add to your salad to make a twist.