Category Archives: Baking & Pastry

Dinner, My Place: Baking, Science, and Killer Pasta

October 20, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Aw yes, lobster mushrooms. They look like cooked lobsters on the outside and they have a nice meaty texture when cooked….. Put some salt and pepper on the ox tail and braise it with some veal stock and smoked ham hock…..yes, excellent. It’s going to be a ragout for the pasta. Make some fresh rosemary pasta then cut it and work on something else. (Duck eggs, rosemary, “00″, Semolina, Contadina, Water) Mushrooms, golden beets, and butternut squash go into […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry, Beef, Duck, Pasta • Tags: Agar, Cooking Blog, Dinner, Food, Ox Tail, Pasta, Ragout, recipe, Terrine

Donutpalooza

August 19, 2010 by ericriveracooks

I am not a baker but I like donuts and I had a few ideas for glazes and sauces to put on them so I called in my future pastry chef to help me out with this whole donut problem I was having (long sentence!). Ellen Benezra is pretty damn good at what she does. She’s crazy like me when it comes to cooking stuff so it was only natural that we worked together on this donutpalooza thing. She is […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry, Sauce • Tags: Blog, Cooking Blog, Donut, Donutpalooza, Food, Glaze, recipe

PX S’ Orange Macerated Cherry Focaccia with Urfa Biber and Almonds

July 6, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Yes, I bake sometimes. Eric

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Almonds, Bread, Cooking Blog, Focaccia, Food, Macerated Cherries, recipe, Urfa Biber

Charlotte, I made you this Charlotte. Who is Charlotte? I don’t know! Stop yelling..

March 24, 2010 by ericriveracooks

I had to do a little begging and pleading to attend Foodportunity the other night. It’s finals week so I asked my chef at school about a month ago if I could attend. She asked me to write a paper and make a Charlotte and I would be fine so that’s what I did. Charlotte’s are a classic dessert similar to a Tiramisu. It uses ladyfingers and Bavarian cream to get it’s point across along with some chantilly cream and […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry, Dessert • Tags: Bavarian Cream, Charlotte, Cooking, Dessert, Food, Ladyfinger, recipe, Strawberry

Chocolate Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 17, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Dark chocolate outside with a dark chocolate ganache on the inside Dark chocolate shell with a white chocolate and raspberry liqueur Spiked Dark Chocolate Truffle with Hazelnut and Brandy Ganache Dark Chocolate with White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Dark Chocolate with White Chocolate Raspberry Liqueur. Dark Chocolate with powdered green food coloring. All version 1.0. Eric

Categories: Baking & Pastry, Dessert • Tags: Chocolate, Cooking, Dark Chocolate, Dessert, Food, Ganache, recipe, Truffle

Ice Cream, Sorbet, Flan, and other delights

March 16, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Here is a little picture dump of a few things I have been working on at school. Above is a mango/papaya/black pepper sorbet with a raspberry sauce on tuile. This is a coffee liqueur ice cream….again with raspberry sauce on tuile. This is a candy apple sorbet. I caramelized the sugar in the base then took a green apple puree. The next time I make this it will have a caramel sauce over the top and I will set the […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry, Dessert • Tags: Baking, Brittle, Cooking, Dessert, Flan, Food, Ice Cream, Pastry, Sorbet, Tuile

Works in progress.

March 3, 2010 by ericriveracooks

In our pastry class we had a whole day to work on plating. This is the first time in school where we have had the chance to just worry about plating. Sure, the other classes have talked about it but we haven’t actually focused on it like this. Our chef had us go to the library and look at books for a while then come back and brainstorm what we wanted to put on the plate. I’m a big fan […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: angel food cake, Cooking, croquembouche, Food, Pastry, Raspberry, Strawberry

Apple Tart

February 27, 2010 by ericriveracooks

This goes down as one of the coolest looking things I’ve ever made. Yup. Before going into the oven I sprinkled cinnamon and powdered sugar over it then glazed it once it came out. It’s super simple to make and it looks great, I’m happy. Eric

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Apple Tart, Baking, Cooking, Food

Croissant and Parisian Brioche

February 14, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Croissant Ingredients: 1200 g bread flour 500 g water 280 g milk 170 g sugar 25 g salt 45 g fresh yeast 100 g melted butter 454 g roll-in butter Procedure: Mix bread flour, sugar, salt, yeast together Mix water, milk, and melted butter together With dough hook start mixing dry then add wet ingredients Mix to less than window stage Remove dough, spread on 1/2 sheet pan with silpat Refrigerate for 15 minutes Flatten butter with rolling pin Roll […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baking, Cooking Blog, Croissant, Food, Parisian Brioche, Pastry, recipe

More work with Puff Pastry and Phyllo Dough

February 14, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Recipes were handed out in class. I have no idea where they came from. Chocolate Napoleon Ingredients: AP flour, for dusting 1 lb. puff pastry 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 tsp. light corn syrup 1 to 2 tbsp. milk 2 tsp. Dutch-Process cocoa powder Chocolate pastry cream Procedure: On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out puff pastry to a 12 inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a pastry cutter […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baking, Baklava, Cooking Blog, Dessert, Food, Neopolitan, Pastry, Pastry Cream, Phyllo, Puff Pastry, recipe

Whole Wheat Rolls, Baguette, and Focaccia

February 2, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Fermented dough!!!!! So freaking cool! We made baguettes the week before but Chef wanted to show us the difference when we used fermented dough instead of not awesome fermented dough (I’m not a baker so I don’t really know all the terms yet…..huge learning curve for me with this stuff). Recipes are on their way! Baguette (click for recipe) Focaccia (click for recipe) Whole Wheat Rolls

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baguette, Baking, Cooking Blog, Focaccia, Food, Pastry, Whole Wheat Rolls

Petit Fours Week

February 2, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Pictured from left to right….Almond Cherry Florentine Dipped in Chocolate, Madeleine’s, Gerbet Macaroons. There are more recipes on the way so stay tuned while I get caught up with recipes throughout the day. This is going to be a great month! Almond Macaroons Ingredients: 2 ounces powdered almonds 4 ounces confectioner’s sugar 2 ounces, egg whites 5 1/2 tsp. fine granulated sugar 2 drops vanilla extract Procedure: Process the almonds and confectioner’s sugar in a food processor (FU FOOD PROCESSOR) […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baking, Cooking Blog, Dessert, Eclair, Florentine, Food, Individual Gateau S. Honore, Langue Du Chat, Macaroons, Madeleine's, Pastry, Pastry Cream, recipe

Laminated Doughs Week

February 1, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Before you get to any of the fun stuff you have to make some puff pastry. Yes, make the puff pastry. Why? Because next time you buy the frozen stuff you’ll have an appreciation for it. Making puff pastry is one of the most frustrating things I have made in the kitchen because it takes forever but the things you can make with it are amazingly simple…..that is frustrating for me! So here are three recipes for puff pastry. Quick […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baking, Cooking, Cooking Blog, Food, Laminated Doughs, Palmiers, Pastry, Poached Pear, Puff Pastry, Tart, Tarte Tatin

Madeleine, Baguette, Pullman, and Blueberry Muffin

January 23, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Real Madeleine’s have a hump. Fake ones don’t. We made this in class but for some reason my camera dumped all the pictures so I had to retake the Madeleine and the blueberry muffin at home. I guess I’ll just have to make them again…..oh no! Madeleine Ingredients: 200 grams sugar 5 eggs 210 grams AP flour 7 grams baking powder 210 grams clarified butter Optional…..if you want to make them chocolate then add 25 grams cocoa powder Procedure Mix […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baguette, Baking, Blueberry Muffin, Cooking Blog, Food, Madeleine, recipe, Streusel

Enriched Breads Week

January 20, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Recipes from iCook Parisian Brioche Yield: 3 loaves, approx. 1lb. 2 ounces Method: Sponge Fermentation: Sponge, 2 hrs. Final dough, 1 hour Proofing: 1 hour Ingredients: Sponge Instant yeast, .5 ounce Water, warm, 4 fl ounces Bread flour, 8 ounces Eggs, 8 ounces Granulated sugar, 1 ounce Dough Instant yeast, 1 1/2 tsp. Water, warm, 1 fl. ounce Sponge, 1lb. 5 ounces High-gluten flour 1 lb. 10 ounces Granulated sugar, 4 ounces Eggs, lightly beaten 8 ounces Salt, .75 ounce […]

Categories: Baking & Pastry • Tags: Baking, Brioche, Cooking Blog, Food, Pastry, recipe

Eric Rivera's Cooking Blog

Food, because I just want an excuse to cook.