Category Archives: pastries

Pastries

Cinnamon rolls

Kanēļmaizītes

In Latvia cinnamon rolls is a very popular treat for breakfast and a great snack to accompany coffee or tea in a cold winter afternoon. My grandmother used to make them quite often and I loved them. They are soft and with light caramel on top. Make sure you eat them freshly baked, that’s when they taste best. Enjoy!

cinnamon rolls

Yield: 40 small size cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

250ml warm milk (ca. 40C)
2 eggs
80g butter
560g flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
140g brown sugar
1 packet instant yeast
sugar & cinnamon & some butter to spread on top of the dough
1 egg

Éclairs au chocolat – chocolate éclairs with vanilla filling

What are éclairs?

Éclairs is a typical french dessert which usually consist of choux pastry and are filled with pastry cream. Country by country, the filling differs. While in France, the chocolate éclairs will always have chocolate filling, in Spain, for example, the chocolate éclairs have vanilla filling. In Latvia, on the other hand, the filling is “more heavy” as we usually add more butter and cream. Chocolate ganache éclairs with vanilla pastry cream filling are my favorite ones – so, enjoy my French-Spanish recipe!

chocolate vanilla eclairs

Yield: 25 medium size éclaires, 10-12cm long

Ingredients

300g choux pastry
250-300g pastry cream

150g glaze

50g black chocolate
40g ice sugar
20g butter
1 table spoon of water

100g white fondant (fondant blanc)
20g cacao powder

Macarons (the Italian way)

What are macarons?

Macarons are all the rage now, and you’re sure to find them from Beijing to Rio. But, in case you haven’t come across them yet, here’s a nice picture:

two kinds of chocolate filling macarons

A perfect macaron has two almond-meringue pastries that have been cooked to be smooth and crisp, and the middle is filled with a cream, jam, or some other tasty ingredient (sometimes even something unexpected, like foie gras!)

Continue reading …