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My Viennese-born grandmother was a master home baker. As a little girl, my eyes filled with wonder while I watched her carefully pull homemade strudel dough, stretching it and stretching it over a large floured English linen tablecloth. She filled it with apples, raisins and cinnamon.
She made homemade pies, coffee cakes and all sorts of European cookies, including her famous kippel, a crescent-shaped confection filled with raspberry jam, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. One would think I would have inherited her love for baking. I did not. I have never baked a pie although I have made carrot and chocolate cakes from scratch.
Similarly, I have never worked with that fickle lady — yeast. I do not know why I have a fear of baking. The reason may be that it is an exact art while cooking is deeply rooted in tasting and improvisation.
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The gentleman who helped me face my baking fears was Cedric Barberet, executive pastry chef of Le Bec-Fin. Born in Cannes and raised in Lyon, the capital of French gastronomy, Barberet, 36, grew up in his parent’s patisserie. He came to America 15 years ago and is now a citizen. I invited him into my kitchen and we went to work.
Barberet came armed with his KitchenAid, which he brought from home, and three large stainless steel hotel pans filled with utensils and ingredients to make a coconut cream tarte topped with fresh berries and an apricot glaze.
“I am French and we make Pate Sucree (sweet tarte dough) using only unsalted butter. We do not add any shortening,” he said.
Barberet is a soft-spoken artist who is meticulous and precise when creating sweet endings at Le Bec-Fin. The restaurant is famous for its pastry cart, which is rolled around the dining room for patrons who love to “ooh” and “aah” before making a selection.
Barberet mixed the dough in the KitchenAid, wrapped it in plastic wrap and chilled it. He brought a brick of ready-made dough with him so I could take my first lesson. He lightly floured my granite countertop, placed the dough on top, sprinkled on a little flour, and using my European-style rolling pin, I began to roll.
I loved the sensual feel of the dough. It felt like lush velvet. Each time I rolled, Barberet told me to turn it a quarter of a turn before rolling once more. I also had to pay attention to which part of the dough was thicker or thinner than the rest.
“Don’t worry if it cracks,” he said. “You can always patch it as you go.”
He baked the tarte shell at 355 degrees for 25 minutes before filling it with coconut cream. Barberet topped the tarte with thinly sliced kiwi along with fresh raspberries and blueberries. He brushed on some apricot glaze and finished it with coconut powder, edible gold leaf small and pineapple leaves.
As we worked, all of us spoke of Georges Perrier, who put French food on the Philadelphia map. Perrier is an exuberant man who is also from Lyon.
“Cedric, you are so soft-spoken, so different from Georges,” I said.
“Yes. He comes to the pastry kitchen to see me because I am his Zen,” he replied.
Here is Barberet’s recipe for Pate Sucree. You can use any filling, pudding, mousse or fruit you wish.
■ Pate Sucree ■
Ingredients:
2-1/3 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup of 10 times powdered sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon of whole milk
3 cups of pastry flour
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 355 degrees.
If you are using a KitchenAid, fit it with the paddle. If you are using a Cuisinart, fit it with the steel blade and be sure you do not overwork the dough. You also can make the dough with a hand-held mixer. Here are directions for a KitchenAid.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl. Cream it together until it’s well-blended. Add the yolk and milk and blend well. Gradually add the flour and salt. Blend well.
Remove the dough from the KitchenAid. Form it into a flat brick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for two hours.
If you have granite or marble countertops, you may work directly on either one. If not, use a large wooden cutting board and sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Place the dough on the area and begin to roll. Turn the dough a quarter turn as you work. Sprinkle a little flour after each turn.
When the dough is finally rolled, you can fit it into a tarte or a glass pie pan. A metal pie pan works as well. Crimp the edges.
Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
Cool to room temperature and fill to your liking.
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