The French Chef at Home bakes off with classic patisserie recipes

THIS week saw the return of the Great British Bake Off on BBC One, and Harrogate-based catering company The French Chef at Home has served up Tarte tropézienne or the Lavender éclair to get your taste buds tingling.

Recipes
Tarte tropézienne
Serves 8 people

Ingredients
For the brioche:
–          15g fresh yeast
–          10cl milk
–          300g flour
–          30g caster sugar
–          1 tbsp orange-blossom water
–          3 large eggs
–          1 egg yolk
–          125g softened butter
–          20g icing sugar
 
For the cream:
–          500ml whole milk
–           3 eggs
–           2 egg yolks
–           100g plain flour
–           200g caster sugar
–           375ml double cream
 
Method
For the brioche:

Gently heat the milk in a saucepan until warm. Crumble the yeast in the warm milk and let it melt. Add 100g of flour and let it rest for one hour in a warm room.
Beat the three large eggs. Add the rest of the flour, 1 tsp of salt, the sugar and the orange-blossom water to a large bowl. Mix together. Add the yeast mix and then the softened butter. Work the dough for approx. 10 mins in a food processor. Put a tea towel over the bowl and leave it to rest for two hours at room temperature.
Work the dough again and put it in a large non-stick tart mould. Cover it with a tea towel and leave the dough to prove for one hour.
Pre-heat the oven at 180°c (Thermostat 6). Brush the brioche with the egg yolk and a few drops of water. Bake for 30-35 mins.

For the cream:
 
Add the milk to a large saucepan and leave to heat gently. In a bowl, mix the three eggs, two egg yolks and caster sugar. Add the flour and mix again. Add the mixture to the saucepan with the milk, mix well and cook over a low heat. Bring it to the boil for a few minutes whilst whisking. Put the cream to one side and cool until lukewarm.
Whip the cream.
 
Once the cream is set, cut the brioche in two horizontally and add the cream between the two parts and sprinkle with the icing sugar.
 
 
The French Chef at HomeLavender éclair
For 12 éclairs

Ingredients
For the choux pastry:
–          250ml water
–          200g flour
–          100g unsalted butter
–          1 pinch of salt
–          4 whole eggs
For the lavender crème patissière:
–          50cl whole milk
–          100g caster sugar
–          50g corn flour
–          1 whole egg or 2 egg yolks
–          100g unsalted butter
–          lavender extract
For the icing:
–          500g fondant white icing
–          Purple food colouring
 
Method
For the choux pastry:
Place the butter, salt and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat and add all of the flour.
Stir with a wooden spatula until smooth.
The resulting dough is called ‘panada’. Return the saucepan to the heat to dry off the panada. Stir until the paste doesn’t stick the sides of the saucepan and forms a ball.
Transfer the panada to the mixer bowl and beat for a few minutes with the flat beater until cool.
Beat in the eggs one by one and set the mixer to a low speed.
Don’t worry if the egg doesn’t bind with the mixture immediately, continue to mix and it will start to combine after a while.
Pipe the éclair mixture onto a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Each éclair should be around 12-13cm and arranged in staggered lines.
I recommend using a fluted nozzle for the piping, which helps to regulate the shape of the éclair.  
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (gas 3) until golden and hollow. These éclairs don’t need to be glazed with egg wash since they will be coated with icing later on.
 
For the lavender crème pâtissière:

Add milk to a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Whilst the milk boils, combine the sugar with the eggs in a mixing bowl.
Whisk the mixture until light and fluffy.
Add the corn flour.
When the milk starts boiling add it to the cream mixture and whisk.
Transfer the combined mixture into the saucepan used to boil the milk and cook over a medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir constantly to make sure that the cream does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the mixture into the mixing bowl and set at high speed until the cream has cooled down completely.
Add one teaspoon of the lavender extract to flavour the cream. Taste the mixture and add more as necessary. The more extract you add, the more intense the flavour will be.
Add the softened butter and beat for a further 3 minutes at maximum speed.
By now, the choux pastry should be ready.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Once cooled, use the tip of a knife or a filling nozzle to pierce the underside of each éclair in three places.
Pour the lavender crème pâtissière into a piping bag fitted with a filling nozzle (6-8mm diameter).
Pipe the cream into each of the pierced holes until the bun is evenly filled. Make sure you do not squeeze the piping bag too hard, otherwise the éclair could burst. Wipe away any excess cream that may have spilled out.  
Repeat this process until all of the éclairs are filled.
Place in the fridge to cool.
 
For the lavender icing:
For this recipe, I used fondant white icing as a base.
Soften the fondant icing over a bain-marie. Use a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature. To ensure a glossy effect, the temperature should not exceed 37-40°C.
Add a few drops of purple food colouring, add more for a darker colour.
Combine gently with a spatula until the colouring is fully incorporated.
 
Icing the éclair:
Take one éclair and carefully dip it into the hot icing (which should be a maximum temperature of 40°C). Dip the éclair lightly into the mixture 3 or 4 times.
Lift the éclair and let the excess drip off.
Slide the edge of a spatula over the icing until even.
Wipe with your fingertip to create a neat, round end on the coating. Place the coated éclair on a baking sheet and let cool. As it sets, the icing should be smooth and glossy.

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