Paris Pastry Club: A collection of cakes, tarts, pastries and other indulgent recipes Read Online Free PDF Page B

poaching liquid. To reheat, simply put them back in a pan over a low heat until the butter melts and the liquid starts to bubble around the edges.

ULTIMATE MILK
CHOCOLATE
CHIP COOKIES

    I think that eating the perfect chocolate chip cookie, still warm from the oven, feels like kissing (of the French kind). With no other reason than kissing being one of my favourite pastimes, I like to have ready-to-bake cookie dough stashed away in my freezer.
    This recipe will make 4 logs of dough, each yielding 8–10 cookies.
    I usually make a batch and keep one log in the fridge overnight to firm up and bake the next day, while the remaining logs go straight to the freezer for fun at a later date.
    Makes 36 – 40 cookies
    180 g (6⅓ oz) butter, soft
    260 g (9¼ oz) light brown sugar
    80 g (3 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
    seeds from 1 vanilla pod
    2 eggs
    200 g (7 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
    200 g (7 oz) strong flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder (baking powder)
    1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
    150 g (5 oz) milk chocolate,
    chopped into small chunks
    a little extra sea salt, for sprinkling
    If you are using a stand-mixer, fit the paddle attachment and cream the butter and sugars. Add the vanilla seeds and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternatively mix by hand with a wooden spoon.
    Mix in the flours, baking powder and salt until just combined. Add the chocolate chunks and knead briefly in the bowl with your hand until there are no more floury patches.
    Divide the dough into 4 and turn out a portion onto the centre of a large sheet of baking parchment. Fold the paper in half (like a closed book), then using the flat side a plastic scraper and holding both ends of the baking paper, push the dough into a tight log. You should have enough dough to make 4 x 5 cm (2 in) wide logs. Wrap each log in clingfilm and chill overnight or freeze for up to 3 months.
    When you crave some cookies, simply take out one log from the freezer and leave at room temperature to thaw for around 10 minutes, or in the fridge for a few days. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and simply cut the log into 1.5 cm (½ in) thick slices, arrange on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and sprinkle with a little extra sea salt.
    Bake for 10–12 minutes, depending on how well-done you like your cookies. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before lifting the cookies onto a plate using a palette knife.

STICKY
TOFFEE
PUDDING

    This is perhaps my favourite cake of all time. It’s moist and slightly chewy, and it tastes like holidays in a chalet with a glowing fireplace and mulled wine bubbling away on the stove. I make it almost every week during winter months as it keeps beautifully in the fridge and warms to that just-out-of-the-oven feel with just a few seconds in the microwave.
    It is delicious served with Caramel Cider-Poached Pears and/or some vanilla ice-cream. When it comes to the toffee sauce, it could not be easier to make. Cream and sugars are cooked together until they resemble flowing melted gold. And possibly taste like it too – almost nutty and definitely delicious.
    Serves 8
    FOR THE CAKE
    260 g (9 oz) water
    150 g (5 oz) stoned dates
    150 g (5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
    1½ teaspoons baking powder (baking soda)
    1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
    150 g (5 oz) dark brown sugar
    50 g (1¾ oz) butter, at room temperature
    2 eggs
    FOR THE SAUCE
    400 g (14 oz) whipping cream
    80 g (3 oz) demerara sugar
    25 g (1 oz) dark brown sugar
    Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Butter and line a 20 cm (8 in) cake tin with baking parchment.
    Bring the water to the boil in a small saucepan, take off the heat and add the stoned dates. Soak for a few minutes.
    Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. Blitz the dates using a hand-blender until smooth.
    Cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl, either with a wooden spoon or electric beaters. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add the