Tutorial: Lattice Pie Crust

A couple of weeks ago I shared my secrets to the perfect pie crust, and this week I want to show you how to make a lattice pie crust with interwoven strips of pie dough.

Lattice pie crusts don't have to be scary! Find out the tips and tricks for a perfect lattice, every time as I make this cherry lattice pie...

Making a lattice pie crust isn’t that hard once you get started, but the first few steps where you figure everything out can be a bit tricky. I do the first few steps a little bit differently though, and I find that it’s much easier my way.

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Tutorial: Perfect Shortcrust Pastry & Pie Dough

Fruit tarts and pies make for great desserts. They can be stunning and elegant, yet simple and relatively quick to prepare. You can use your favourite fruits, playing with multiple complementary colours and flavours. Alternatively, you could choose one fruit and let it shine, like I did here with this strawberry-white chocolate tart.

Strawberry tart with vanilla pastry cream, white chocolate, and a lemon glaze--click to get instructions on how to make PERFECT PIE & TART DOUGH every time!

The key to elevating your tart or pie from okay to delectable is a perfect crust. A shortcrust pastry that is lightly sweetened and falls apart in your mouth. Choosing a great recipe is easier said than done, however, since they all seem to be so different. Why are there so many variations for pie and tart dough?

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Tutorial: French Macarons

(2017/09/04 Note: this post does not have my latest thinking on making the best French macarons possible. I encourage you to, instead, follow the instructions in this post where I compare, head-to-head, the macaron recipes of the world’s top pastry chefs.)

This is a tutorial for French macarons (also known as macarons), not for macaroons. Macarons are delicate French pastries that come in hundreds of flavours and colours while macaroons are made from dessicated coconut and come in regular and chocolate, and that’s about it. Macaron is pronounced [MAC-a-ron] while macaroon is pronounced [mac-a-RUNE]. Roll your Rs (and speak with a French accent) for the former. If you want some macaron recipes, please check out my recipe index! Macarons are great for eating by themselves or, if you want to be fancy, make a great decoration for entremets. So, let’s get started!

Help!There are thousands of recipes online for macarons, all slightly different. The problem is a lot of them aren’t very clear. Since macarons are very delicate, it’s important to have excellent technique. That’s hard to do though when recipes tell you to do things like fold the batter until it looks like “magma”. Seriously? Magma? Underground lava? That’s helpful.

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