Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Puff Pastry

Editor's note: Use this puff pastry to make Francois Payard's Soufflé of Puff Pastry with Orange-Scented Pastry Cream, Candied Pecans, and Caramel Butter Sauce .

This rich, buttery pastry is used to create a variety of pastries and baked goods. I use it in many of my plated desserts, such as for napoleon layers and as the base for multicomponent desserts. This particular recipe is my favorite, because it makes an ultra-flaky, very airy pastry in which you can actually see the layers. I give the dough a total of five turns—two double turns and one single turn—to achieve this lightness.

Read More
Palets Bretons
Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.
Île Flottante
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.
Grape Dumplings
Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.
Pan-Fried Turmeric Bread (Kubez Kimaaj)
Kubez bread, a.k.a. kimaaj, is an Arabic flatbread or pita bread. It’s a staple in the Middle East used as an accompaniment for various dishes or as a wrap.
Mississippi Mud Cake
This cake was created from thrift and was supposedly named after its appearance, which reminded people of the muddy Mississippi River bottom.
Jammy Grape Galette
We don’t bake with grapes as often as we should. But even the most average supermarket varieties come alive when roasted with a bit of sugar and seasoning.
Wampanoaug Clam Fritters
The clams’ natural briny sweetness serves as a surprising foil for the tender fritter batter—just be sure to pull off the tough outer coating of the siphon.
Fufu
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.