The holidays aren't complete without warm, homemade treats shared with loved ones. Renowned School of Chocolate chef Amaury Guichon shares five simple, proven tips to transform your cookies and baked goods from good to unforgettable. These techniques, drawn from his professional experience, ensure flawless results every time.
1. Boost the aroma in your dough (sable, crumble, biscuits, etc.) by toasting nut powder, then cooling it before mixing it in.
2. Vanilla is a pastry essential. After scraping the bean, dry the pod, grind it in a food processor, and blend with granulated sugar. Use this homemade vanilla sugar in place of regular sugar for superior flavor.
3. For exceptional sugar cookies, prepare the dough the day before and refrigerate overnight. This allows dry ingredients to fully absorb moisture, yielding even, professional-quality bakes.
4. Create a lasting “snow” dusting for Christmas treats: mix 32 grams of potato starch with 130 grams of icing sugar. The starch keeps it from melting.
5. Master the “perfect” whipped cream with this recipe. Mascarpone enriches the fat content, amplifying vanilla notes and delivering precise piping edges every time.
Whipped Cream Recipe
75 g mascarpone
500 g whipping cream
50 g vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
School of Chocolate is now available on Netflix.
