Fingers crossed before they go in the oven!
Voila! Peach pastry anyone?
I never go to the trouble of making my own desserts. I don’t see the point. Admittedly, I’ve more preference for savoury than sweet, but I can’t seem to justify spending so much time on something which isn’t even a meal. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve baked in my life. My poor oven, most of the time its purpose is just another storage cupboard.
All things considered, I do have a weakness for French and Danish pastries. Nothing puts a smile on my face like the thought of weekend brunch on the sofa curled up with a book, a latte and a pain au raisin or vanilla custard coronet. A simple but a guilty pleasure. The way to my heart would be buying me fresh pastries and bringing me breakfast in bed – a Harry met Sally moment.
However, as of today I am no longer just a pastry consumer. No, I decided it was time to make my guilty pleasure in order to cancel it out when I later eat it. I had my heart set on making a peach galette from a recipe in a Women’s Weekly recipe book (you may laugh). The idea came when I decided I had to act fast with a punnet of peaches that weren’t looking so ripe and juicy. Firstly, I had to find puff pastry in my supermarket. I had no idea where to look, I was about to give up and as if an answer to my prayers, it found its way to me as I was buying yoghurt.
The recipe was relatively easy to follow and I made some minor adjustments. I rolled out the pastry and cut it into nine individual squares rather than one huge galette. The trickiest part was peeling the peaches and then slicing them. My hands were covered in peach mash. After arranging the peach slices on the pastry, I folded over the edges and sprinkled brown sugar as well as my own touch of walnuts (inspired by pecan plaits). 15/20 mins in a hot oven later, they were cooked and ready to glaze. At first I used honey, but I didn’t like the taste it added. Then I used a jam, but I think I should have used golden syrup as it may have sweetened the peaches a little more.
I think my first attempt at pastries was acceptable! I was surprised how simple it was. I find dessert analagous to chemistry experiments. I followed the formula and yielded good results. However, upon evaluation some tweaking can make it better.,such as using a sweeter fruit or simply using tinned peaches, it will take away the tartness and also remove the mess!
Problem is, now I have seven pastries left. Care to have a taste? The proof is in the pudding!
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