French Pastry Class

Last night I took a French Pastry Class at a local cooking school. It was a very informative class and I learned how to make several items that were on my list of things to try. During the course we learned how to make, croissants, pain chocolate and almond croissants, cheese puffs, apricot almond tart, and chocolate moelleux. The cheese puffs are definitely going to be on my holiday menu. I also plan on trying my hand at a batch of croissants soon, although it will need to be a day I don't mind flouring the entire kitchen. These were very messy to make! We learned a traditional French method taught at the Cordon Bleu that included using French butter. I also love the quiche with the puff pastry crust. I've made many quiches but never thought of using puff pastry for the crust. Not only is it delicious, but it looks pretty too. We also learned an interesting French method to making the quiche. They sprinkle the dry ingredients, ham, cheese, etc. into the quiche individually and then pour the egg mix over. This ensures each quiche has the same amount of meat, etc. I thought that was a really good tip.