{"id":7436,"date":"2021-06-25T06:42:19","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T06:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/luxurygoldbdev.wpengine.com\/?p=7436"},"modified":"2024-04-23T17:51:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T16:51:03","slug":"luxury-golds-guide-to-great-pastry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxurygold.com\/lg\/luxury-golds-guide-to-great-pastry\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxury Gold\u2019s Guide to Great Pastry!"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Luxury Gold our love of food runs deep. On every one of our luxury guided-tours guests are able to enjoy a meal at a critically acclaimed restaurant. Whether it be a meal at Michelin-starred Mamma restaurant<\/a><\/strong> in Capri on our Ultimate Italy<\/a><\/strong> vacation or Hoshinonaruki<\/a><\/strong> in Tokyo on our Majestic Japan<\/a><\/strong> guided-tour. Our love and passion for desserts is as formidable as their savory counterparts and in this blog we will be focused on all things pastry!<\/p>\n

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Origins of Pastry<\/h3>\n

Pastry as we know it today \u2013 in all its crumbly, flaky, buttery glory \u2013 is a far cry from where it all began in ancient and classical times. It is believed that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used a\u202ffilo-type pastry (a simple mix of flour and oil) to create honey cakes, fruit pastries, sweet tarts and dumplings stuffed with dates and nuts. They even added natural sweeteners available to make these delicacies.<\/p>\n

The Romans also created a plain paste made up of flour, oil and water which wasn\u2019t created for consumption but to protect meat whilst cooking and as such was discarded.<\/p>\n

Medieval masterpieces<\/h3>\n

In the late Medieval period fuller pastry recipes that resemble the shortcrust and\u202fpuff\u202fversions we are more familiar with today started to appear. In the 14th century, what is believed to be the earliest English language cookbook, refers to\u202fchastletes\u202fand\u202fcoffins\u202f\u2013 early\u202fpies\u202fand tart cases. To add color to the dough, egg yolk and saffron were commonly used in the 15th century. At a similar time chefs became more daring with their creations and developed the hot water crust pastry and hand-formed game pies that were usually the star of banquets and galas.<\/p>\n

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Decorated Pies<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie\u2019<\/h3>\n

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Do you remember the nursery rhyme where birds fly out of a pie and sing for guests? You might ask yourself how they did this? In medieval times the crust was thick, and could be baked first, and would rise forming a pot, hence the term “pot pie.” The lid would be removed from the pie, and the birds would then be set inside, the lid put back on, and then this wildly entertaining dish placed before the host of the party.<\/p>\n

Enter French Fancies<\/h3>\n

In the 17th century, pastry-making became increasingly fashionable \u2013 British bakers prided themselves on the techniques and elaborate decorations used for their creations and were inspired further by the culinary developments happening across the Channel in France. Puff pastry was supposedly created by French painter and apprentice cook, Claude Gel\u00e9e, in about 1645, when he accidently created a laminated dough when trying to make a form of rolled butter cake. The addition of butter or lard to pastry led to rich buttery confections that helped grow the popularity of French pastry desserts to the epitome of fine dining. French pastry master, Marie-Antoine Car\u00eame (1784\u20131833), is widely considered to be the first \u2018celebrity chef\u2019, bringing pastry into the world of\u202fgrande cuisine. His creations were elaborate and queues would form to see the windows of his Paris patisserie shop where they would be on display. He later went on to cook for European leaders including Royalty. It was Car\u00eame who developed the layered Mille-Feuille, a pastry with a \u2018thousand leaves\u2019 which is often filled with cream and fruits.<\/p>\n

Modern Day Deliciousness<\/h3>\n
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French Fancies. Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

Fast forward a couple centuries and \u2018French Patisserie\u2019 is still as revered but the trend has truly gone global with thousands of regional variations. Pasty can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants in elaborate and delicate desserts or on picnic blankets in the form of pies or quiches. You can eat pastry for every meal, whether it be a pain au chocolat in the morning, a Cornish pasty for lunch or a fruit cobbler topped with American style drop biscuits after dinner. What the team at Luxury Gold are sure of is that the versatility of pastry needs to be explored with many a taste test!<\/p>\n

To whet your appetite, we share some of our favorite \u2018French Patisserie\u2019<\/h3>\n