Identifying Real Pastries

The term ‘Pastry’ often means quite different things to a consumer as compared to a Pastry Chef. Officially, in the world of baking ‘Pastry’ is the name given to various kinds of dough made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs.

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This ‘pastry’ is then rolled out thinly and used as a base for baked goods. Common dishes of this pastry would include pies, tarts, quiches and that borderline delicacy between bread and confectionary – French Hearts with sugar sprinkled on them.

However, here we are going to have a look at the other world of ‘pastry’ as most consumers look at them. Those delightful, sinfully delicious little cakes, officially and legally they should be called ‘petit gateau’. But, we, the consumers know them as Pastries. Then be it the eternally favoured pineapple pastry, the black forest pastry, the plain or dark chocolate variety, or indeed the new avatars of it like the mousse pastry! Most of them are beautifully finished and look much less calorie ridden than the full size cake ofthe same family. A chocolate truffle pastry definitely looks a lot more innocent and manageable than a full cake!

In this category of pastries, it would be prudent to include small cakes, flans, tortes, mousse pastries and some form of cheesecakes that tend to have layers of sponge cakes. The other family of pastries we club in the same category, simply because they are available from the same outlets probably, but which are true ‘pastries’ by virtue of having the right ingredients in the base would be petit au choux or indeed the éclairs, and flans.