4 Pastry Chefs Share Their Most Comforting Baking Projects

The final step in making Joanne Changs marvelous vanilla caramel merveilleux
The final step in making Joanne Chang’s marvelous vanilla caramel merveilleuxPhoto: Kristin Teig

There are few, if any, memories from this lifetime that compare with this moment. With social distancing as a clear means to taper the spread of the new coronavirus, it’s more important than ever to stay home. Our balance must be to nourish ourselves and our loved ones—and to extend gratitude and generosity to others, even and especially when we’re physically away from our community. In that spirit, we spoke to four phenomenal pastry chefs about their most comforting recipes.

When you pop your desserts into the oven, think of the vibrant communities of independent businesses that feed people in every community. For these cherished local establishments—the bakery you visit every Sunday, the wine bar where you meet with friends, the restaurant where you celebrate each birthday—the tunnel looks long, even if there’s a light at the end of it. Add a few more tasks to your recipe list in their honor: Reach out to your local representative about supporting restaurants with bailout legislation, donate to funds for restaurant workers in your community, as well as to local food banks. Buy takeout, gift cards, and swag from your favorite establishments to boost their revenue.

Indoor isolation creates the illusion that we’re on our own, but we’re always together, especially when we’re bringing comfort to the world in small ways. And there’s still a lot to look forward to, starting with something sweet for you and yours.

Marvelous Vanilla Caramel Merveilleux (Gluten Free)

“Before I became a professional pastry chef, I taught myself how to properly make meringues at home. The magical process of creating such an ethereal delight out of simply egg whites and sugar was the first time I thought I might end up in the pastry business. If you haven't made meringue before, just read the recipe carefully and make sure your bowl and egg whites are perfectly clean without any fat or egg yolk on either. This recipe is not hard or complicated, but it does take a few steps and some patience and time, which we all have plenty of now!” - Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery, Boston, Massachusetts

Joanne Chang’s marvelous vanilla caramel merveilleuxPhoto: Kristin Teig

Makes 8 merveilleux

Ingredients for the meringues:

1 cup/240 grams of egg whites (approximately 8 large)

1 cup/200 grams of sugar

1 cup/120 grams of confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

Ingredients for the caramel cream (recipe follows):

1/2 cup/100 grams of sugar

2 cups/480 grams of heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 vanilla bean

For the meringues:

  • Heat the oven to 175°F and place two racks in the center and bottom third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

  • In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form for three to four minutes. The whites will start to froth and turn into bubbles and eventually the yellowy viscous part of the whites will disappear. Keep whipping until you can see the tines of your whisk leaving a slight trail in the whites. Test for soft peak stage by stopping the mixer and removing the whisk from the whites and lifting it up; the whites should peak and then droop.

  • With the mixer on medium speed, add the granulated sugar in three increments, mixing for one minute between additions. The mixture will start to get glossy and stiff. Meanwhile, sift the confectioners’ sugar and salt together. Once you’ve beaten all of the granulated sugar into the egg whites, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for about 30 more seconds. It will look like thick shaving cream. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the confectioners’ sugar and salt.

  • Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup or a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, scoop 24 round mounds of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 4 hours, until the meringues are firm to the touch and you can remove them easily from the baking sheet without having them fall apart. (If it’s particularly humid outside you may need to bake them for up to eight hours before they are firm to the touch.) Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in it for at least 6 and up to 12 hours until they are fully crisp inside. They should still be white or just have a tiny bit of color on them. If any sugar has pooled out of the meringues, snap it off when it cools.

  • Remove the meringues from the baking sheets and select the eight ugliest (they are all beautiful but some are less pretty than others) and place them in a plastic or paper bag. We are going to make these into meringue crumbs by crushing the meringues with your hands until you have a bag of finely crushed crumbs. Be careful not to over crush them into powder — you want crumbs that are about the size of rice. Place these in a medium bowl. Set aside. Pair up the remaining 16 meringues.

  • To assemble the merveilleux, take one of the meringue rounds and scoop a heaping rounded tablespoon of whipped caramel cream on top. Top it with another meringue and use another five or six tablespoons of caramel cream to cover the top and fill in the sides with caramel cream. Don’t worry about it looking pretty—you just want to cover the entire top and sides with cream. Place the whole thing in the bowl of meringue crumbs and roll it around using your hands or two spoons until covered. Set aside on a plate and repeat with remaining meringue rounds, cream, and meringue crumbs until all of the merveilleux have been assembled and finished. Place in the fridge for at least an hour before serving or up to eight hours, so all of the flavors can meld and the merveilleux can firm up a bit. Merveilleux should be eaten the same day they are made. (I admit to having held them overnight and still enjoying them the next day; they are just a little squishier and less crunchy—but still amazing.)

Caramel Cream

Makes about four cups

  • Combine the sugar and about 1/4 cup or 60 grams of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat. Continue boiling until the mixture starts to caramelize. Because there is so little sugar, the whole process happens quickly once the sugar starts to color so be aware. Swirl the pan to help the mixture color evenly and keep swirling gently until the caramel is deep golden brown. Turn the heat down to low and slowly and carefully whisk in 1 cup/240 grams of the heavy cream and the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean. Be careful as the caramel will sputter and spit — use a long whisk and stand away from the pot until it settles. Whisk until the cream is completely incorporated into the caramel and you have no more little bits of hardened sugar. Add the salt. Place the caramel sauce in the fridge for at least 8 hours (ideally overnight) or up to 3 days, so it chills enough to blend into the remaining cream and be whippable.

  • When ready to use whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff. Whip in the caramel sauce until well incorporated. Use immediately.

Sweet and Salty Golfeados or Venezuelan Sticky Buns

“When people ask me about that one pastry that should become the next ‘cronut’ for its uniqueness, I always mention our Venezuelan sticky bun, otherwise known as golfeados. This is a Venezuelan pastry made with South American ingredients and a classic French technique. To describe the process, we use a variation of our laminated dough (the same one used for croissants), and we roll them in a syrup of piloncillo and Cotija cheese to create a sweet and salty contrast that is very unique and very hard to forget.” - Ismael de Sousa, Reunion Bread Co, Denver, Colorado

Ismael de Sousa’s sweet and salty golfeados, or Venezuelan sticky bunsPhoto: Aaron Ontiveros

Makes 18 golfeados

Ingredients for the dough:

910 grams of bread flour

420 grams of cold water

10 grams of yeast

40 grams of milk powder

30 grams of acacia honey

20 grams of sea salt

230 grams of sugar

120 grams of butter

450 grams of extra butter to spread between the folds

Ingredients for the filling:

450 grams of piloncillo panela (a specific type of unrefined brown sugar) or molasses as a substitute

225 grams of water

1 tablespoon of anise

About 80 grams of Cotija cheese

  • Add all the wet ingredients to a stand mixer bowl and mix at low speed, then add the flour, milk, sugar, sea salt and butter. Keep mixing at a low speed until those ingredients are all combined.

  • When combined, increase the speed until the mass of dough releases from the sides of the bowl, in about 8 to 10 minutes total.

  • Keep the dough in the bowl and place it in the fridge for at least two hours.

  • Use a rolling pin to extend the dough until its thickness is 1/2-inch thick and begin smearing butter across the dough until the entire surface is covered. Divide the dough into three parts and fold it like you'd fold a letter. Rest the dough for at least 20 minutes in the fridge. Repeat the folding process two more times; between each folding, rest the dough for at least 20 minutes. (If this is your first time making this kind of dough, watch a video about making simple croissant dough at home for visuals.)

  • Make a syrup by diluting the piloncillo in the water and infusing it with anise.

  • Once you have folded the dough three times, roll out the dough into a bigger sheet that’s 1/4-inch thick. Top the dough with a layer of the syrup and add a sprinkle of Cotija cheese.

  • Roll the dough into a log shape and cut rolls that are two-to-three finger width’s long. Place the buns face up on an oven tray to let them proof (double in size in a warm place) for two or three hours.

  • Pre-heat the oven (convection at 370 degrees Farenheit or conventional oven at 390 degrees Farenheit.) Bake the golfeados for 25 to 30 minutes. When they’re done, use a brush to bathe the rolls with more syrup before topping them with additional Cotija cheese.

Speckled Robin’s Egg Fasnacht Doughnuts (Vegan)

“This recipe has a baking and decorating component, so what’s not to like? At the bakery, we also love having fun with recipes that are local to the region and reinventing them in new and different ways. These are a spin on a classic Pennsylvania Dutch Fasnacht doughnuts, which is a tradition in our state. Both my mom and grandmother made these every year on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This was basically an excuse for carb-loading Lent. Traditionally, people made Fasnachts to use up ingredients in the house like sugars and fats.” -Danielle Konya, Vegan Treats, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Danielle Konya’s speckled robin’s egg Fasnacht doughnuts, a vegan take on a family traditionPhoto: Stacey Emenecker

Makes one dozen doughnuts

Ingredients for the doughnuts:

1/2 cup plant-based margarine

2 cups of oat milk

2 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 cup of water whisked with 1T EnerG egg replacer

2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)

7-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the icing:

6 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup of water

1/3 cup of light corn syrup (or agave nectar)

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

6 cups of canola or vegetable oil

Blue food coloring

Brown food coloring

Yellow food coloring optional for flowers

Fondant (optional)

  • In a medium saucepan, warm the oat milk and margarine until the margarine melts.

  • Add salt, sugar and nutmeg to a large bowl. Pour in oat milk and melted margarine. Stir and set aside until lukewarm.

  • Mix in egg-replacement mixture and yeast.

  • Add three cups of flour. Mix by hand. Add remaining flour and combine by hand.

  • Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it for about three minutes. Place it in a greased bowl, turn the dough over, and cover with clean cloth. Let it rise in a warm place for about one hour or until it doubles in size.

  • Punch down and turn dough out onto a floured board. Roll out to dough to 1/4-inch thick and cut dough into ovals. Cover and let the dough rise approximately an hour until doubled in size.

  • Drop the dough carefully into 360-degree oil. Turn over the doughnuts when it’s golden brown on the bottom side. Remove the fastnachts from heat and set them on paper towels to cool.

For the icing (a countertop mixer works best, but it can be whisked by hand):

  • Put the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Turn on low speed and add half of the water.

  • Add in light corn syrup (or agave). Add vanilla and keep mixing at an even low-to-medium speed.

  • Add in blue food coloring and keep mixing until smooth. If the icing is too stiff, you can add more water or vanilla.

  • Use a flat edge spatula and spread the icing on the doughnuts. Allow them to set for approximately five to ten minutes. Add water to the brown food coloring and use a paintbrush to spritz speckles on the donut.

  • Garnish with fondant flowers. Roll out fondant with dusting of confectioners sugar on the board. Cut out small yellow flowers. Garnish on the doughnuts.

Ochre’s Olive Oil Yogurt Cake

“Being Australian means I am pretty big into cake. Cake is my ultimate comfort food, often made by my grandmother using tea cups and dessert spoons for measurements. This is the cake that I go to more than anything else — if I could bake just one thing, this would be it. It feels like a warm hug from an old friend. It’s always soft, perfectly sweet, and wonderfully fragrant.” - Jess Hicks, Ochre Bakery, Detroit, Michigan

Jess Hicks’ olive oil yogurt cake, a heartwarming base to experiment with whatever’s in your kitchen at the moment, from fresh fruit to chocolatePhoto: Courtesy of Jess Hicks

Makes an 8 or 10 inch cake or 12 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cake:

3 eggs

1 1⁄3 cups sugar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 cup natural yogurt

2 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder

1⁄4 tsp fine sea salt

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Grease and line the cake tin with baking paper.

  • Whisk eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy — this will take about 10 minutes. Start on a low speed and increase the speed to med-high after 3 minutes to ensure fine, dense bubbles.

  • Measure the yogurt and olive oil into a jug or bowl. Turn down the speed on the mixer to low and slowly add the olive oil and yogurt. Turn off the mixer as soon as they are incorporated with the eggs.

  • Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet mix. Fold until completely combined but don’t overmix.

  • Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes (cupcakes will take about 20), until a skewer inserted into the center removes clean.

    Variations on olive oil yogurt cake:

  • Substitute half of the flour for spelt flour.

  • Stir fruit like berries, citrus, plums, baked pear, apple or quince into the batter before baking.

  • Stir roughly chopped dark chocolate into the batter before baking.

  • Substitute 1⁄2 cup of the flour for ground nuts like hazelnuts.

  • Reduce the amount of sugar or substitute with half the measurement of honey.