Pastry Recipes

The Best Pastry Recipes From LoveToKnow

Here are 101 great time-tested recipes you can cook today!

What is Pastry?

Traditional pastry is a flaky dough covering or wrap for a creamy, sweet, or savory filling. In this way, pastry can be many things, including puffs, petit fours, turnovers, pockets, popovers, éclairs, and shells. The fillings can be an even wider range of items, from savory fish or seasoned meats to rich, decadent creams and tangy fruits. Knowing how to prepare pastry can help any cook expand their dessert repertoire instantaneously, because they can easily experiment with different fillings to create unique and delicious desserts from one basic technique or recipe.

Pastry Tips

Pastry can be difficult to make because many dough blends are delicate and difficult to work with, particularly to make intricate or layered treats. For delicious pastry, consider the following tips:

• Follow the recipe as closely as possible – even a slight change in ingredient proportions can affect hot the pastry adheres, rises, or flakes.
• Work with small portions of pastry at a time, refrigerating the remainder until it is needed, to keep it from becoming too sticky to manipulate.
• To create golden pastry, brush with melted butter, beaten eggs, or an egg wash prior to baking.
• When substituting frozen dough, be sure to buy the precise kind called for in the recipe: different types of pastry dough have remarkably different properties and may not be interchangeable.
• Consider adding an icing or glaze to dessert pastries: chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon are popular flavors that can easily be drizzled over the dough for an elegant finishing touch. Open pastries can also be topped with meringue, whipped cream, or frosting.

From simple appetizer treats to elegant desserts with a sophisticated flair, pastry is an integral and versatile part of many desserts.