Cakes and Pastries Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets

Raymond Blanc is opening the doors of his kitchen for a journey of discovery.

Cooking is about curiosity and, if I can inspire you to be curious, I'll be a very happy man.

Divulging the secrets of his simplest...

Perfectly cooked.

..and most dazzling dishes.

Glorious food.

Be inspired by his passion...

Food is so much more than cooking and eating. It's about living, life.

..share the secrets of his success.

The wonderful thing having cooking secrets is the ability to share them with you.

Tonight on Kitchen Secrets, Raymond shares his love of baking,

with his favourite recipes for cakes and pastries.

When I look at these beautiful cakes, I feel first, pride,

because really it's an art form. Of course, it's about celebration.

It's about joy, about what is good in life - those little treats.

From a simple zesty lemon cake, the perfect teatime treat...

It's quite light. Wonderful flavour.

..to a flourless chocolate gateau that demystifies the art of macaroon making.

Absolutely delicious.

A trip to Paris, the pastry capital of the world.

French patissiers is right at the very top, still, today.

And to finish, a piece montee croquembouche, the classic French celebration cake.

This elegant tower of choux buns is a masterclass in decoration.

It's certainly something which is...special.

In his Oxfordshire kitchen, Blanc prepares for a day of baking.

How can you cook in a kitchen which is absolutely freezing cold?

I've found the solution!

Baking is a wonderful introduction to cooking.

I would encourage anyone who has never done any baking in her life or his life to start now.

Raymond's first recipe is a lemon tea cake -

Thick slices of sponge, laced with lemon juice, coated in a sweet and zesty glaze.

Still today, something which is heart warming, because I hear many parents who have kids,

the kids still love to partake in the baking process.

So I wish I had a little chap here to help me and I could show you.

Actually, I'm going to find one.

First, Raymond needs 240 grams of plain flour.

There's only 239 grams of flour. Can you please give me one gram?

Yeah, OK.

It's all over my apron, that's where it is.

The difference between baking and cooking - a few grams can make a great deal of difference.

Next, he adds 300 grams of caster sugar to five whole eggs...

-Zest of lemon.

-..then the juice and zest of three lemons.

And has all the beautiful flavour. Voila!

Next, 140 grams of double cream and 80 grams of melted butter.

Just warm, just warm. As long as it's not boiling.

A little bit of air, yes, that's good, that's what I'm doing.

Just beating air into it.

Voila.

So now a little bit of rum, OK, into my butter.

You don't want too much. Just a little bit of flavouring to support the lemon juice, OK?

The liquid is added to the flour with half a teaspoon of baking powder.

You need to mix it really well.

When it's hitting the lemon, it's going to give all of its flavour to the biscuit, OK?

The batter goes into a lined loaf tin, to bake for 50 minutes at 180 degrees.

Oh, lovely fluffy.

What I'm going to do here is to give it a festive look, so it looks really beautiful.

Voila.

The cooled loaf is generously brushed with melted apricot jam.

This is the professional touches which makes a great deal,

not all the difference, but a great deal of difference.

All that we need to do now is to glaze it with the lemon icing...

..and make sure there is no pips.

To finish, a layer of soft icing, made by combining lemon juice,

zest and icing sugar, and warming gently.

Voila.

Glace it.

Layering icing over jam creates a sweet and soft glaze.

Hello, my darling, could I have two teas, please?

Its smell is absolutely delicious.

Merci, bravo. Merci.

Thank you, Chef.

Looks nice.

Nice lemony colour and golden on the outside.

And the zest on the glaze is nice.

You don't have, as well, to put all the icing on the top, just on its own is perfect.

It's lovely. Cheers.

-OK, Adam. Adam, like that, come on.

-Look even worse!

Can you smile at me, Adam?

I know it's early in the morning. No, a proper smile.

-That is a proper smile.

-That's a killer smile.

Next on the menu, eclairs, the lightest choux pastry fingers,

bursting with rich chocolate cream, topped with glossy sweet icing.

The perfect first-time pastry for any novice baker.

Many people believe that choux pastry is difficult,

impossible, challenging.

No, not at all. It's the most simplest patisserie you can make

and you've got a 100 - no, let's say - 99% success rate, OK?

Pretty good.

For the choux pastry, Raymond mixes 65ml of water,

65ml of milk and 55 grams of butter.

And the milk will give it a bit of colour,

but mostly it will give the moisture and once the little choux are done, the little steam, which is trying

to escape from the little choux cannot, so it steams out, pushing the little choux into puffing up.

OK, four grams of sugar and a tiny pinch of salt.

So now, let's put that on.

He brings the mixture to the boil...

That is perfect. The butter, the water and the milk are mixing.

..then adds 100 grams of plain flour.

Because that's all going to dry that base. That's why you need a bit of muscle power!

And you stir.

Voila!

Next, four whole eggs are vigorously beaten in.

Look at that, look at that. That's lovely.

The choux pastry is now ready to be piped onto a lined tray.

Voila.

Tres bien.

So it's now important of course to do them straight as possible.

And compare to patissiers, they do that every day, so theirs are boom, boom, like that.

Mine? OK, all right.

So we go, 180 degrees.

This will take between 30 and 35 minutes.

Food, actually, is a very inexact science.

If you cut them very big, it will take longer.

Raymond will fill the eclairs with a rich chocolate and vanilla pastry cream.

It's a builder's job. it's simple.

To half a litre of milk, he adds a little vanilla essence.

Just a little bit, like that. Voila.

Going to bring it to the boil.

Pastry cream, or creme patissiere, is a custard thickened with egg yolks, flour and arrowroot.

So the milk is about to boil, so I pour a little bit here.

The pastry cream is cooked over a medium heat, until glossy and thick.

Voila, so you can see the texture.

Voila. That's ready.

Voila. Tres bien.

So there we have our lovely cream,

which, of course, you can flavour any way you want to.

But what we are going to do, is to do chocolate.

Non-sweetened cocoa powder.

To 15 grams of cocoa powder, he adds 20 grams of dark chocolate.

Wonderful smell. Really wonderful smell.

But again, you need quality ingredients.

Take that out. Tres bien.

Voila.

After half an hour, the choux pastry is cooled on a rack and ready to be filled.

You take a nozzle.

Raymond uses a piping nozzle to make three holes in the underside of the eclair.

When you are ready to receive the cream inside.

So then, you fill up.

Oh, lovely.

Beautiful.

Tres bien.

To glaze the eclairs, Raymond melts 200 grams of fondant.

Voila.

A tablespoon of cocoa, mixed with water, makes a dark shiny finish.

Voila, and look at that beautiful colour.

-To ice, he uses a flat, wide nozzle.

-Voila.

A splash of kirsch and a little natural food colouring make a perfect pink.

For the girls, we love it. Voila.

Of course, you can buy them in a beautiful shop, OK, and that is also lovely and easy.

But I think to make your own really,

even if it's not perfect, it is hugely satisfying.

Shall we try it?

Raymond has invited Julia from his office to taste the eclair, as a treat for her birthday.

And look at that rich, beautifully.

-Have a taste.

-I'm going to taste.

-They're really good.

-How is it?

-Very good.

It's super, because the filling is so soft and creamy

and yet these haven't gone soggy, at all. Sometimes, they are soggy on the outside,

-but these are crispy and delicious.

-What out of ten?

-I'm going to say ten. Of course, of course!

-You are so kind!

Raymond has come to Paris, home of pastry and fine food.

It's incredible to see all these shops, all about food, every one of them about food,

it's about wine, about patisserie, vegetables. They celebrate food, they love food

and it's all over the place, in every single shop. It's incredible.

I feel famished - already!

I am so famous that my name is even here, Boudin Blanc.

The patisseries of Paris date back to the early 19th century, when bakers began to emulate

the pastries that, until then, only the aristocracy could afford.

Paris patisseries is right at the very, very top, still today.

It's not a Frenchman telling you that, it is a fact.

Many patisseries in Paris have closed in recent years, but those that survive are amongst the most

innovative and celebrated in the world.

-Bonjour.

-Ah, bonjour.

Raymond has come to visit Laurent Duchene.

Once Raymond's pastry chef, he's now one of France's most renowned patissiers.

-That's really good.

-It's good to see you, huh?

-Same, same.

-Very proud to see you here.

I'm even more proud to see what you've achieved.

And you can feel both tradition and modernity. Immediately. This is what I feel.

-Really?

-Yes, it's a lovely house.

-I'm very glad.

Laurent has spent more than 20 years perfecting his craft.

People come from all over Paris to buy his pastries,

from the most familiar...

Look. Beautiful.

..to some that unite new flavours with classic techniques.

His most recent invention uses Japanese green tea.

Delicious, but also smart.

You have a layer, OK, largely with cream, without sugar and then you've

got a lovely cream, a tea cream here, which is, I think, not strong enough, for me I would like a bit more,

because the cream will bring the tanginess. The tanginess will bring the sharpness of flavours.

How are patisseries changing?

The recipes have changed. It contains less butter,

it contains less cream, it contains less sugar than before. Especially the sugar.

Yeah, they like the difference of texture.

They want something crispy, something soft, in the same cake.

-It's a more sophisticated customer?

-More sophisticated.

One of Laurent's most popular winter pastries is a light chestnut sponge,

topped with a tangle of chestnut icing.

-Whoa, lovely! And I love chestnut. Can I try?

-Sure.

-There we are.

-No, not good, you see. It's not as good.

When you pipe it...

-Voila.

-..it should go progressively.

-Now I'll do a good one!

-Oh.

-A bit better but not quite.

It's not so easy to do. Yeah, go round.

-More?

-Er...

-Can you say it's good for god's sake, for the camera?

It's good, it's good, it's good.

I'll be practising all night and I'll come back here

and take him on, because I'm a hugely competitive person.

Ah, voila. Voila. Oui, c'est bon.

-Voila.

-Voila. Voila.

Raymond's efforts are rewarded with the best of Laurent's pastries.

The raspberry, you have some.

Look at that, glorious, absolutely glorious.

Like this one? OK. You want this one.

A pannacotta. And a fondant chocolat.

-Fondant chocolat.

-Voila.

I don't have a big family but I'm a gourmand, what can I do? Hey?

-This is a double or a single recipe?

-A single recipe, a one-time recipe.

Next, Raymond takes the simple macaroon and transforms it into a sophisticated special occasion cake.

A rich chocolate delice rests on a light and chewy macaroon base,

decorated with chocolate and colourful macaroons.

It's wonderful and, of course, delicious.

It will make the perfect birthday cake.

Raymond begins with a macaroon base.

He mixes 100 grams of ground almonds

with 100 grams of icing sugar.

So make sure you don't just pour it in, because suddenly you'll have a whitening of the face.

He adds two egg whites to bind the mix.

Just have a look. Oh, we are there, that's it.

Sticky, very sticky and that's part of the quality of the macaroon, that little stickiness.

Crusty outside, chewy inside. We love it.

Adam, please can I have two egg whites?

Macaroons are made using Italian meringue.

A bit of lemon juice.

Unlike ordinary meringue, Italian meringue won't collapse

if it has to stand, which is ideal for making small pastries.

This is because the egg white is cooked using hot sugar syrup.

That means the protein of the egg white will be cooked,

the meringue will be stiff and stable.

That is thickening up.

While the meringue whips,

Raymond flavours the almond paste base with 100% cocoa solid chocolate.

Voila. Nice, beautiful.

So we've got a beautiful meringue here.

Don't be tempted to stir it, as I say, you just want to fold it in.

Voila. Now you have your macaroon mix, OK, ready to be piped.

First, Raymond pipes the large chocolate macaroon circle for the cake's base.

You can do all sort of different shapes.

Little heart shapes.

You can have some little tear shapes, to put them on your cake.

The macaroons go into a non-fan oven at 170 degrees for eight minutes.

Voila.

While the macaroons cool, Raymond makes the cake's filling, a rich, set chocolate delice.

All what you need to have, two eggs, milk

and cream, chocolate.

No sugar either.

The milk and cream are heated and poured over four beaten eggs.

Dark chocolate melts into the mixture.

And now, look at that silky... Beautiful.

I can understand we would always be in love with chocolate.

It's the most amazing stuff.

I'm going to cut out the outside.

Voila. And you just pour it in.

Oh, look at that.

And now what you do is to cool it down, in the fridge. Kush, please!

The cake goes into the fridge to set for three to four hours.

As well as his chocolate macaroons, Raymond is using some flavoured with lemon and raspberry.

Could I have the cake please?

Thank you. Is it firm?

Yeah, lovely. Voila.

I'm going to take a little bit of that chocolate here and then just to do a squiggle.

After I'm going to do a tiny bit of white chocolate.

You are going to put your macaroons, so you choose your colours or size.

OK.

Oh, lovely. I get so excited!

I'm such a sentimental French man, I'm so sorry, I apologise. OK.

Voila, that's pretty.

It's fun, it celebrates and they will love you for it.

The cake on its own is easy, but you must try the macaroons.

A bit of hard work, but even if you fail, it's never a catastrophe

and I can assure you, it's all right, because most patissiers

will take the best part of ten years to do the perfect macaroon.

I'm still working at it.

Adam, whoa! Such a lot of stuff, no?

It's a whole campaign we're doing.

For Raymond's finale, an elaborate tower of nougatine and choux buns.

Caramel dipped and filled with orange scented cream.

This is the quintessential French celebration cake.

Piece montee croquembouche.

This dish is the most well-known, the most loved, the most famous,

the most celebratory dish in the whole of France.

It is used for every single wedding, for every single birthday.

I had it for my two weddings.

It could have been three but it's only two, so far!

-The body of the cake's tower will be made from 80 choux buns.

-Voila.

Raymond is using the same choux pastry he used for the eclairs.

Tres bien.

The buns go into a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes at 170 degrees.

So now we are going to prepare the nougatine.

Nougatine is a caramel and almond crisp, that will form the base and decoration for the cake.

-Tres bien.

-Raymond is using 480 grams of fondant

-and 320 grams of liquid glucose.

-Look at that.

The beauty of this is it's very flexible,

it gives density to your sugar and doesn't crystallise.

OK, so my caramel is here.

Just a bit of butter.

Spatula, please.

The caramel is heated until it's a light blonde colour.

Then Raymond stirs in 400 grams of toasted almonds and turns the mixture out to cool slightly.

Voila.

So needless to say, it is very hot, you have to be very careful.

The nougatine needs to be rolled to a thickness of three to four millimetres.

That's why you need the strength here, a man's strength.

That's about the only time when you need a man probably.

Because now it's too hard, the caramel is really too hard and it's difficult.

As it cools, it starts to stiffen, so Raymond places it back in the oven to soften.

When it is the right thickness, Raymond shapes the nougatine into a lightly oiled pie dish.

It's hot, so you can work it out.

Tres bien.

So now, this is going to be the base of the piece montee.

Raymond also uses the nougatine to make decorative shapes. Crescents...

-Yes, I'm going to cut my moon shapes.

-..And triangles.

So I'm going to put them to one side and then

I'm going to do my choux pastry, OK.

Adam, could I have the choux buns, the cream to fill it up and oil, thank you.

-Tres bien. So we're going to build them up, you're going to give me a hand, OK?

-All right.

For the filling, Raymond makes an orange flavoured pastry cream.

Orange. We're going to put a little bit of Grand Marnier, well a big slug.

With 80 buns to fill, he enlists a little help.

So small, the small ones this way.

To create a sweet and shiny finish, Raymond dips the choux buns in caramel heated to 185 degrees.

So very little, so you don't have too much caramel.

So you've got a lovely, nice little shiny crust, OK,

which is very beautiful, very appetising and of course delicious texture.

For an added detail, he dips some of the buns in nib sugar.

It's a labour of love actually, that's what it is.

But if you have the pleasure to do it for your party,

for your own friends or loved one, I think it makes it special.

OK. Tres bien.

With all the elements ready, Raymond can begin the real work, building the tower.

To cement the choux buns together, he's using caramel.

And my geometry is so bad, OK, I like what is asymmetric.

I hate symmetry. So I'm ill at ease a bit at the moment.

It's a very small one actually.

You see some piece montee in France, they are about two metres tall, it's amazing.

We have our first part of the piece montee.

Well, there's a few sticking out, but it's all right.

With the tower built, decoration begins.

And we're going to do our moon shape here.

OK.

Then you want to do that, voila.

S-shaped choux pastry provides a support for the last tier.

Tres bien. Voila.

The two of course are not going to fit, that's usually what's happening.

It's OK.

Delicately placed sugar almonds give a traditional detail.

You can do beautiful sugar roses as well, you can do all sort of different.

You can spread the sugar all over.

-Tres bien.

-Finally, some gravity defying royal icing ribbons.

-Voila.

I know, sometimes you can spend a great deal of time cooking,

but I think it's a lovely thing to do.

I think when you have created something very beautiful

and you give it to your friend, what more can you give, OK?

Well, you can give much more, but it's certainly something which is special.

Actually, that cake,

OK, I wanted to do it for Adam and Elisa,

because they just got married a few months ago

-and that cake is for you Adam. OK, that's for you, OK.

-Cheers.

-And congratulations.

-Thank you.

I'm so happy to have done it for you

and you're going to take it back home afterward.

-How am I going get that home?

-We'll find a way, we'll find a way. OK.

-Thank you very much.

-And congratulations.

-Thank you, Chef, thank you.

-Oh, give me a big hug, Englishman.

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