Pain au Chocolat

Thanks to everyone who came for breakfast this week, I loved having you all here. Thanks for the comments and for letting me know what you liked and what you are going to try in your own kitchens. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.

So, here were are, Friday (happy Friday) and the question remains, how to wrap up a week of posts dedicated to breakfast? Well, that’s easy! French pastry, of course. Isn’t it funny how pastry is often the answer to life’s questions?

Should I go to college or take a break, travel and see the world first? Oh, I don’t know. Is anyone going to eat that last cinnamon roll?

Why did I put off this paper until the night before it’s due? I know I put those Pop Tarts somewhere in here. I should have gone to Europe.

Will I marry you? Ooooh, is that a bearclaw?

Heels or flats? Croissant.

Should I go to the gym today? Creampuff. Oh the irony.

See, told ‘ya.

If you think French pastry requires a lot of training and skill, you are right. Sort of. True French pastry is an art and is mastered by those who spend years perfecting their craft. Thankfully, for those of us who are slightly less accomplished with no training and just a little bit of skill, the freezer section at the grocery store holds within its frosty depths the secret to creating French pastry at home.

Here’s what you need …

I promise, that’s it! Two sheets of puff pastry (there are two in a box), two 3.5 ounce chocolate bars – I like the 60% cacao best for this, egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. of water), and sugar for sprinkling the tops of the pastries.

Here’s what you do …

Thaw the frozen puff pastry for about 40 minutes so that it is easy to handle. It will open out into thirds; I don’t even flour a board, I just put it on a piece of parchment paper. Slice the pastry lengthwise down the fold lines.

And then slice each third in half so you have six pieces. 

Chunk up the chocolate. 

Brush each piece of pastry with egg wash. Place a little of the chocolate at one end of the piece of pastry and roll it up.  Pinch off the ends to seal them up.

Place your pastries on a parchment lined sheet tray and put them back into the fridge for at least an hour. The pastry will be flakier the colder it is. If you are thinking ahead, put your pastries together the night before, cover them with plastic wrap and then finish and bake them in the morning.

Just before baking, brush the top of each pastry with egg wash and then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Crisp and golden on the outside, flaky and oozing chocolate on the inside. 

You are getting up to head to the grocery store right now, aren’t you?

Go … Go, I don’t mind. I’ll just be enjoying my dainty French pastry with my enormous American sized cup of coffee. Strong. No cream. No sugar. Because that’s how I roll.

Have a great weekend. I’ve got to run because I’ve got a sick little guy on the couch who’s just waking up and needs his mama. I’m saving him a pastry for when he’s feeling better.