Basic Pastries, Cakes and Desserts For Bakers and Pastry Chef

1. Apple Pie

Preparation Method:

• Line pie dish with sweet paste and blind bake.

• Make a filling by combining diced apples, sugar, cinnamon powder and sponge crumbs.

• Put the filling in the pie dish and cover with another layer of sweet paste apply egg wash.

• Bake at 180 deg C for 20 min.

2. Baked Cheesecake

Preparation Method:

• Crumb biscuit well and add the melted butter.

• Line the mould with the biscuit mix at the base and blind bake.

• Cream together cream cheese and sugar.

• Add the eggs slowly and vanilla essence.

• Mix cornflour into it, Fold in yoghurt.

• Fill up the mould to three fourth with the cheesecake mixture.

• Bake at a temperature of 160 degrees C in a hot water bath.

3. Banana Bread/Cake

Preparation Method:

• Puree the bananas with oil and keep aside.

• It is better to use over-ripened black bananas.

• Whip egg and sugar till light and fluffy.

• Add banana mixture to the egg mixture.

• Sift flour with baking soda, cornflour, cinnamon and add chopped walnuts.

• Fold the flour into the egg and banana mixture.

• Pour the mixture in the lined tins and bake in the oven at 160ºC for 45 minutes.

• Let it cool and slice with a sharp knife and serve.

4. Berry Charlotte

Preparation Method:

• Select a mould and line it with butter.

• Then line it with thin slices of Swiss roll, make sure no gaps are left.

• Then pour half the mould with mousse mix and then again place a thin layer of sponge over it.

• Then allow it to set and then add the remaining mix over it and then carefully seal it with other sponge.

• Chill the charlotte. Once it is set blow it with blowtorch and de-mould.

5. Black Forest Cake

Preparation Method:

• Boil water and sugar to make sugar syrup. Cool and set aside.

• Slice the sponge horizontally in 3-4 layers.

• Layer each sponge with sugar syrup, whipped cream and cherry compote.

• Finish the top of the cake and the sides with whipped cream.

• Pipe the whipped cream over the cake and garnish with chocolate flakes and cherries.

6. Caramel Custard

Preparation Method:

• Make caramel of 30-gram sugar and pour on the base of the moulds

• Boil sugar, milk, vanilla essence together.

• Set aside to cool.

• When the above mixture is lukewarm add eggs to it and strain.

• Pour in moulds avoiding air bubbles and cover each mould with aluminium foil

• Put in a deep tray with enough water to cover just over half of the moulds

• Bake in the oven at 150 deg C for 35 min.

• Cool, de-mould and serve.

7. Chocolate Eclairs

Preparation Method:

• Mix whipped cream with 100 gms of truffle.

• Pipe this mixture into the éclair shells.

• Melt the remaining truffle and dip the top of eclairs in the truffle and serve.

8. Dark chocolate mousse

Preparation Method:

• Soak the gelatine powder in cold water.

• Make crème anglaise.

• Add chopped chocolate to crème anglaise.

• Add whipped cream once the mix is cold.

• Warm gelatine in a double boiler and add to the mix.

• Pour in the mould and chill it.

9.Chocolate Pastry

Preparation Method:

• Cut three strips of the sheet according to the size of the pastry.

• Boil sugar and water to make syrup.

• Layer the sponges with sugar syrup and ganache.

• Chill the pastry in the freezer for 30 minutes and finish with melted truffle.

• Slice it as per the size required and serve.

10. Chocolate Truffle cake

Preparation Method:

• Cut the sponge into three. Boil sugar and water to make syrup.

• Layer the sponges with sugar syrup and softened truffle.

• Chill the pastry in the freezer for 30 minutes and finish with melted truffle.

• Decorate as per your wish and serve as required.

11. Croquembouche Cake

Preparation Method:

• Roll out sweet paste to an 8-inch disc of 1/2 cm thickness and bake it until golden brown.

• Mix the pastry cream with whipped cream and grand mariner liquor.

• Heat sugar until it becomes golden caramel colour.

• Fill the choux paste profiteroles with pastry cream.

• Dip each profiterole into the caramel.

• and place it on the sweet paste base in such a way that it tapers at the end in a conical shaped heap.

• Pour little caramel from the top.

• Garnish with spun sugar.

12. Dobos Torte

Preparation Method:

• Slice the sponge horizontally into 5 layers.

• Make chocolate buttercream by mixing buttercream and chocolate truffle.

• layer each sponge layer with sugar syrup and chocolate buttercream, finishing the topmost layer with buttercream.

• Chill the cake for some time.

• Pour chocolate truffle over the cake giving it a final finishing.

• Make caramel and pour it in a ring layered with a sponge.

• Cut the caramel into 12 pieces immediately and garnish.

13. Fruit Tarts

Preparation Method:

• Line the tart shells with melted chocolate.

• Mix the pastry cream with the whipped cream and fill in the tart shell.

• Arrange the fruits on the top of the pastry cream and then glaze it with the cold gel.

14. Gateaux Pithivier

Preparation Method:

• Prepare the puff dough.

• Sheet it in 2 cms thick circular sheet (one larger in size).

• Place the filling on the sheet that is smaller in size.

• Put more filling in the centre and less on the sides.

• Brush the sides of the disc and cover with the larger sheet press the edges to stick both the bases.

• Pinch the sides to seal the gateaux and brush the top with the egg yolks.

• Score the top with a sharp blade to give a spiral design and bake it at 180C for 25 mins.

15. Milk Chocolate mousse

Preparation Method:

• Whip cream and keep aside.

• Warm milk and separately take egg yolk and sugar and blend it well.

• Add into the warm milk and mix well.

• Put the mixture on low flame and keep stirring it continuously.

• Now add white chocolate and cool the mixture.

• Fold in the cream.

• Now add gelatine and put in the cups and keep in the refrigerator to set.

16. Mud Pie

Preparation Method:

• Warm the Sugar syrup.

• Slice the mudpie and arrange in a baking dish.

• Spread sugar syrup over it to soak them.

• Melt truffle and pour over the mud pie.

• Garnish with cashew nuts and bake in the oven at 180 Deg C for 15 minutes.

• Sift cocoa powder and serve hot.

17. Napoleon Pastry

Preparation Method:

• Whip the pastry cream till smooth.

• Fold in the whipped cream into this mixture.

• Bake thin sheets of puff pastry and once cooled cut out three strips of the required size.

• Layer each sheet of puff with creamed mix and sprinkle fresh fruits, until all three sheets are used up.

• Freeze the pastry for an hour as it will ease its slicing.

• Cut and serve garnished with fresh fruit.

18. Opera gateau

Preparation Method: 

• Make a sugar syrup by boiling water, coffee and sugar.

• Slice the sponge horizontally into 5 equal parts.

• Soak the sponge with coffee syrup and layer with Ganache.

• Put another layer soak coffee syrup and layer with Coffee butter Cream.

• Keep layering the cake alternating it with ganache and coffee buttercream.

• Finish the top and the sides with coffee buttercream and chill the cake for an hour.

• Top it with melted truffle and decorate the cake.

19. Passion Fruit Cheesecake

Preparation Method:

• Mix crème anglaise and passion fruit puree.

• Cream mascarpone and curd together.

• Mix into crème anglaise and add passion fruit puree.

• Slowly fold in whip cream.

• Add gelatine and mix and pour in the moulds.

• Refrigerate the moulds in the refrigerator until set.

20. Pineapple Gateaux

Preparation Method: 

• Boil water and sugar to make sugar syrup.

• Cool and set aside.

• Slice the sponge horizontally in 3 layers.

• Layer each sponge with sugar syrup, whipped cream and chopped pineapple.

• Finish the top of the cake and the sides with whipped cream.

• Pipe the whipped cream over the cake and garnish with pineapple wedges and roasted almond flakes on sides.

21. Pineapple upside-down cake

Preparation Method:

• First, prepare the mould. Grease the cake tin with butter and 30 gms castor sugar.

• Arrange canned pineapple slices on the bottom and fill the gaps with cherries.

• Cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Add eggs one by one and beat well.

• Add milk and fold in sieved flour and baking powder along with the walnuts.

• Bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

22. Poundcake

Preparation Method:

• Beat the butter and sugar till creamy along with vanilla pods.

• Add eggs one by one and keep creaming until the mixture is fluffy.

• Sift the flour along with the baking powder.

• Pour the contents into a lined mould and bake at 200 deg C for the initial 10 minutes and then at 180 Deg for another 35 minutes.

23. Sacher Torte

Preparation Method:

• Boil sugar with water to make syrup and cool.

• Smoothen out the apricot jam with a palette knife.

• Slice the Sacher sponge into two halves.

• Apple sugar syrup and sandwich the two halves with apricot jam.

• Cover the top and the sides of the cake with apricot jam and chill in the refrigerator.

• Pour the melted truffle over the cake.

• Write Sacher in slant font on the cake with a piping bag.