The pantxineta is a typical dessert of the Basque Country. It consists of a bun of puff-pastry filled with thick custard cream; it is topped with almonds and often decorated with icing sugar.
The pantxineta is a typical dessert of the Basque Country. It consists of a bun of puff-pastry filled with thick custard cream; it is topped with almonds and often decorated with icing sugar.
The Dictionary of Basque gastronomy defines the "pantxineta" as a tart of puff-pastry and custard cream created at the beginning of the 20th century in San Sebastián by the House of Otaegui, a local patisserie, ca. 1915. Back then, San Sebastian was a summer vacation resort for the Spanish royalty, aristocrats and bourgeoisie; patisseries and restaurants thrived, usually serving food and dishes heavily influenced by the cuisine of nearby France. Apparently, the pantxineta was devised in an attempt to imitate traditional French frangipane tarts; however, instead of employing the usual almond-based frangipane filling, a baker at Otaegui used a thick custard, and covered the tart with an outer layer of puff-pastry. They initially called the desert a "frantxi-pan", which in the local basque dialect quickly evolved into "pantxineta".
Since its inception, the desert has grown in popularity due to its simplicity and tastiness, and it is nowadays considered one of the cornerstone desserts of basque gastronomy. It is usually served warm, either reheated or, whenever possible, straight out of the baking oven. Sometimes it is served along hot chocolate syrup, which is poured on top of the pastry.
The principal ingredients of the pantxineta are milk, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, almonds and hazelnuts.
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on milk or cream cooked with egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to the thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used in desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla, however savory custards are also found, e.g., in quiche.
A zeppola is an Italian pastry consisting of a deep-fried dough ball of varying size but typically about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. This fritter is usually topped with powdered sugar, and may be filled with custard, jelly, cannoli-style pastry cream, or a butter-and-honey mixture. The consistency ranges from light and puffy, to bread- or pasta-like. It is eaten to celebrate Saint Joseph's Day, which is a Catholic feast day.
The mille-feuille, vanilla slice or custard slice, similar to but slightly different from the Napoleon, is a French pastry whose exact origin is unknown. Its modern form was influenced by improvements made by Marie-Antoine Carême.
Frangipane is a sweet filling made from or flavored with almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes and such pastries as the Bakewell tart, conversation tart, Jésuite and pithivier. A French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with the earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners' dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.
A cremeschnitte is a custard and chantilly cream cream cake dessert popular in several Central European countries. There are many regional variations, but they all include a puff pastry base and custard cream.
Fruit curd is a dessert spread and topping usually made with citrus fruit, such as lemon, lime, orange, or tangerine. Other flavor variations include passion fruit, mango, and berries such as raspberries, cranberries or blackberries. The basic ingredients are beaten egg yolks, sugar, fruit juice, and zest, which are gently cooked together until thick and then allowed to cool, forming a soft, smooth, flavorful spread. Some recipes also include egg whites or butter.
Manjar blanco, also known as manjar de leche or simply manjar, is a term used in Spanish-speaking area of the world in reference to a variety of milk-based delicacies. In Spain the term refers to blancmange, a European delicacy found in various parts of the continent as well as the United Kingdom. In the Americas it refers to a sweet, white spread or pastry filling made with milk. This term is sometimes used interchangeably with dulce de leche or cajeta in Latin America but these terms generally refer to delicacies prepared differently from those just described. Related dishes exist by other names in other countries, such as tembleque in Puerto Rico. In Portuguese-speaking countries the dish is known as manjá branco.
Treacle tart is a traditional British dessert. The earliest known recipe for the dessert is from English author Mary Jewry in her cookbooks from the late 19th century.
A pithivier is a round, enclosed pie usually made by baking two disks of puff pastry, with filling stuffed in between. It has the appearance of a hump and is traditionally decorated with spiral lines drawn from the top outwards with the point of a knife, and scalloping on the edge. It is named after the French town of Pithiviers, where the dish is commonly assumed to originate.
Custard tarts or flans pâtissier are a pastry consisting of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard and baked.
A lemon tart is a dessert dish, a variety of tart. It has a pastry shell with a lemon flavored filling.
Norman tart is a shortcrust pastry-based variant of the apple tart made in Normandy filled with apples, sliced almonds and sugar, topped with creamy egg custard and baked until the topping is slightly caramelised. It is also known in French as the Tarte Normande
Gâteau Basque is a traditional dessert from the Northern Basque region of France, typically filled with black cherry jam or pastry cream. Gâteau Basque with cream is more typical in the Southern Basque region of Spain.
A conversation tart is a type of pâtisserie made with puff pastry that is filled with frangipane cream and topped with royal icing. The recipe was created in the late 18th century to celebrate the publication of les Conversations d'Émilie by Louise d'Épinay.
