America's Test Kitchen Season 21 Episode 26 Elegant French Desserts

In season 21 episode 26 of America's Test Kitchen, the culinary experts explore the world of Elegant French Desserts. With their expertise in creating delightful recipes, the chefs guide the viewers through the step-by-step process of creating fancy French desserts in their kitchens.

The episode starts with the preparation of sophisticated Caramel-Coffee Pot De Crème, a traditional French custard dish that is typically served in small porcelain pots. The chefs reveal a secret technique to prevent grittiness in the smooth, creamy texture and ensure the perfect consistency. They also share tips on preparing a dark and rich caramel sauce as the perfect topping for the custard.

Next, the episode moves on to a more labor-intensive French dessert, the Strawberry Fraisier. The pastry chefs demonstrate how to make a perfect Genoise sponge cake, layered with strawberry and cream filling that is carefully wrapped around the cake. They also provide insight into decorating the cake with fresh strawberries and cream to create an elegant presentation.

The chefs then take on an iconic French dessert, a flaky galette. In this episode, they create a variation of the classic galette by making a Blackberry-Plum Galette. The viewers learn how to make the perfect flaky pastry dough and discover how to prepare a tangy and sweet blackberry-plum filling. The chefs also demonstrate how to assemble and bake the galette to get the perfect crust that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The episode also includes a dessert called Paris-Brest, a wheel-shaped pastry filled with a luscious hazelnut buttercream. The chefs reveal a few techniques to make the choux pastry perfectly round and crispy and offer tips on how to make the hazelnut praline filling. Lastly, viewers learn how to assemble and decorate the Paris-Brest to create an impressive presentation.

Finally, in the last segment of the episode, the chefs make an elegant dessert called Mille-Feuille. The viewers get to witness the construction of layers of flaky puff pastry, filled with a rich vanilla pastry cream, topped with a homemade caramel sauce. The chefs also share tips on how to assemble the Mille-Feuille to keep the layers in place and give it stability.

Overall, the Elegant French Desserts episode of America's Test Kitchen provides viewers with a step-by-step guide to creating some of the most well-known and sophisticated French desserts. With their years of experience and expert knowledge, the chefs offer up tips and tricks that can help home cooks achieve success in their kitchen. The episode is perfect for anyone looking to showcase their dessert-making skills with elevated, yet approachable and delicious, recipes.