Today's episode is a showstopper. Truly. We're being courageous and leaning into faith as we make a fabulous dessert that will offer a taste of what can happen when we step through new doorways.
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Feed Your Fire Podcast Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to Feed Your Fire. I'm your host, Kim Baker. In today's episode, we're gonna talk about doorways, the moments in our lives where we have to cross over into something new. These are not transitions, they're pivot points. And we're gonna have this conversation while we have an absolute showstopper of a dessert.
It's graduation season, and there's a whole generation of young professionals right now crossing over a doorway. And they're not the only ones. So many times in our lives, we'll find ourselves at pivot points.
And the choice at those moments isn't whether to go left or right, it's really about deciding to move forward, to leave what's familiar, and enter something that's completely new. Right before I started in my own consulting firm, I was living the corporate life, and I was really grateful and fortunate to have that role. But I knew that it was time for me to move on. And after I gave in my resignation, our COO came over to me and asked if I would be willing to stay on a few months longer to finish up this one project. And I told him that I would, but it needed to be a beginning rather than an ending. And so rather than extending my position a little bit longer, they became my first client. While the work was essentially the same, the structure allowed me to pass over a threshold.
Since then, I've realized that every doorway that I've passed through has required the same few things. The first of which is that I had to name the fear. What was it about walking through that doorway that had tension around it? At times, it might have been because I was afraid to lose something, or because of what they might think of me for wanting to move forward. And the only way I could defuse that fear was to unpack it.
The second is that I had to get really clear about what I was moving toward. I might not have had all the details worked out, but I had to have a general sense of where I wanted to be down the road.
And the third is that I had to be willing to use my voice. Why is that so terrifying sometimes? Now, while these are three seemingly simple things, for most of us, they're actually not. And that right there makes it a breakthrough point.
Just this past week, I was facing another professional doorway. I had all the same discomforts. But after I had made the decision, I was high kicking around the house because I knew it was the right move to go forward.
But that empowerment is hinged on faith, a courage and confidence to step into something with no guarantees about what's on the other side of that doorway. And that contrasting duality was inspiration for today's recipe. Today, we're going to prepare a showstopper dessert.
It's a fruit tart with a flaky crust, creamy pastry cream filling, and luscious fruit on top. It's not just delicious, it's gorgeous.
What I liked about this recipe for today's episode is that the word showstopper is a contronym. If you don't know that word, don't feel bad, neither did I. It's when a word can mean two exactly opposite things, based on the context. Kind of like the word bad, that could mean bad or good.
I always think of a showstopper as something that's just remarkable. It's breathtaking, it's a stunner. But it could also mean something that's an obstacle or a deal breaker
Contronyms are also sometimes referred to as Janus words, named after Janus, the Roman god of doorways and new beginnings. And I actually loved reading about Janus. He's often depicted as two faces looking in opposite directions. It's from him that we get the month of January, because it's a pivot point into the new year.
One of the things I love about this Roman god is that he's presented as both a guard and a guide. Sometimes he's shown with keys as if he's locking doors. And other times he has sort of a staff in his hand as if he's shepherding along travelers. And the doorways in our lives can feel like those same things, both a gate and an opportunity.
Today's recipe was inspired by that concept. It might feel a bit like an obstacle, but it's a true standout, and it couldn't be more fabulous.
There are really three key steps to making this. The first is to make the crust, second is to make the pastry cream, and the third is to decorate it with the fruit.
The crust is a pate brise, which we've made in a previous episode. We're going to do the same exact thing here. As an alternative, feel free to buy a store-bought pie crust. The dough should be cold, and we're going to roll it out to about an eighth of an inch thickness. And we're going to gently place it into a tart pan, just sort of like a shallow pie tin. Trim up those edges, and then bake it in the oven for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Now, before you pop it in the oven, poke it a bunch of times with a fork, so that there's a way for the air to escape. And place a piece of parchment on top, some pie weights or beans, so that it keeps its shape while it cooks.
While that's cooking, we're going to prepare our pastry cream. This works best if you do it by weight rather than volume. And all that requires is a simple kitchen scale, which is actually a really handy piece of kitchen equipment.
The first thing we're going to do is in a small to medium bowl, we're going to add a hundred grams of cornstarch. Then we're going to add about a hundred grams of whole milk, along with a hundred and twenty five grams of sugar, a hundred and ten grams of eggs, and a hundred and fifty grams of egg yolks. Just as an FYI, that requires about a dozen eggs. Even though all of those measurements sound a little complicated, it's really simple.
Then grab a medium-sized saucepan, add nine hundred and sixty grams of whole milk. Yes, I know that's very precise. Along with another hundred and twenty five grams of sugar.
Before we heat this up, let's prep our butter. We're going to need a hundred and twenty grams, which is pretty much a stick of butter, cut into cubes. And then just pop it in the refrigerator to stay cool while we heat the milk.
And then we have to get into the zone, because once we heat this milk up, and things start to thicken, we need to move swiftly and intentionally. So now turn your saucepan to medium to medium low heat. We're going to bring that milk and sugar mixture up to just a light boil. As soon as it does, turn off that heat. Now grab a ladle and pour some of that hot milk into the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly. We're tempering it, bringing the temperature up gradually so that the eggs don't scramble. Do that a couple more times, and then pour everything from the bowl into the saucepan. We're going to let it come up to just a boil once again.
Now this is the moment of truth. As soon as you see it start to boil, pull it off the heat and whisk rigorously. What we don't want are lumps in our cream or for it to break. Be prepared to work up a little sweat and just keep whisking and whisking. You'll see it thicken up. Then add your butter in gradually, whisking the whole time, and then add a splash of vanilla. Then we're going to place this saucepan into an ice bath, allowing that cream to cool as we continuously whisk it.
The hard work then is done. Then we're going to pipe this beautiful pastry cream on top of that cooled crust. Then cut up a bunch of different fruits, strawberries, kiwi, blackberry, blueberries, and place them on top, making a work of art.
As a final step, take some apricot preserves, mix it with some warm water, stir it up, and then brush it on top, making it glisten with a beautiful sweet glaze. And that, my friends, is a showstopper.
I realize that for some of you, when I took out that kitchen scale, you might have said, no way. But it is truly one of the most delicious and beautiful desserts you could make. I just made this for a dinner party, and it honestly looks like it had just come out of a bakery.
One of the things that I love about this recipe for today's episode is that it's from culinary school, which was very much a doorway in my life. It was one that was not without fear or self-doubt. And it was, as many of you know, pretty insane. But there was an unlocking that occurred, where in order to move through something, I had to grow out of the box that I had put myself in. And all the while, I felt shepherded through.
And it's with this showstopper of an episode that I hope you transform endings into new beginnings, taking those keys into your own hands, to unlock those opportunities that only you can open.
Until our next episode, I say so long. Feed Your Fire, where food nourishes growth.