Born and raised in Paris, Yann Couvreur is now the founder of over 10 Parisian pastry boutiques. He opened his first one in Paris and, since then, has opened many more in top locations worldwide. Now, the leading French pastry chef lets us in on the secrets behind the top-selling pastries in his shops and teaches us how to make them at home or in a pastry kitchen. Starting with the basics: ingredients, techniques, and a delicate approach, it's time to create pastries hand-in-hand with Yann: Paris-Brest Eclairs, Mont Blanc, Merveille, Isatis Tart, and the world-famous masterpiece a-la-minute Mille Feuille that you can eat with a spoon!
Lesson 1: Meet Your Pastry Instructor
Yann shares the story of his pastry adventure that started over 20 years ago. At first, his dream wasn't even pastry, but now he runs over 10 Parisian Patisseries in France and all over the world. He introduces us to the concept of 3 factors, each of which he applies to all of his pastry creations.
Lesson 2: PARIS-BREST ECLAIRS
Paris-Brest is a pure French classic pastry, but we have never seen it transformed into an eclair like this. For your first bake, Yann takes you through his new recipe and techniques for creating very special eclairs. Learn how to cook, boil, dry, mix, pipe, and bake the pâte à choux dough.
Lesson 3: Hazelnut Paste
Yann shares his method for the "easiest recipe in the world," but as we know, the basics are often missed when we're trying to get the perfect outcome from our recipes.
Lesson 4: Pastry Cream
Learn the steps and tricks to making the perfect pastry cream. Yann talks about the most important ingredient in French pastry; butter! In fact, because he is from Britanny, the region in France that produces the most butter, he claims to have been "born with a stick of butter in his hand."
Lesson 5: Buttercream
Yann walks you through his detailed, step-by-step process of making a buttercream while maximizing the balance of flavor.
Lesson 6: Praline Cream
In this chapter, you'll learn to make a Praline cream that tastes incredible and enjoy the simplicity and pleasure you get from making it.
Lesson 7: Caramelized Hazelnuts
Learn to caramelize nuts in the oven to finish the PARIS-BREST ECLAIRS. Yann explains the different ways to fill eclairs and the steps you need to take to know when your baked eclair looks perfect. Take a bite and taste the explosion of flavors; the fresh choux pastry, crunchy caramelized hazelnuts, and light and silky pastry cream. You won't be able to stop at one eclair!
Lesson 8: Kouign-Amann
Introducing the globally renowned VANILLA MILLE FEUILLE masterpiece by Yann Couvreur. Imagine an a-la-minute Mille Feuille that you can eat with a spoon! Learn to make the Kouign-Amann dough by following the steps to incorporate butter, laminate by hand, and make 4 dough folds with butter and sugar.
Lesson 9: Light Vanilla Cream
Learn to make a "vanilla mayonnaise"! Chef Yann shows us his exquisite techniques, and then, the cherry on top he surprises us with his vision and terminology! :)
Lesson 10: VANILLA MILLE FEUILLE
Create the thinnest and the crispiest Mille Feuille of your life. Impossible, right? Yann is very proud of this recipe and technique and passionately shares it with you because we are a pastry family he can trust! Grab a spoon and dig into this dessert!
Lesson 11: Mont Blanc Meringue
In this lesson, you'll break through any misconceptions you have about meringues! Meringue doesn't need to be dense. It can be light and airy with less sugar!
Lesson 12: Whipped Ganache
A sugar-free whipped ganache! Learn how to cook your recipe to preserve the freshness, make it easier to whip, and find a way to have better natural stability for all your whipped ganache recipes.
Lesson 13: Chestnut Cream
This recipe is Yann's Mother's favorite dessert. In this lesson, he shows you how to enhance the plain flavor of the chestnuts and make Chestnut Cream at home or in a pastry shop.
Lesson 14: MONT BLANC
Follow the assembly steps of this dessert and learn how to make it aesthetically pleasing. The Chestnut paste and pieces bring the sweetness, while the other components impress you with their texture: gluten-free meringue, soft and fresh whipped ganache with Blue Vanilla.
Lesson 15: Chocolate Shell
Phase one for the MERVEILLE recipe is creating a chocolate shell for protection, decoration, and, most importantly, a totally unique tasting experience.
Lesson 16: Merveille Meringue
Yann teaches you how to work with piping bags and set the correct oven temperatures for a delicious white, smooth, and silky meringue.
Lesson 17: Hazelnut Paste
Yann shares a method for the “easiest recipe in the word”, but we know, the basics are often what is missed to just get the perfect result in your recipes.
Lesson 18: Chocolate Mousse
Gourmet mousse from the hands of Yann Couvreur not only screams flavor, but it also gives you the chance to learn some of the crucial techniques you should implement when you're making mousses: the steps to avoid bouncy textures in the mousse, how to combine dairy with chocolate, tracking of the temperatures, creating even lighter textures, and finally how to prevent the cake collapsing.
Lesson 19: MERVEILLE
MERVEILLE has never left the menu in Yann's boutiques. He is sharing this updated recipe exclusively with PastryClass students for the first time ever! Gluten-free and with less sugar, you'll taste the crunchy chocolate meringue, the roundness of the milk chocolate mousse, the salty and powerful hazelnut paste with a lasting aftertaste, and the chocolate shell from the very first bite. You won't be able to avoid taking a second (and maybe a third) bite of this unique tasting experience!
Lesson 20: Pâte Sucrée Tart Shells
Chapter for the new recipe ISATIS TART. Start with the Pâte Sucrée, one of the most essential doughs in french pastry, especially for making tarts. Talk about 3 different hand rolling methods. Learn to shape tarts from the hands of master Yann Couvreur and learn how to prolong the life of tart freshness, shape, and crispiness.
Lesson 21: Pecan Cream
Learn Yann's technique for whipping baking cream with just enough aeration to avoid swelling in the oven, drying out, and losing its wonderful texture. Learn about the density of the cream and its texture advantages throughout this lesson.
Lesson 22: Vanilla Whipped Ganache
Yann teaches you two whipped ganache recipes in this class, with and without chocolate, so you can expand your knowledge of the techniques and variations and take the next step in creating different textures in your desserts.
Lesson 23: Pecan Paste
Over 20 years of experience means Yann knows how to perfect each recipe to the fullest. Learn to take the next step in making nut pastes and control the color and taste experience in this pecan paste recipe.
Lesson 24: Vanilla Caramel
Gourmand caramel is a secret skill of Yann Couvreur. He teaches you how to make a dry version of the caramel and explains the role of butter. Plus, learn how to create that beautiful caramel color and shiny touch.
Lesson 25: ISATIS TART
Tasting this tart is a truly elite experience. Take a bite of ISATIS TART and experience the explosion of flavors, where you can taste each ingredient individually and understand how they blend simultaneously. Yann has never been more proud to share his techniques for a recipe and see you make it yourself in a pastry shop or at home.
Learn More
Enroll today on PastryClass and learn how to make the best-selling desserts from Yann`s Couvreur world-famous Parisian pastry boutique chain: Tarts, Cakes, Eclairs, and the famous a-la-minute Mille Feuille that you can eat with a spoon!
