Pierre Hermé Teaches Iconic Pastries

Pastry chef Pierre Hermé, who re-invented French pastry as we know it today, opens up about the most difficult moments in his career and shares how he went from consulting to bankruptcy to leading a pastry empire of 700 employees in pastry shops, tea rooms, and hotel boutiques worldwide. Discover how Pierre founded the concept of Haute Patisserie (pastry as a piece of art), which now leads the modern world of pastry.

Is pastry a physical or intellectual thing? This lesson starts with a discovery. Learn how Pierre builds components of a “taste scenario” for his customers, and establishes the way they should feel when eating his dessert.

Join Pierre Hermé for the lesson of a lifetime: Making the iconic macaron dough! Pierre explains there are multiple ways to make meringue and teaches his method that delivers the best texture possible for maximum pleasure: crusty on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. Discover how to make the creamy texture with no chunky bits, the correct mixing process, and how to reconstruct the dough for the best results.

This lesson dispels any myths you have about buttercream! You may think buttercream is heavy, but it can be so light and soft, especially when Pierre works on it! Chef demonstrates the 3 elements of cream and takes you through every step to achieve a silky, non-fatty, light rose cream that is in complete harmony with lychee.

A bestseller and a signature dessert in his pastry shop empire, Ispahan combines 3 ingredients: rose, lychee and raspberry. This flavor combination has become popular worldwide and is now used by pastry chefs, ice cream makers, chocolatiers and even pastry brands. This iconic macaron tastes according to the architecture of taste Pierre has taught us: soft and crunchy macaron with raspberry notes, pieces of lychee and a scent of rose that comes in the second "act." Learn the philosophy of Ispahan that allowed Pierre to discover his personal style and build his vision.

In this lesson, Pierre re-invents his iconic 2000 Feuilles with a Pistachio twist and shares how you can make it your own. Chef demonstrates making the dough and the butter for his inverted puff pastry technique, plus laminating and folding. It's unbelievable, but there are 2000 crispy layers in this pastry! Don't believe us? Count them!

This recipe hasn't changed since the day it was created! This is so rare, especially when other desserts on the menu evolve and change every year. Sprinkle that sugar and caramelize your way into the 2000 layers of iconic puff pastry crunchiness.

There are plenty of ways to make pastry cream, but in this lesson, Pierre will teach you one that's really important to him. Discover how butter works from the molecular perspective and what scale of degree really matters. Learn how to make a fantastic creamy filling with a silky texture that's not floury at all.

Elevate your pastry game with this lesson on crafting an extraordinarily light buttercream texture using three master steps by Pierre Hermé! First, dive into the world of Italian meringue, then master the art of low-sugar buttercream, and finally discover how a cream base can add a perfect touch of luxury.

By the end of this lesson, you'll have the skills to whip up a heavenly praline cream that will take your pastries to a whole new level of deliciousness.

This lesson takes the concept of mille-feuilles crunchiness to a new level. Pierre doubles the crispiness factor, adding a delightful twist to the classic mille-feuilles and promising a textural experience like no other. It's the kind of approach that will have you savoring every bite, each one offering a symphony of taste from the 2000 pistachio layers that make this mille-feuilles truly exceptional.

"You can say so much by the sound!" says Pierre, cutting into the 2000 layers of the iconic mille-feuilles. Embrace the salty notes of the well-baked puff pastry paired with a delicate pistachio essence, a delightfully light cream combined with bitter and aromatic ultra-crispy pistachio crunch. It's a "simple yet simply delicious" masterpiece that will have you reaching for another bite.

Learn to create indulgent Milk Chocolate Ganache and exquisite Milk Chocolate Whipped Chantilly as Pierre teaches the intricacies of the perfect mix of textures and flavors. Pierre shows you how to elevate ganache and chantilly recipes to new heights so they captivate every palate with their luxurious, creamy richness. If you want a lesson to take your culinary skills to the next level, this is the one!

Pierre, a self-confessed "hazelnut addict," dives into the heart of his core product, sharing insights that only someone with his daily hazelnut consumption can offer. Discover the unique Dacquoise biscuit, with a texture that bridges the gap between macaron and meringue, as Pierre unravels its special secrets. Share your passion for hazelnuts alongside the hazelnut addict himself, Pierre Hermé.

Join Pierre for a hands-on lesson on tempering chocolate right on marble and learn how the temperature affects the texture of chocolate. Pierre believes you should get to know chocolate really well, like forming a friendship. You'll also learn to keep decorations flat after tempering so your final results are the best.

It's not the most Instagrammable cake, but once it's in your mouth, the mix of textures and flavors and the natural balance of milk chocolate and hazelnut will have you falling in love! This cake has a very complex architecture, so with one bite, you'll discover each texture one by one: dacquoise with chunks of hazelnut on top, flaky praline, two crunchy layers of milk chocolate, a rich chocolate ganache and a cloud of whipped chantilly cream. This cake was born from the idea of a cake designed by a professional designer, and it's become an iconic pastry since then!

Master your vanilla skills and start this iconic Infinite Vanilla Tart with a lecture on vanilla beans, their history, flavors and specifications. Learn how to select your vanilla professionally—don't be fooled by its appearance; just because a vanilla bean is large and oily, it doesn't mean it has a good flavor! Pierre teaches us how to extract vanilla seeds from the bean in a way that will give you the best aroma.

In this lesson, Pierre will guide you through creating an impeccable Vanilla Ganache using white chocolate, a fantastic flavor enhancer. White chocolate has a sweet but neutral taste that pairs perfectly with different flavors. Pierre will show you how to make the most of white chocolate's unique properties to craft a vanilla ganache that's rich, creamy, and bursting with flavor. 

This glaze screams vanilla! It's a mesmerizing spectacle that we'd love to witness again and again.

Pierre explains exactly what flour does to the pate sucree dough and teaches us how to prevent the edges of the tart from falling during baking. Does your sweet dough still taste like flour? This topic is important to Pierre; he takes time to ensure you learn exactly how your dough should taste and the steps needed to achieve an excellent result.

Ladyfingers play a vital role in Infinite Vanilla Tart, introducing a unique texture that balances the tart's creamy richness. Watch the ladyfingers split after baking and witness their unmistakable softness in action, "The softness is clearly visible," says Pierre as he strategically places them at the heart of the tart and builds a texture and flavor scenario for the most exquisite degustation.

"Soaking is like seasoning" is one of the many quotes we will add to our pastry vocabulary from this class. Learn how Pierre was the first to create his own vanilla flavor and named this tart not "100% Vanilla," not "Pure Vanilla," but "Infinite Vanilla." Observe the contribution of each element: the puff pastry and the soaked biscuit with a hint of rum that enhances and highlights the vanilla taste. Take your vanilla pastry flavors a step further, a step up, an iconic lift. 

How about we learn something new right here, right now? To achieve consistency and precision in your pastry work, "The faster you go, the smoother you get. The slower you go, the less consistent you become." He shares the secrets to preventing macarons from cracking or breaking during baking, ensuring that your delicate treats emerge with a flawless finish. You'll be so confident about your macrons after this lesson!

A revelation in chocolate, Pierre dives into the intriguing story behind his switch from dark to milk chocolate, emphasizing the significance of achieving a gourmand flavor in this delightful combination. He then shares his unique approach, likening the treatment of ganache to making mayonnaise, with precise instructions on mixing technique, direction, and spatula placement. The result? A stunningly smooth and creamy ganache that is nothing short of perfection!

Pierre teaches the art of caramelization, opting for a dry caramel technique to achieve an exquisite and distinct flavor profile. He pushes caramelization to its limits to evoke fragrant notes, resulting in a complex taste palette that includes caramel, banana, rum, lemon, allspice, ginger, and vanilla. Pierre also shares his insights on selecting the right pineapples, considering their delivery and ripeness to enhance their aroma and fragrance.

Take this bestseller to a whole new dimension: it's Macaron Modador 2.0! Thankfully, Pierre has given us another two versions of this macaron, one you can have with roasted Baked Pineapple Compote or without. It's your choice! 

The bitterness and sugar from milk chocolate tame the acidity and enhance the fragrance of the passion fruit. Discover passion fruit, milk chocolate and finally, baked pineapple compote. "We have a kind of music that comes to us," says Pierre after biting. We can hear it too: Pam-pa-passion, Dre-de-dreams, Co-come, Tru-trueee! Lo-lo-love!

This bonus lesson takes you through creating your own original pastries. You'll finally find the answer to the question everyone is asking, "Where does inspiration come from?" Starting with the primary source of inspiration, the ingredients, and exploring endless possibilities for interpretation, Pierre will generously share his personal experiences of creating iconic pastries, offering a rare glimpse into the creative mind of a pastry genius.

Discover the difference between "interpretation" and "variation" when creating your own pastries. Pierre shows how to make different pastries with the same flavors and concepts that have the potential to become bestsellers worldwide. This bonus section really skyrockets your pastry skill and creativity to an iconic level!