Chef François Payard’s wildly popular, kinda healthy, amazingly delicious Flourless Chocolate Cookies. An extra bonus?  They’re Kosher.  Photo by www.domiciliate.net

He has been named the Pastry Chef of the Year by both the James Beard Foundation and Bon Appétit. He’s all about butter, eggs and cream, owning patisseries/chocolate shops in Manhattan, Japan, South Korea and Las Vegas. His Brazilian wife, Fernanda Capobianco, is a vegetarian who also owns a bakery in Manhattan. Called Vegan Divas, it is located on the Upper East Side.  She’s all about coconut oil, egg substitutes and tofu. Her chocolate mousse, made with tofu and world-class Carbonet chocolate, has 42 calories. His chocolate mousse, made with that same chocolate (plus eggs, cream and sugar) isn’t.

Regarding his cookbook, Simply Sensational Desserts, our revered leader, Dorie Greenspan, wrote, “With this wide-ranging collection, Francois shares his extraordinary talent and surprises us with his knack for simplifying even the most sophisticated sweets. There isn’t a single recipe for one of his astonishing desserts that can’t be made – perfectly – by anyone with an oven, a mixer, and a sweet tooth.”

Simply Sensational Desserts by Chef François Payard    Photo by amazon.com

His name is François Payard. In 2009 he opened Payard Patisserie & Bistro at Caesars Palace here in Las Vegas. On Monday, to commemerate that fifth anniversary as well as National Pastry Day, Chef Payard taught a two-hour cooking class at his patisserie.

Time is my friend these days. My daily routine, no longer closely structured.  My schedule, flexible. If Dorie’s ‘wizard with a whisk’ was going to celebrate National Pastry Day, this Dorista was going to celebrate with him. Hanging around, watching a master at his craft, is always inspiring. I signed on.

Time-out for a photo opportunity with the Chef.

My afternoon with Payard was just like his cookbook, simply sensational. Remember, we’re at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas,  so please know this was not your average cooking class. The chef was affable, the entire patisserie kitchen was ours and the staff to participant ratio was 1:3.

We began with food – choosing scrumptious treats from a buffet table that groaned with canapes, sweets, sandwiches and three different Bûche de Noels (Yule Logs): chestnut, chocolate and raspberry. After making three desserts: Flourless Chocolate Cookies (his most popular product, selling about 1,000 a day), Chocolate Pudding Cake topped with raspberries and Hazelnut Tart with chantilly cream, we also devoured those results.

Here a macaroon. There a macaroon. Everywhere a macaroon.

Sweet Relief, a creamy little concoction of heaven

Throughout the demos, Payard was constantly teaching, asking us questions, having us taste, smell and feel the food. We learned he thinks television food shows should be more about cooking and less about competition. “More like Julia,” he says.

He bakes his tarts in rings with no bottoms. To test caramel, he drizzles some on white paper. “It’s not done until the color is right,” he cautions.

The Chef, removing his Flourless Chocolate Cookies from the oven.

Eggs, especially whites, are the home baker’s nemesis, he says. “In America, you have all different sizes. In France we have one egg and we know the exact weight of the shell, yolk and white.”

Again and again, he reinforced many of the things I already knew, using the best ingredients and equipment, for example, always telling us his favorites. It was two hours pastry-packed with baking nuggets of wisdom.

An assistant, finishing up the Chocolate Pudding Cake, so we could move on to the Hazelnut Tart.

Chocolate Pudding Cake topped with juicy raspberries.

An extra bonus? You gotta love his accent.

Gift bags.  When we left, Payard’s very-French manager thanked us for coming, handing us gussied-up, yellow-tissued Payard sacks bursting with goodies which included his autographed cookbook and macaroons in every color. The venue dictated limited space, the cost, $85. To my thinking, a sweet bargain.

Hazelnut Tart with Chantilly Cream.

I want to share the recipe for his wildly acclaimed heart-healthy Flourless Chocolate Cookie (55 calories per cookie according to Self magazine) which can be found here. How popular are they? Do a Pinterest search for that answer. While simple to make, the caveat is the egg whites.

Alessandra, the Payard baker who tested this recipe for home baking and publication purposes, says, “This recipe completely depends on your egg whites. If you’re using large eggs, medium eggs, etc., it will make a huge difference. Start by using 2 egg whites, and then slowly add the rest. The mix should look like thick brownie mix that can be scooped. Depending on the day…hot, cold, humid, not humid, your product will change a lot, as do all pastry recipes. Don’t add all your whites at once, and check for the consistency first. If you don’t use all the whites, it is OKAY.”    www.domiciliate.net

The Chef and his wife, Fernanda Capobianco, a vegetarian who owns a vegan bakery in New York City. Photo by Elizabeth Lippman

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but Payard’s cooking class (and, his cookie recipe)  is a secret worth sharing. Enjoy.