Photos by Enrique Hernandez Amuse Bouche

Creamy, dreamy and delicious, these light but luscious pastries are packed with flavor.

Amuse Bouche
17058 W. Bell Road, Surprise
623-322-8881
amusebouche.biz

Kierstin and Snir Mor are classically French-trained chefs who traded Paris for a tiny restaurant in Surprise. Though they’re now stationed in a strip mall, what’s coming out of their kitchen belongs under the Arc de Triomphe. Prepare to be stunned by these custardy treasures on tender, flaky crusts.

The magic starts with pate brisée (pastry) made daily from scratch, allowed to rest overnight, frozen, then “blind baked” (pre-baked) so the filling doesn’t sog the dough. For the appareil (mixture), whipped eggs glisten with whole milk, heavy cream, pepper, salt and a dash of aromatic nutmeg. Fillings are a rainbow of the Mors’ whims – as Kierstin notes, quiche is often served for dinner in France – so you may find spring zucchini, yellow squash, cheddar and Swiss; silky smoked salmon; or mushroom, spinach and feta.

Almost always available is classic quiche Lorraine, of crisp applewood smoked bacon and mounds of tangy, rich Swiss. Pies are made thick, like deep-dish pizzas, and are cooked long and slow at low temperatures for a creamy, dreamy finish.

“Quiches are simple but fragile,” Kierstin says. “There are absolutely no short cuts.”

English Rose Tea Room

English Rose Tea Room
201 Easy St., Carefree
480-488-4812
carefreetea.com

This charming Victorian warren of lace, opulent trinkets and flowers brims with feminine temptations. Yet owner Joanne Gemmill insists, “Real men do eat quiche.” Her quiche, at least. As proof, her best-selling vegetarian model includes an un-dainty dollop of delicious, breath-wrecking garlic.

The tea shop’s baker, Janie Galan, draws from a seasonal basket of whatever’s freshest for her fillings, with favorites like mixed greens, spinach, artichokes, onion and broccoli florets, though other days may find her favoring mushrooms, olives, scallions, roasted peppers or roasted tomatoes. In a nod to decadence, Galan uses lots of butter, heavy cream and a double layer of cheddar – for a sharper bite than traditional Swiss – all set atop a short-crust pie shell and baked until satiny.

Meat lovers, you’re in luck: Galan keeps an arsenal of bacon, and smoked salmon is delightful melded with cheese and onions. On any given day, you can find tables laden with hearty, golden-topped slices, diners’ tea-pinkies lightly in the air and their forks firmly in their mouths.

The Coffee Shop @ Agritopia

The Coffee Shop @ Agritopia
3000 E. Ray Road, Gilbert
480-279-3144
thecoffeeshopatagritopia.com

Making quiche yourself is a delicate balancing act of mixture and temperature that can be rewarded with silken clouds of egg, almost slippery with creaminess, dissolving against a feather-light crust. Frankly, we’d rather let Jeanne Flowers do the work.

Tucked between the organic orchard and farm at Gilbert’s Agritopia, she has ultra-fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables at her fingertips. Her filling floats with local farm-fresh eggs, and drawing on her Iowa heritage, she’s got a crust recipe that’s been in her family for five generations.

For heartier appetites, she packs in the goodies, with a Swiss combo of Gruyère, Emmental and Jarlsberg cheeses in every quiche, plus additions of feta, gorgonzola, blue or others, according to her theme. Generous stuffings may include ham, fresh spinach, mushroom, thyme and asparagus; spicy pork, roasted chile, sharp cheddar and pepperjack; or an Italian job featuring pancetta and spicy soppressata. The secret is to lightly whisk the eggs so the quiche remains dense and moist, because, as Flowers reminds us, “quiche is not a soufflé.”