Pastry Chef Claudia Gonzalez Crafts a French Connection

From Colombia to Las Vegas, from Paris to Vero Beach, the culinary life of Windsor pastry chef Claudia Gonzalez has been one of exploration, curiosity, and international flair. 

Her earliest memories of cooking come from her childhood in Colombia, when she made chocolate treats to sell for school fundraising projects. Eventually, she and her parents moved to Vero Beach, but her career started in Las Vegas, where she worked at the Italian restaurant Canaletto. “They would hire chefs who came over from Sicily,” Gonzalez says. “That’s when I fell in love with Italian food, 100 percent. Italian food is like Grandma’s.” There, Gonzalez learned to make tiramisu, gelato, and cannoli, working her way up to become the pastry chef. 

“Then I said, ‘I learned about Italian; let’s go and explore the whole world.’”

Eventually, she began working as a pastry chef at the Wynn Hotel, where the cuisine was French themed. Gonzalez was part of a team making lemon parfaits and madeleines for 3,000 people per day. “I was always asking questions of the chef—‘I want to learn about the chocolates,’ ‘I want to learn about the cakes.’ French chefs are very strict, but my executive chef treated me well, and I tried to learn all I could from him.”

When she first began at the Wynn, Gonzalez felt as if she were working in Paris; eventually, however, she found herself working in Paris for real. She moved there and worked at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon–Étoile, on the Champs-Élysées. There, she continued to learn about French bread, working on housemade baguettes: “Everything was so perfect,” she says. Italian bread was also featured: “We were feeding the biga [starter] every day for Italian sourdough.”

After her treasured culinary experience in Paris, Gonzalez returned to Colombia for a period of study and some time off, during which she enjoyed cooking for friends.

She returned to Vero Beach in 2017 to be close to her parents. In her position as pastry chef at Windsor, her work includes dessert menus with tropical flair; homemade gelato with a special flavor every week (stracciatella is especially popular); and desserts for events such as the famous polo match, for which she featured a verrine—a combination of caramel mousse, bananas brûlée, vanilla crème, and caramelized puff pastry.

At Windsor, Gonzalez loves “the freedom to experiment” and the opportunity “to work with magnificent international chefs and learn about their cultures.” The international nature of the Windsor community is an ideal fit for Gonzalez’s sense of exploration. “They treated me like family right away.”

Breakfast: Spiced Banana Bread

Gonzalez highlights the “comforting spices” that make this treat both aromatic and delicious.

Yields 1 loaf, serves 12

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups overripe bananas, mashed
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche
• 6 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2  tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4  tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4  tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices until combined well.

In a separate bowl, peel and mash bananas. Whisk in the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract.

Pour wet ingredients used so far into dry ingredients and stir without over-mixing the batter. Then pour in the crème fraîche and allow it to incorporate.

Pour mixture into greased loaf pan.

Bake 55–65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and place on a cooling rack.

Dessert: Classic Caramel Flan

“A very popular dessert inherited from the Spaniards and common in all Latin America, this has pride of place in our recipe collection.”

Serves 4

Caramel Layer

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

In a heavy saucepan, mix sugar and water and cook over low heat until thick, dark caramel forms. Make sure it does not burn! Pour carefully into a 5-cup baking pan and spread all over. Cool to room temperature; by then the caramel should have hardened.

A simpler way, if your baking pan allows for it: just heat the sugar directly in the baking pan, and once it melts and turns a dark color, remove from the heat and spread on the bottom and sides of the pan.

Custard Layer

• 4 whole eggs (yolk and white)
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (Nestlé brand preferred)
• 1 can evaporated milk (Nestlé brand preferred)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

Blend whole eggs, yolks, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Sieve to get rid of undissolved egg parts. Pour carefully into the same baking pan, trying not to disturb the caramel layer.

Bake in a hot water bath (bain-marie) 30–45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and water bath and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Loosen the edges of the flan with a toothpick. Place a serving plate (one that will retain the syrup) on top of the baking pan and invert.
Serve while still chilled.

Dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake Tartlet

Gonzalez describes this dish as “addictively silky” and notes its versatility, as it is an appropriate dessert for any occasion.

Serves 4

• 24 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 orange
• Macerated strawberries for garnish (see below)

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Beat on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth.

Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Beat until the mixture is well combined and completely smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl a few times during mixing to ensure everything is well incorporated.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl between additions. Once the eggs are well combined, mix in the heavy cream until well incorporated.

Pour the batter into the tartlet crust. Set oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and bake 30–60 minutes, until the filling center wobbles slightly when shaken gently. Serve topped with macerated strawberries.

Macerated strawberries:

• 1 pint sliced strawberries
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. Grand Marnier liqueur
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine strawberries, sugar, liqueur, and vanilla extract. Let sit on the counter for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.