Here’s to rustic summer baking at its best! This fresh apricot crisp features sweet apricots baked under a buttery oat crisp topping, until hot and bubbly. This is a perfect laid back summer dessert to serve simply as is, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – or a dollop of crème fraiche on top, in true French fashion.
We had the most wonderful time at Kerbastard Farm last weekend and I was eager to share the memories with you. In celebration of France’s “Fête du Lait” (Milk Festival), local French farms hosted breakfasts on their premises to showcase their own dairy products. We chose to go to Kerbastard, a local Brittany farm renowned for producing one of France’s best butters.
Quintessentially French, Madeleines are dainty bite-sized cakes that yields a soft middle, crispy edges, and a distinctive buttery taste. Easy and fun to make at home, they are best known for their shell-like shape and their signature bump at the top. I am sharing my tips (and the bump secret!) to master madeleines at home.
This simple starter of White Asparagus à la Grenobloise is a French Spring classic. Tender and slightly sweet white asparagus, which are incredibly popular in France, are doused with a tangy Grenobloise sauce of butter, lemon, capers, parsley and crunchy croutons. This delightful dish is on the table in just 20 minutes, making the most of asparagus season.
This Queen of Sheba Chocolate Cake is one of Julia Child’s most famous recipes, and for all the right reasons. It’s a simple cake recipe that yields a rich chocolatey taste with hints of almonds and a thin layer of chocolate buttercream to wow your guests. If you are learning French baking and need a staple dessert up your sleeve, the cake is a must!
Known as Alsatian Schwowebredele, these Almond Cinnamon Shortbread Cookies belong to the long list of typical “bredele” cookies made over the holidays in Alsace, Eastern France. Made with ground almonds, a pinch of cinnamon and a generous amount of butter, these cut-outs are easy to make, deliciously sandy and taste just subtly spiced and nutty. A must-do recipe for your holiday cookie box!
Known as Poulet Rôti, a French Roast Chicken is an unbeatable favorite in any household to wrap up the week. In true French fashion, mine is full of garlic, herbs and lots of butter – sneaked both under and over the skin before cooking and basted with plenty more during cooking. The result is succulent flavors, juicy meat all around and a crispy golden skin.
Popular French butter cookies, Sablés come in all forms and flavors– and these Buckwheat Sablés with Chocolate are some of my favorite ones. Nutty buckwheat flavor, the rich taste of butter and speckles of dark chocolate come together in a perfectly crisp shortbread cookie texture. These easy to make cookies are a must to try, and adopt.
Classic French Sole Meunière may sound fancy – but it’s far from it. I promise. This staple of the French repertoire features simple sole fillets lightly dredged in flour, pan fried and bathed in a brown butter sauce with lemon and parsley. The zesty lemon cuts through the richness of the butter, allowing the delicate flavors of the sole to shine and create a fish dish that’s zingy, moist yet somehow crisp – an ultimate dinner for the whole family.
A Classic of the French repertoire, a Chocolate Moelleux Cake is a decadent and intensely chocolatey cake, relying on only a few ingredients: eggs, sugar and a solid amount of butter and good-quality dark chocolate. Made with no flour, hence naturally gluten-free, this cake combines the richness of chocolate cake with the airiness of a mousse. A must for all chocolate lovers!
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