Cooking French in the US
Clafoutis is a baked French dessert of fresh fruits, covered with a flan-like-batter. A friend of mine mentioned that her favorite French dessert was plum almond clafoutis, so I decided to make one. Plum Almond Clafoutis is a wonderful way to enjoy fresh plums. The sweetness of the almond flour softens the slight acidity of […]
Clafoutis is a baked French dessert of fruits, arranged in a buttered dish, and covered with a sweet flan-like-batter. Cherries are the most common fruit used for clafoutis, but any fruit can be used. Since cherries are not currently in season, I decided to make a red grape clafoutis, which turned out to be delicious! […]
Charlotte is a classic French dessert, that usually contains a cold mousse and fruits, surrounded by lady fingers. I love the combination of strawberries and lemon, so my charlotte is a strawberry-lemon charlotte. A French charlotte is light and fresh, and is easy to make: you don’t even have to bake it! In France, it […]
The Gateau de Savoie is a light airy cake, named after the Count of Savoie who invented it in the 14th century. After the French revolution, two parisian chefs came up with the idea of using starch instead of flour, making the cake even more airy. Gateau de Savoie is delicious as a dessert or […]
The Tarte Tropezienne was created in the beautiful town of Saint Tropez, on the French Riviera. As the story goes, famous French actress Brigitte Bardot fell in love with the dessert while filming a movie there, and suggested the name “tarte tropezienne.” The cake was thereafter named “tarte tropezienne.” It is composed of a brioche […]
In France, on the festival of Epiphany on January 6, it is customary to eat a King cake called Galette des Rois (roi means king, in French). The galette is a puff pastry filled with frangipane. It contains a small hidden object (usually, a small figurine or a bean). Whoever gets the slice with the […]
Bûche de Noël, which literally means Christmas Log, is the traditional French dessert for Christmas day. Christmas figurines or other Christmas decorations are usually placed on the log. It comes in all flavors, and there are many different techniques to make the cake. For my bûche de Noël, I chose a traditional recipe of a […]
As we are approaching winter, I am looking to make cakes with fruits that are in season in the winter time. Clementines are in season from November to February, so I got the idea of making a clementine cake. I had never made a cake with clementines before, and I was happily surprised to find […]
Chocolate and Pear go so well together, I really wanted to make a delicious cake that combined both flavors. Finally got around to doing it. This is a quick and easy chocolate-pear cake that delivers results!
Looking to bake a last minute cake, that isn’t your typical chocolate cake or fruit cake? Try French walnut cake! The other day, I decided at the last minute to bake a cake for dessert, but we were out of baking chocolate and fruit. Then I remembered we had a bag of walnuts, and I […]
This is the perfect time of the year to make an apple cake! This particular apple cake has a little something that makes it extra delicious: frangipane! This sweet almond paste with a light rum flavor perfectly complements the golden apples, which makes for a one-of-a-kind cake. Enjoy!
The chocolate moelleux cake is a cake with a liquid chocolate center. We believe its origins are French, though a US-based chef claims he invented it in New York in 1987. This has been disputed by a well-known French chef, who stated that such a cake had already existed in France for a long time. […]
The Far Breton is a traditional prune cake from the Brittany region (North-West of France). It is similar to a clafoutis, but with more of a flan-like texture. It is delicious, and very easy to make. As an added bonus, it will get you to eat prunes, which have many health benefits. Win, win!
This chocolate cake is amazingly healthy! No sugar, no milk, no butter, but instead zucchini! The best part is you can’t even taste the zucchini. It tastes just like regular chocolate cake! So you can be on a diet, and still eat chocolate cake! And, if you have kids, you can get them to eat […]
French chocolate cakes are great for kids as they contain less sugar than their American counterpart. They are usually smaller, contain less ingredients, and have no frosting on top. Everyday French cakes are easier to make and less fattening. They do not contain any artificial food coloring. In short, they are healthier, while still being […]
