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Do you like French pastry but it's hard to find near you? Try these 5 recipes at home!
If you've been following me for a while, you must know that I LOVE to cook! I spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing sweet and savory recipes. I know that French cuisine has a reputation for being difficult, but you will see that you are able to make simple but delicious cakes! 😍
1. "Le financier" (small almond cake)
Pronounce /financié/ (no "r" sound at the end). The financier is a small biscuit made from ground almonds and egg whites.
You will need financier molds, like these.
Ingredients (for 8 financiers)
25 g ground almonds
65g icing sugar
45 g wheat flour T65 (white flour)
2 egg whites
45g of butter
+ For decoration: 10g slivered almonds or 8 raspberries (optional)
Preparation
Mix the ground almonds, icing sugar and flour. Add the egg whites and mix again.
You are going to prepare a "nutty butter". It's butter that we're going to heat until it browns. It will then have a slight nutty taste. To make this hazelnut butter, melt the butter in a saucepan until it has the color of caramel (light brown). Filter it through a colander.
Add the hot hazelnut butter to the previous preparation (ground almonds, icing sugar, flour) and mix.
Let the preparation rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF). Lightly butter the financial molds and fill them with the batter using a spoon.
Drop a few slivered almonds on each financier or insert a raspberry into each financier (optional).
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
The financiers are done when they are lightly golden around the edges.
2. Madeleines
The madeleine is a small soft shell-shaped cake.
It owes its shape to the mold, like this one.
The madeleine also has the characteristic of having a "bump" on the top. This bump is formed during baking, thanks to the thermal shock between the dough and the heat of the oven.
Ingredients (for 20 madeleines)
190 g of T65 flour
190g soft butter
160 g of sugar
4 eggs
17g baking powder
3g of salt
+ A vanilla bean (optional)
Preparation
In a large bowl, mix the soft butter, the sugar and the salt.
Add the beaten eggs and mix to obtain a homogeneous paste.
Optional: Split the vanilla pod in half and scoop out the vanilla beans. Add them to the preparation.
Add the flour and baking powder. Mix again.
When the mixture is smooth, let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 210ºC (410ºF).
Butter the madeleine molds and spoon the batter into them. Do not completely fill the molds because the dough will swell during cooking and may overflow!
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
The madeleines are cooked when the bump has formed and they are lightly golden.
3. Apple pie
Apple pie is a classic French dessert. Each family has its own recipe, I share mine with you!
Ingredients
The shortcrust pastry:
170 g of T65 flour (white flour)
70 g of sugar
100g soft butter
1 small egg (35 grams)
The filling:
100 g applesauce
3 apples (of your choice)
Optional: for the greediest, a knob of butter and a little sugar
Preparation
The shortcrust pastry:
In a mixing bowl, mix the flour and sugar.
Add the soft butter cut into small pieces and mix with your hands until you get a "sandy" consistency.
Then add the egg and mix again with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous paste.
Put the dough in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes for the dough to harden.
Flour the work surface and roll out your dough with a rolling pin.
In a pie pan, place a sheet of baking paper and your shortcrust pastry.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF).
The filling:
Spread the applesauce over your dough.
Peel the apples and cut them into fairly thin slices.
Arrange the apple slices on the compote in the shape of a rosette.
Optional: Sprinkle the apples with sugar and put a knob of butter on them so that the apples caramelize during cooking.
Bake for 30 minutes.
The pie is done when the pastry is golden brown and the apples are caramelized.
4. The marbled cake
Marble cake is a classic French snack! Young and old love it!
This is a cake prepared with 2 doughs (one vanilla and one chocolate) which are placed one after the other in the mold to obtain "marbling" (stripes) when cutting.
Ingredients
3 eggs
200g of flour
100g of sugar
8 g baking powder
120 g of butter
A vanilla pod or vanilla extract
25 g plain cocoa (unsweetened)
100ml of milk
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF).
In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
Add the melted butter and milk. Whisk again.
Add the flour and baking powder. Mix again.
Using another mixing bowl, separate the dough into 2 equal parts. In a batter, add vanilla. In the other, add the cocoa.
Beat the egg whites. Separate them into 2 parts and gently mix each part with each batter (the vanilla batter and the cocoa batter). So you have 2 pastes of 2 different colors.
Butter a cake tin.
Add a layer of vanilla batter, then a cocoa layer, a vanilla layer, etc...until you have no more batter.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
To know if the cake is cooked: insert the blade of a knife into the cake. If it comes out intact, the cake is baked. If there is batter on the blade, continue cooking.
5. The cherry "clafoutis"
Cherry clafoutis is one of the easiest French desserts to make. The base resembles pancake batter that is mixed with cherries and baked.
Ingredients (for 8 people)
40 g of butter
100g of flour
60 g of sugar
200ml of milk
4 eggs
600 g of fresh cherries
A pinch of salt
A little icing sugar to sprinkle
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 210ºC (410ºF).
Wash and dry the cherries. The traditional recipe is to keep the pits of the cherries, but I prefer to remove them. In this case, pit the cherries.
Melt the butter.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the eggs one by one.
Gradually add the milk, beating well. If you have lumps, you can mix your preparation.
Add the melted butter and mix. You should get a smooth paste.
Generously butter a square or rectangular baking pan.
Put the cherries in the bottom of the dish and pour the preparation.
Bake for 10 minutes at 210ºC (410ºC) then lower the oven to 180ºC (356ºF) for 20 minutes.
The clafoutis is ready when the edges are golden and the preparation is firm. Serve warm or cold, dusted with icing sugar if desired.
If you don't have cherries, you can make the clafoutis with other fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots... depending on the season and what you have on hand!
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