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Pain au chocolat

Pain au chocolat is the favourite after-school and Sunday breakfast treat of French children, called pain au chocolat in Paris and the north and chocolatine in Toulouse, Bordeaux and the south-west, a friendly argument that never ends. Croissant dough is cut into rectangles and rolled around two batons of dark chocolate, so every bite has crisp pastry and a melting seam of chocolate. The common mistake is rolling it too tightly, which stops the layers rising. Chef's tip: roll loosely with the seam underneath, so it does not unroll in the oven.

680 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Croissant

The croissant is the breakfast of Paris, bought warm from the corner boulangerie on weekend mornings and eaten with café au lait, and although it came from Vienna it was in 20th-century Paris that it became the buttery, flaky crescent we know. A lightly sweet yeasted dough is wrapped around a sheet of cold butter, rolled and folded three times, shaped and proved until wobbly, then baked until deep golden with a honeycomb of layers inside. The common mistake is proving in a warm place, which melts the butter out of the layers. Chef's tip: prove the shaped croissants at cool room temperature, about 24 °C, until they have doubled and jiggle when the tray is shaken.

680 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tuiles aux amandesAlmond tile biscuits

Tuiles are wafer-thin almond biscuits curved over a rolling pin while still hot, so they look like the clay roof tiles of Provence; French families serve them with ice cream, sorbet or mousse at the end of a meal. The batter is quick, and the curling is the fun part. The common mistake is spreading them too thick, so they stay soft. Chef's tip: bake just four at a time, because you have only seconds to shape them before they set.

30 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tourte aux champignonsMushroom pie

Tourte aux champignons is a family pie from rural France, baked in autumn when mushrooms are plentiful and served as a main course with a green salad for Sunday supper or as the vegetarian centrepiece of a festive meal. Two layers of puff pastry enclose a filling of browned mushrooms, shallots and herbs bound with crème fraîche. The common mistake is putting in a wet filling, which turns the bottom crust soggy; cook the mushrooms until all their liquid has gone. Chef's tip: cut a small hole in the lid and set a rolled card chimney in it so steam escapes and the pastry stays crisp.

75 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte courgette et chèvreCourgette and goat's cheese tart

Tarte courgette-chèvre is a modern French classic, the tart everyone brings to summer picnics, family barbecues and school fêtes from June to September. Lightly fried courgette slices and rounds of fresh goat's cheese are set in a savoury egg and cream custard in a crisp case, with thyme and a little honey to round off the tang. Many French goat's cheeses use animal rennet; choose one labelled vegetarian if needed, and a pasteurised one for anyone pregnant or with a weakened immune system. The common mistake is adding raw courgettes, which weep into the custard. Chef's tip: blind-bake the case for 15 minutes first so the base stays crisp.

70 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PalmiersPuff pastry palmiers

Palmiers, "palm leaves", are the crisp, sugar-glazed puff pastry hearts sold by the bag in French bakeries and eaten with coffee or by children at goûter. Puff pastry is rolled in sugar instead of flour, folded towards the centre from both sides, sliced and baked until each heart is caramelised and glassy. The common mistake is underbaking, which leaves them soft and pale. Chef's tip: turn them over halfway through baking so both sides caramelise.

40 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pompe à l'huileOlive oil orange flatbread

The pompe à l'huile is the centrepiece of the thirteen desserts of Christmas Eve in Provence, a flat, slashed sweet bread made with olive oil and scented with orange-blossom water. Tradition says it must be torn by hand, never cut, or you will be ruined in the year to come, and it is eaten after the gros souper on 24 December. The common mistake is using a harsh, peppery olive oil, which overpowers it. Chef's tip: use a mild, fruity olive oil and brush more over the warm loaf.

170 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pâté aux pommes de terrePotato and cream pastry pie

Pâté aux pommes de terre is the farmhouse pie of the Limousin, the Berry and the Allier in central France, baked for Sunday lunch and village fêtes and served warm with a green salad. Thin slices of potato with onion, garlic and parsley are baked inside puff pastry, and when the pie comes out of the oven a lid is lifted and thick crème fraîche is poured in to soak through the potatoes. The common mistake is slicing the potatoes too thick, so they are still hard when the pastry is done. Chef's tip: slice the potatoes 2 mm thick and cook the pie for the full hour; the potatoes must be soft before the cream goes in.

85 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pain au laitSoft milk rolls

Pain au lait is the soft, slightly sweet milk roll French children take to school for goûter at four o'clock, split and filled with a bar of chocolate or spread with jam. The dough is enriched with milk, butter and a little egg, shaped into small oval rolls, snipped along the top with scissors and sprinkled with pearl sugar. The common mistake is overbaking, which gives a crust; they should stay pale gold and pillowy. Chef's tip: brush them with egg twice, before and after proving, for the glossy bakery finish.

175 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pain suisseCustard and chocolate brioche

Despite its name, the pain suisse is entirely French, a long rectangle of brioche-style dough folded around vanilla crème pâtissière and chocolate chips, beloved in bakeries across France as an after-school treat. The pastry cream bakes into a soft, creamy layer studded with melting chocolate. The common mistake is overfilling, so the cream leaks out the sides. Chef's tip: chill the filled strip for 20 minutes before cutting; the slices stay neat and square.

255 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Brioche à têteTopknot brioche

Brioche à tête, the brioche parisienne, is the little fluted bun with a round head that sits in every French bakery window, eaten for Sunday breakfast, dunked in hot chocolate or served with jam at goûter. The dough is very rich in eggs and butter, kneaded long until silky, then chilled overnight, which makes it easy to shape and gives a deep flavour. The common mistake is adding the butter too fast, which leaves a greasy dough. Chef's tip: add the butter a little at a time while the mixer runs, and wait until each piece disappears before adding the next.

620 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OranaisApricot custard pastry

The oranais, also called abricotine, is a French bakery pastry that is said to come from the city of Oran in Algeria, brought back by returning pieds-noirs in the 1960s, and it is now found in boulangeries all over France for breakfast and goûter. A square of puff or croissant dough has its corners folded over a spoonful of pastry cream and two apricot halves, so it looks like a pair of eyes. The common mistake is using wet canned apricots, which make the pastry soggy. Chef's tip: drain the apricots on kitchen paper and glaze them with warm apricot jam after baking for a jewel-like shine.

50 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Langues de chatCat's tongue biscuits

Langues de chat, "cat's tongues", are long, thin butter biscuits with golden edges, served with coffee, ice cream or a bowl of chocolate mousse in French homes and cafés; they keep well in a tin and children love them. A simple batter of butter, sugar, egg white and flour is piped in strips and baked until the edges just brown. The common mistake is piping them too close together; they spread. Chef's tip: tap the tray firmly on the worktop after piping so the strips flatten evenly.

25 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Crêpes dentelleCrisp lace crêpe biscuits

Crêpes dentelle, "lace crêpes", are a speciality of Quimper in Brittany, said to have been invented by a baker there in 1886 who burnt a crêpe and rolled it up; they are wafer-thin, crisp, buttery rolled biscuits, sold in tins all over Brittany and eaten with coffee or crumbled over ice cream. The common mistake is spreading the batter too thick, so they will not crisp. Chef's tip: spread the batter so thin you can see the tray through it, and roll each one as soon as it comes out of the oven.

40 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gâteau nantaisAlmond rum-free lemon cake

The gâteau nantais comes from Nantes in the Loire, created in 1820 by a local baker when the city's port imported sugar and rum from the Caribbean; it is a dense, moist almond cake with a crackly white glaze, eaten at goûter and family lunches. Traditionally the cake is soaked in rum and the glaze flavoured with it; this version uses lemon juice for both so all ages can eat it, and adults can add 2 tablespoons of rum to the glaze. The common mistake is overbaking, which dries it. Chef's tip: soak the cake while it is still warm.

50 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torteau fromagerGoat's cheese cake

The torteau fromager is the cake of the Poitou-Charentes, a tall, light goat's cheese cake with a dramatically burnt, almost black dome, sold at markets around Poitiers and served at Sunday lunch and weddings. Fresh goat's cheese is beaten with egg yolks and sugar, folded with whisked whites and baked in a pastry-lined dome mould at a high heat, which gives the dark crust. Use pasteurised fresh goat's cheese. The common mistake is opening the oven early, which makes it fall. Chef's tip: do not worry about the black top; it is meant to be that way and tastes of caramel.

80 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Brioche vendéenneBraided Easter brioche

The brioche vendéenne is the plaited Easter brioche of the Vendée on the Atlantic coast, once baked for Easter Sunday and for weddings, where it was carried into the dance on a huge board. It is softer and lighter than Parisian brioche, scented with vanilla and orange-blossom water, and has protected status (IGP). The common mistake is plaiting too tightly, so it splits in the oven. Chef's tip: plait loosely and give it a long, slow final prove.

330 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pogne de RomansOrange blossom brioche crown

The pogne is the Easter brioche of Romans-sur-Isère and Valence in the Drôme, a high crown of soft dough fragrant with orange-blossom water, traditionally made for Easter and eaten with the local ravioles, or at breakfast with butter. Its name comes from "poigne", the fistful of dough the baker grabs. The common mistake is underproving; it needs a long, slow rise to be light. Chef's tip: make the starter the night before; it gives the pogne its gentle, rich flavour.

635 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gâteau marbréMarble loaf cake

Gâteau marbré is the marble cake of French childhood, a vanilla and chocolate loaf with swirls through every slice, packed in school bags for goûter and sold in supermarkets everywhere as a lunchbox cake. Homemade, it is soft, buttery and quick. The common mistake is swirling too much, which turns the cake brown all through. Chef's tip: layer the two batters in the tin and drag a knife through just two or three times.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChouquettesSugar choux puffs

Chouquettes are the small, hollow choux puffs studded with pearl sugar that French bakeries sell by weight in paper bags, a favourite treat bought on the way home from school and shared between brothers and sisters. They are made with the same choux dough as éclairs but left unfilled. The common mistake is opening the oven too soon, so they collapse. Chef's tip: press the pearl sugar in well after glazing, so it does not roll off.

40 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pain aux raisinsRaisin custard swirl pastry

Pain aux raisins, called escargot in some bakeries for its snail-shell spiral, is the third great pastry of the French breakfast counter, alongside the croissant and pain au chocolat. Croissant dough is spread with vanilla crème pâtissière, scattered with plump raisins, rolled up and sliced into spirals, then baked and brushed with syrup until glossy. The common mistake is spreading the cream too thick, so it oozes out and the spirals open. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot tea or orange juice for 30 minutes so they are juicy and do not burn.

680 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Agneau pascalLamb-shaped Easter cake

The lammele, or agneau pascal, is the Easter cake of Alsace, a light sponge baked in a lamb-shaped earthenware mould from Soufflenheim and dusted with icing sugar, with a little paper flag tied round its neck. It is bought from bakeries in Strasbourg and Colmar or made at home for Easter Sunday breakfast. No lamb meat is involved; it is a vegetarian cake. The common mistake is not greasing the mould well enough, so the head sticks. Chef's tip: brush the mould with soft butter, chill, then dust with flour, so every detail comes out clean.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte à la tomate et à la moutardeTomato and mustard tart

Tarte à la tomate is a summer favourite all over Burgundy, home of Dijon mustard, made from July to September for picnics, light lunches and apéritif. A crisp shortcrust case is spread thickly with mustard and grated cheese, covered with overlapping tomato slices and herbs and baked until the tomatoes are jammy; the mustard mellows into a warm, tangy layer. Comté and Gruyère are usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian hard cheese if you prefer. The common mistake is using watery tomatoes, which make the pastry soggy. Chef's tip: salt and drain the tomato slices on kitchen paper for 15 minutes before laying them on the tart.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

FinanciersAlmond brown butter cakes

Financiers are small, rectangular almond cakes said to have been made in the 1890s by a pâtissier near the Paris Bourse, shaped like gold bars so stockbrokers could eat them without dirtying their gloves; today they are served with coffee all over France. Egg whites, ground almonds and nutty browned butter make a cake that is crisp at the edges and moist inside. The common mistake is not browning the butter enough, which loses the flavour. Chef's tip: cook the butter until it smells of hazelnuts and the specks at the bottom turn brown, then strain it.

30 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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