French Cakes

French Cakes Workshop by

FRANÇOISE BOSC & GILL CATTERALL

The Cakes

Massepain is a large plain cake to eat with coffee, fruit salad, cream or custard.

Cake Salé is a savoury cake, great with an aperitif & for auberges Espagnoles.

Cannelés Bordelais are tiny little cakes of baked custard to serve with café gourmande.

  

Cake Salé

Most recipes do not whisk the egg whites before adding them to the mixture. It seems that this is the secret of Françoise’s excellent cake which is not at all stodgy, so please do not be tempted to miss this stage out. See the next page for alternative ingredients. The ingredients which add flavour such as ham & olives can be added according to the quantity in a packet, but the basic ingredients must be kept the same.

250gms sieved SR flour


100gms olives. Green or black – stoned and in thin slices, Olives stuffed with red pepper look good.

1 packet of cooked ham cubes (approx. 175gms)
150gms grated Emmenthal cheese or 1 packet (varies from 70gms, but no more than 150gms) 200mls vegetable oil
 200mls dry white wine 
4 eggs separated
Salt & pepper (olives can be salty, so take care not to over salt)
If using plain flour - 1 sachet of Baking Powder. (BP)
Beat the egg yolks & oil into the flour.

(If using - dissolve the BP in the wine and add to the paste). Cream together until smooth.
Throw in the cheese, ham and olives.
Season.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gently mix egg whites into the mixture.
Put into a buttered 2lb loaf tin and cover with greaseproof paper. Bake for 40 minutes at 170 ̊C until a skewer comes out clean. Serve tiède or at room temperature. Any leftover can be frozen. Bake in mini-muffin tins at 180c for 20-25 minutes.

Alternative ingredients for Cake Salé

Use in the same proportions as for the main recipe. Even if using cheese as an ingredient, Emmenthal can be added for extra depth of flavour. Herbs etc should be added with caution.

Sun dried tomato & mozzarella + herbes de provence + lardons & Emmenthal. Goat’s cheese, prunes & pistachios + Emmenthal.
Carrot, feta & dill and Emmenthal
Goat’s with raisins & hazelnuts + Emmenthal

Sun dried tomato, mushroom & rosemary + Emmenthal Smoked salmon, dill & fennel + cream cheese
Chorizo, almond & sundried tomato, Emmenthal. Chorizo, parsnip & parsley, Emmenthal.

Chorizo, manchego & smoked paprika & spring onions
Bacon, Figs & Walnuts, Emmenthal.
Walnut, Roquefort & prunes, Emmenthal.
Spinach, caramelised onion & walnuts + nutmeg & Emmenthal. Red peppers, black olives & anchovies, Emmenthal.

Walnut, Roquefort & dried pears + Emmenthal
Smoked salmon + spinach + Emmenthal + horseradish
Black pudding + chicken livers + apple + Emmenthal + cider Asparagus (tinned) + dill + fresh salmon + Emmenthal.
Leeks + smoked salmon + Emmenthal + preserved lemons
Leeks + bacon + Emmenthal
Surimi + Emmenthal + chives
Ham + Boursin + Emmenthal
Hot dogs + whole grain mustard + sun dried tomatoes + Emmenthal

Cannelés Bordelais

It is important to cook these cakes for long enough. They must be well browned or they will not come out of their moulds. Take care that they do not burn.

1⁄2 litre of milk

1 pinch of salt

2 whole eggs + 2 yolks

1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoons of rum

100gms of plain flour

250gms of caster sugar

50gms butter

Split the vanilla pod and add to a pan with the milk and butter.

Bring to the boil and remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 1⁄2 hour.

Mix the flour, sugar and salt and add the eggs (all at the same time).

Mix the milk (tepid or cold) into the egg and flour mixture.

Mix well until it is smooth.

Leave to cool in the fridge and add the rum.

Leave for at least an hour in the fridge.

Heat the oven to the 270C

Put the mixture into the moulds .

Cook for 5 minutes at 270C and reduce heat to 180C and cook for 1 hour until dark brown or even a little bit black at the edges.

Remove from the moulds while still hot. Make sure that they are cooked properly, or they will not come out of the moulds.

Massepain

The amount of ingredients varies according to the size of your pan. The following amounts are for a standard bundt pan.

This cake should be cooked in an angel food cake tin or a bundt cake tin which allows the heat to circulate around so that the cake is completely cooked. If cooking in a shallower tin such as a ring mould, the cooking times need to be adjusted accordingly.

5 eggs separated

5 tablespoons of caster sugar

5 tablespoons of SR flour

Flavouring – 1⁄2 tablespoon of vanilla extract; orange flower water; almond essence; rum.

NB – tablespoon measures are slightly rounded.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale.

Add the flour and flavouring and mix just until the flour is incorporated.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff peaks.

Fold the yolks, flour and sugar into the whites gently.

Prepare the tin but greasing it generously and coating with caster sugar, tip out the excess.

Cook in a low oven 150c for two hours. DO NOT open the door. However, if it looks as if it’s burning, cover with tin foil.

This is a dry cake, best served with fruit compote, cream, custard or coffee.

Pork pies and piccallili

Pork Pies

Ingredients:

For the jelly –

2 pigs trotters cut in half lengthways

1 carrot

1 onion

1 bouquet garni (celery, bay leaf, thyme and parsley)

12 black peppercorns

4 cloves

For the filling –

1,2kg boned pork shoulder

225g lean bacon

1 tbsp chopped fresh sage

2.5ml each ground mace, freshly grated nutmeg and ground allspice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pastry –

450g plain flour

1 tsp salt

275g chilled butter, cut into pieces

2 eggs plus1 egg yolk (one egg for wash)

2-3 tbsp cold water

Method –

For the jelly, put all the jelly ingredients into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours.

Strain through a very fine sieve into a clean pan and boil vigorously until reduced by about half. Season to taste and leave to cool.

To make the filling, cut the pork and bacon into 1cm pieces. Put half the pork and half the bacon into a food processor and process using the pulse button until coarsely chopped.

Scrape into a bowl and stir in the rest of the diced pork, bacon, herbs, spices, one teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black peper.

Fry a little piece of the mixture in sunflower oil, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a food processor or mixing bwl. Add the butter and mix.

Beat a whole egg with the egg yolk and water and add into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth and then cut off one third of the mixture and set it aside for the lid.

Cover the shape or former with clingfilm (a large glass or tumbler will do).

Roll out the larger piece, cut a circle of dough and carefully mould it round your former. Trim it if necessary and carefully ease off making sure you retain the shape.

Spoon the pork filling into the pastry case and slightly round the top of thee mixture to give the finished pie a nice shape.

Beat the remaining egg in a bowl. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry and use tto cover the top of the pie.

Cut a strip pf baking paper and tie it around the pie gently. This will help retain the shape in the oven. Hand raised pies tend to be a little bulbous anyway.

Cut a small cross in the centre of the lid and place a small ovenproof pastry cutter in the hole. Leave the cutter in place to retain the hole during baking.

Brush with more beaten egg and decorate with a twisted rope of pastry and pastry leaves.  Brush the top with any remaining beaten egg.

Bake the pie in the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 180C and continue to cook for a further 1 hour, loosely covering the pie with a triple-thickness sheet of greaseproof paper once it’s nicely browned.

Remove pie from oven and leave to cool for 2 hours. Then warm through the jelly and pour into the pie through the hole in the top. Remove cutter used to make the hole in the top. Leave to go cold overnight.

Alternative jellied stock:

Soak 4 gelatine leaves in cold water until they are soft (the amount of water for this isn’t important). Pour 450ml boiling water over a stock cube )pork, chicken or vegetable), and stir until the cube has dissolved. Lift out the sponged gelatine  and squeeze out any excess water, then add to the stock and stir until it dissolves.  Leave the stock to cool but not set and pour it into the pies. Return pies to the fridge and leave the gelatine to set.

Piccalilli

Makes 3 x 340g jars

Ingredients:

·      1kg washed, peeled vegetables — select 5 or 6 from the following: cauliflower or romanesco cauliflower; green beans; cucumbers; courgettes; green or yellow tomatoes; tomatilloes; carrots; small silver-skinned onions or shallots; peppers; nasturtium seed pods

·      50g fine salt

·      30g cornflour

·      10g ground turmeric

·      10g English mustard powder

·      15g yekkow mustard seeds

·      1 tsp crushed cumin seeds

·      1 tsp crushed coriander seeds

·      600ml cider vinegar

·      150g granulated sugar

·      50g honey

Method:

Cut the vegetables into small, even bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Mix well, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a cool place for 24 hours, then rinse the veg with ice-cold water and drain thoroughly.

Blend the cornflour, turmeric, mustard powder, mustard seeds, cumin and coriander to a smooth paste with a little of the vinegar. Put the rest of the vinegar into a saucepan with the sugar and honey and bring to the boil.

Pour a little of the hot vinegar over the blended spice paste, stir well and return t the pan. Bring gently to the boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes to allow the spices to release their flavours into the thickening sauce.

Remove the pan from the heat and carefully fold the well-drained vegetables into the hot, spicy sauce. Pack the pickle into warm, sterilised jars and seal immediately with vinegar-proof lids. Leave (if you can) for 4-6 weeks before opening. Use within a year.

Lemon Polenta Cake

Moya brought this along to our What's Cooking Planning lunch. It was lovely.


LEMON POLENTA CAKE

This cake is delicious served with homemade lemon curd and crème fraîche or cream. I usually double the quantities given below and use three lined loaf tins – eat one and freeze two!

Ingredients
200g butter
200g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
100g polenta
3 eggs
4 lemons
1tsp baking powder
6 extra tablespoons caster sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
Grease and line an 8 inch round cake tin.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a small amount of the ground almonds if mixture starts to curdle.
Add the remaining ground almonds and beat well.
Stir in the polenta and baking powder.
Grate in the zest of one lemon and the juice of half a lemon.
Mix well and put into the baking tin. Bake for between 45 minutes and one hour – until a skewer comes out cleanly.

While the cake is cooking, grate the rind of two lemons and extract the juice from the remaining three and a half lemons. Place in a small saucepan with the 6 tbsp of extra sugar. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.

When the cake is cooked, keep it in the tin and prick it all over with a skewer. Immediately pour over the lemon syrup and leave it to soak in. Leave to cool in the tin.

Variations
I sometimes replace some of the ground almonds with dessicated coconut.
For a stronger flavour of almonds I sometimes add 1tsp almond essence at the butter/sugar stage.

BOBOTIE

Bobotie was declared the national dish of South Africa by the United Nations Women’s Organisation in 1954. It has a varied heritage: the Dutch brought ground meat to the local cuisine, the spices were introduced by the slaves from Indonesia and the presentation is reminiscent of English shepherd’s pie. Bobotie used to be made with leftovers from the Sunday roast.

There are many different recipes for Bobotie, but this one is delicious, spicy and easy to make.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

2 onions, peeled and chopped

2 tsp curry powder

900g lean minced beef

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp tumeric

1 tbsp vinegar

 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp mango chutney or apricot jam

1 dsp brown sugar (optional)

Handful of raisins or sultanas (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

A little stock to moisten

For the topping:

2 eggs, beaten

150ml milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and curry powder and cook slowly for 3 minutes to soften the onions.

Add the mince and stir well.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir again.

Pour into an ovenproof dish and smooth over the top.

Mix the eggs and milk, then pour over the meat mixture.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown, then reduce the heat to low until ready to serve.