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.