French desserts are very diverse, they can be light and very high in calories, simple and multicomponent. All products are distinguished by their rich taste, in order to get real pleasure, a very small portion is enough. Many desserts can be prepared on their own, and the process does not take much time.
Real French desserts: cooking features
It is no coincidence that France is considered the world's culinary capital. It is here that the dishes that are now served in restaurants of different countries were invented: onion soup, bouillabaisse, crepes, ratatouille, quiche lauren. Local desserts are no less famous. All of them are distinguished by their original taste, variety, and unexpected combinations of ingredients.
The main difference between French desserts is contrast. They do not like the unambiguously sweet dishes popular in the New World. Sugary shortbread dough will definitely be complemented by a sour filling, airy whipped cream in eclairs will contrast with sugar icing. French pastry chefs do not like to combine too many ingredients in one dessert. For example, vanilla ice cream will be served without topping, since the taste and color of natural vanilla does not need any additions. Cakes are rarely overloaded with additional decor that does not carry a semantic load. Instead of several layers of marzipan and glaze, cakes or petit fours will be decorated with fresh berries, fruits, and a thin layer of natural chocolate.
The list of the most favorite delicacies includes a variety of pastries: tarts, klafuti, petit fours, buns with chocolate, eclairs, bouchets, brioches. Desserts that have migrated to home cuisine from restaurants are no less popular: hot fondants with liquid chocolate, ice cream, parfaits, mousses, blancmange, flambé fruits. Some products require high cooking skills, others are easy to prepare and even novice housewives can do.
A little trick to help you feast on desserts and not gain weight - miniature portions. Sufficient high-calorie ingredients are used to make sweets: natural butter, heavy cream, chocolate, caramel. Local pastry chefs do not recognize low-fat substitutes, believing that they hopelessly spoil the taste of desserts. It is recommended to eat delicacies with high calorie content more often 2-3 times a week, on other days it is limited to fruit salads or yoghurts.
Lemon cake: traditional French dessert
Sand cake stuffed with lemon cream is one of the most popular delicacies. It is prepared in restaurants and cafes, but such pastries can be made at home. Its main feature is the contrast between a very sweet, almost sugary dough and a refreshingly sour filling.
Ingredients:
- 200 g of high quality wheat flour;
- 1 tbsp. l. icing sugar;
- 1 egg;
- 125 g butter;
- a pinch of salt.
For filling:
- 4 lemons;
- 5 eggs;
- 125 g icing sugar;
- 75 g butter.
In a deep bowl, combine the sifted flour, sugar and salt. Cut cold butter into pieces, add to flour, rub into small crumbs with your hands. Beat the egg in a separate container, stir into the dough. If the mass is too thick, pour in some cold water. Gather the dough into a ball, roll it out, put in a fireproof dish, lightly oiled.
Prepare the filling by whisking eggs and sugar. Grate the zest of 2 lemons, squeeze the juice from 4 citruses. Add softened butter, lemon juice and zest to the egg mixture, mix everything and pour into a mold. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The filling should be completely baked, and the sides of the dough should be browned. Garnish with whipped cream before serving.
Cherry Clafoutis: Step-by-Step Preparation
Clafoutis is a type of sweet cake, a traditional delicacy from Limousin. Any sour berry or fruit is suitable as a filling: prunes, apricots, blueberries, cherry plums. But the real classic is the large ripe cherry. Clafoutis looks very impressive in photographs, especially when cut up. From the indicated amount of products, 6 servings of dessert will be obtained.
Ingredients:
- 500 g pitted cherries;
- 125 g wheat flour;
- 100 g icing sugar;
- 25 g butter;
- 2 eggs;
- 170 ml of milk;
- 1 tbsp. l. rum or cherry liqueur;
- a pinch of salt.
Sift flour into a deep bowl, add salt and half the powdered sugar. Beat eggs in a separate container and add to the flour mixture one at a time. Using a mixer, knead a smooth, homogeneous dough. Using a mixer, knead a smooth, homogeneous dough. Pour in rum, mix again and leave the dough for half an hour.
Turn on the oven, put a fireproof dish in it so that the baking dish is well heated. Remove the seeds from the cherries. Remove the mold from the oven, put out the soft dough, distribute the cherries evenly over it. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 180 degrees. Check the readiness of the dough with a match, it must remain dry.
Remove the glue from the oven and cool slightly directly in the mold. Sprinkle the product with powdered sugar, cut into portions, serve warm or cold.
Creme brulee: a sweet treat in a mini format
Classic egg dessert with a crispy sugar crust. It seems complicated, but preparation is very simple - it is enough to accurately observe the proportions of the ingredients and take your time. If no vanilla pods are found, you can use vanilla sugar, slightly reducing the amount of sand.
Ingredients:
- 500 ml heavy cream;
- 50 g granulated sugar;
- 4 egg yolks;
- 1 vanilla pod;
- 2 tbsp. l. fine brown sugar.
Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise, scoop out the seeds. Pour the cream into a thick-walled saucepan, add the vanilla along with the seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil, but do not boil. Remove the pan from the stove and cover to soak in the vanilla aroma.
After half an hour, remove the halves of the pod from the pan, strain the liquid through a fine sieve and cool. Combine egg yolks and granulated sugar in a separate container. Stir with a whisk, gradually pouring in the flavored cream. An important condition: the products are mixed carefully. To prevent air bubbles from forming on the surface. The yolk cream must acquire the required density.
Pour the semi-finished product into refractory ceramic molds with a volume of 150-200 ml. Place them in a baking dish, gently pour in boiling water so that it reaches the middle of the cream molds. Place the structure in an oven preheated to 150 degrees. Creme brulee takes about an hour to cook. During this time, the mass thickens, but remains elastic and sways slightly when the molds move.
Remove the crème brulee from the oven, remove the molds from the water, cool and refrigerate for 4 hours. Sprinkle fine brown sugar over the surface of the dessert and quickly burn with a gas burner. The sugar will melt and form a crispy, ruddy brown crust. If there is no gas burner, an oven with a grill function will help. The molds are placed under the grill for 5-7 minutes, making sure that the crust is crispy and crispy. Keep the crème brulee in the refrigerator before serving.
Classic meringue: a step by step recipe
Meringue (translated from French "kiss") is a delicate airy cake based on egg whites. It is not baked, but dried in the oven, ready-made meringues can be served as an independent dessert or used to decorate petit fours and cakes. For the meringue to work, the dishes must be spotlessly clean, without the slightest trace of grease.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg white;
- 55 g icing sugar;
- 0.5 tsp lemon juice.
Beat the protein in a deep container using a mixer, gradually increasing the speed. When the mass begins to foam, add lemon juice, it will make the mass more shiny. Continue whisking at maximum speed, adding in portions of powdered sugar. The mixer must be moved over the surface so that the mass is mixed evenly. The meringue is whipped until high, strong peaks that hold their shape well.
Place the items from the pastry bag on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Place it in an oven preheated to 90-100 degrees. Products should not be baked, but dry evenly, becoming fragile and airy. Gently remove the finished meringue cakes on a board, cool and put in a vase.
Chocolate fondant: a favorite treat
French people of all ages love chocolate: dark and white, milky and bitter. It serves as the basis for many popular desserts. A simple and delicious option is a cupcake with hot liquid chocolate inside, served with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients:
- 175 g dark chocolate;
- 175 g butter;
- 4 eggs;
- 200 g caster sugar or powdered sugar;
- 90 g flour;
- 1 tsp creamy liqueur or light rum.
Beat eggs with sugar until fluffy. Melt the butter on the stove, add the chopped chocolate, stir and heat until the mixture is smooth. To prevent the mass from burning, it is better to cook it in a water bath, stirring with a spatula.
When the chocolate is completely melted, remove the container from the stove and cool slightly. Add the chocolate and butter in portions to the egg-sugar mixture, without stopping whipping. Add sifted flour and stir gently. Pour in liquor or rum.
Fill silicone molds with batter to half the volume, during the baking process, the fondants rise a lot. Place the molds in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees, bake for 5-7 minutes. You cannot keep the muffins in the oven for a long time, the sponge cake must remain liquid inside. Take out the molds, remove the fondants and arrange them on the plates. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Tart Taten: the famous inverted pie
A light and not too high-calorie dessert, which is usually prepared for Sunday lunch. The baking process is very entertaining: first the fruits are placed in the mold, and then the dough base. When serving, the pie is turned onto a platter. Tart Taten can be made with peaches, plums or pears, but the real classics are juicy aromatic apples of late varieties.
Ingredients:
- 200 g wheat flour;
- 100 g butter;
- 6 tbsp. l. ice water.
For filling:
- 70 g butter;
- 1 kg of ripe apples;
- 120 g sugar;
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon.
Sift the flour into a bowl, cut the cold butter into pieces or rub on a coarse grater. Rub the mixture with your hands until it turns into crumbs. Pour in ice water, knead a dense elastic dough. Collect it in a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.
Wash, peel and core the apples. Cut the fruits into large neat slices. Heat 70 ml of butter in a frying pan, sprinkle sugar evenly and wait until it acquires a golden hue. Put apple slices in caramel, sprinkle with cinnamon and heat for 10 minutes.
Transfer the apples to a lightly oiled baking dish and pour over the caramel from the skillet. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, roll it into a layer and put it on the fruit, slightly tucking the edges inward. Make several punctures on the cake, place the product in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the dough is browned. Turn the finished tart onto a platter, garnish with vanilla ice cream. Serve warm.
