The Little Paris Kitchen (10 page)

Light, airy puffs covered with pearl sugar (coarse sugar that doesn't melt),
chouquettes
are less well known than profiteroles and éclairs, their choux-pastry cousins.
Chouquette
is derived from
chou
(cabbage), and the French use the endearing expression
mon petit chou
for their loved ones. “My little cabbage” doesn't have quite the same ring in English, though, does it? Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to hand.

MAKES 20–30

• ½ cup water • ½ cup milk • 7 tbsp butter, cubed • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp sugar • 1
⅓
cups bread flour
*
• 4 eggs • confectioners' sugar, for dusting • ½ cup pearl sugar (also called nibbed or hail sugar)
**

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the water and milk into a pan and add the butter, salt, and sugar. Place the pan on a high heat and melt the butter. Turn the heat down to low and add all of the flour. Beat hard. At this point the mixture will have the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes. Continue beating until you have a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan without sticking.

Take the pan off the heat and continue to beat until the dough is cold enough to touch. Mix in the eggs one at a time—the batter will go lumpy when you add them, but beating continuously will smooth it out. Once all the eggs are incorporated and the mixture is smooth, put the dough into a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch nozzle. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, dotting a little dough in each corner to stick the paper down.

To pipe the
chouquettes
, hold the nozzle at a 90-degree angle about ¼ inch from the pan. Keep the nozzle upright and pipe a walnut-sized ball of dough, then quickly flick the nozzle sideways to stop the dough trailing. Repeat to make 20–30
chouquettes
, with a ¾-inch gap between. If they come out too pointy, dip your finger in some water and gently pat the points down; otherwise they will burn in the oven.

Dust the
chouquettes
with confectioners' sugar and then leave for a minute before sprinkling with the pearl sugar. Repeat with a second layer of confectioners' sugar before baking for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Chouquettes
are best eaten straightaway, but they can be kept in an airtight container for several days. To crisp up, bake at 300°F for 5 minutes.

Preparation time: 30 minutes Baking time: 20
–
30 minutes

The savory version of
Chouquettes
(
page 84
). They are traditionally sprinkled with a strong cheese, like a mature Comté, but I like them topped with black sesame seeds, herbs, and spices too. These savory, salty puffs are seriously moreish. Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to hand.

MAKES 20–30

• ½ cup water • ½ cup milk • 7 tbsp butter, cubed • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp sugar • a pinch of chile powder • 1
⅓
cups bread flour •
⅔
cup grated mature hard or semi-hard cheese (e.g., Gruyère, Comté, Parmesan, or Cheddar) • 2 tbsp finely chopped herbs, e.g., parsley, cilantro, basil, or chives (optional) • 4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the water and milk into a pan and add the butter, salt, sugar, and chile powder. Place the pan on a high heat and melt the butter. Turn the heat down to low and add all of the flour. Beat hard. At this point the mixture will have the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes. Add two-thirds of the grated cheese and then the chopped herbs (if using). Continue beating until you have a smooth paste that does not stick to the sides of the pan.

Take the pan off the heat and continue to beat until the pastry is cold enough to touch. Mix in the eggs one at the time. The batter will go lumpy when you add them, but beating continuously will smooth it out. Once all the eggs are incorporated and the mixture is smooth, put the dough into a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch nozzle. Line several baking sheets with parching paper, dotting a little dough in each corner to stick down the paper.

To pipe the
gougères
, hold the nozzle at a 90-degree angle about ¼ inch from the tray. Keep the nozzle upright and pipe a walnut-sized ball of dough, then quickly flick the nozzle sideways to stop the dough trailing. Repeat to make 20–30
gougères
, leaving a ¾-inch gap between each one. If they come out too pointy in shape, dip your finger in some water and gently pat the points down, otherwise they will burn in the oven. Sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese
*
before baking for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Gougères
are best eaten straightaway, but they can be kept in an airtight container for several days. To crisp up, bake at 300°F for 5 minutes.

*
Instead of the cheese topping, you could have a sprinkling of poppy, nigella, caraway, or sesame seeds, or you could top the
gougères
with both the cheese and the seeds
.

Preparation time: 30 minutes Baking time: 20 minutes

This recipe was given to me by my friend Frankie Unsworth who, like me, studied
pâtisserie
at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Frankie says, “The lemon curd may take its inspiration from Melbourne's Cumulus Inc., but the basic recipe harks back to our Cordon Bleu days, when Rachel and I learned how to make this
goûter
treat. The batter can be made in advance, then baked in time for tea—madeleines should always be eaten fresh from the oven.”

MAKES 20–24

For the lemon curd:
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon • a pinch of salt • 3 tbsp sugar • 3 tbsp butter • 2 egg yolks

• 3 eggs •
⅔
cup sugar • 1½ cups all-purpose flour • 2 tsp baking powder • finely grated zest of 1 lemon • 1½ tbsp honey • ¼ cup milk • ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled • 1-pt basket of raspberries • confectioners' sugar, for dusting

MAKE THE LEMON CURD:
Put the lemon zest and juice, salt, sugar, and butter into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar and butter have melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then add to the pan and whisk vigorously. Return the pan to a low heat and whisk constantly as the curd starts to thicken. Don't stop whisking or the eggs will curdle (if the curd starts to boil, take off the heat). Once the curd thickens and releases a bubble or two, remove from the heat, and pass the curd through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap in direct contact with the curd and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and frothy. Measure the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl and add the lemon zest. Mix the honey and milk with the cool butter, then add to the eggs. In two batches, fold in the flour. Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a 12-shell madeleine pan. Put the lemon curd into a piping bag fitted with a small, pointed nozzle and place in the fridge.

Put a heaped tablespoon of batter into each madeleine shell and press a raspberry deep into the batter. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the oven off for 1 minute (the madeleines will get their signature peaks), then turn the oven on to 325°F and bake for another 5 minutes. Transfer the madeleines to a wire rack and leave for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, wash and dry the pan, then repeat the baking as for the first batch. While the second batch is baking, pop the piping nozzle into the mound in each baked madeleine and squirt in a teaspoon's worth of lemon curd. Repeat with the second batch, then dust with confectioners' sugar and serve straightaway.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Resting time: a few hours
–
overnight
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 22 minutes

Quatre-quarts
is the French equivalent of pound cake. It's a recipe that most French cooks know of by heart because it's so simple to remember. As its name suggests, it has four main ingredients (flour, sugar, eggs, and butter).
C'est tout!

SERVES 6–8

• 4 eggs • 1¼ cups superfine sugar • 2 cups all-purpose flour • a pinch of salt • finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange • 1 tsp baking powder • 1 cup butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Separate the eggs. In a bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with half of the sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar until thick and pale in color.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, zest, and baking powder together.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, then pour in the melted and cooled butter, stirring gently until the butter is just incorporated into the mix. Finally, carefully fold in the egg whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then bake for 35–40 minutes or until the point of a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

The cake is best eaten the same day, but it will keep in an airtight container for a day or two.

Preparation time: 20 minutes Baking time: 35
–
40 minutes