Always a front-runner to garnish crêpes or for being smeared over sliced baguettes, Hazelnut Chocolate Spread is a definite star of the French breakfast table. Perfectly creamy, but less sweet and more robust in hazelnut flavor than most store-bought brands, this homemade hazelnut chocolate spread recipe focuses on two star ingredients – roasted hazelnuts and milk chocolate – for a taste and texture that’s as addictive as can be.
We’re putting yet another French twist on an American classic! Today’s recipe revisits classic fudgy Brownies, but with the addition of pecans and Fleur de Sel – a star ingredient of French cuisine. These brownies are deeply chocolatey, chewy in the center with crunchy bits of pecans, and topped with that shiny crackly top we all love. Fleur de Sel also sprinkled over top makes all the flavors pop and makes them even more addictive.
A “moelleux” is a very casual yet scrumptious French cake made with the simplest of ingredients and a generous amount of butter, for a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The crumb is rich and a little dense, which makes it the perfect vessel for ripe Summer berries or stone fruits. After last Summer’s success of my Plum Moelleux Cake recipe, I present today my Fresh Strawberry Moelleux Cake – just as easy to make and equally delicious.
This Classic French Pear Cake features tender pear chunks nestled in a light and airy crumb, flavored with almond extract. Right before baking, the cake gets dusted with sugar to create a signature crackly top. It’s super-easy to make and is just sweet enough, with a delightful more-pear-than-crumb-ratio. If you love pears, this recipe will become a staple in your repertoire.
This Gluten-Free Apple Crisp is proof that healthier desserts don’t have to be boring. Made of melty apples under a crisp gluten-free topping of ground almond, oats and pecans, this rustic dessert is pure comfort. I love how it’s a snap to prepare, it doesn’t have to look perfect and it’s a delicious crowd pleaser.
A Breton Pound Cake, known as “Quatre-Quarts” (four quarters) is the ubiquitous French snacking cake. It’s simple, not-too-sweet, just dense enough to be eaten with your hands and full of buttery flavors. This version is studded with lightly caramelized apple chunks to keep it moist and irresistible. A great year-round recipe for your baking repertoire!
Rye flour, a good amount of honey and a unique spice blend are the key components of a great Classic French Spiced Bread – also known as Pain d’Épices. This cross between a cake and a bread is a holiday staple in France. It can be found on most Christmas market stalls, sold in big slabs. It is also a favorite to make amongst home bakers as it is a really simple recipe that makes the house smell wonderful. This is a perfect crowd pleaser for the Holidays.
If there’s one French Holiday cookie recipe to have in your repertoire, this is the one. These Butter sablés from the Alsace region, known as “butterbredele”, are the most common cut-out cookies made and enjoyed over the Holidays in France. They are buttery, subtly flavored with lemon zest and satisfyingly crisp yet sandy.
Holiday baking season has officially started! So let’s make a delicious batch of Linzele cookies (also known as “Boules de Linz”). These little Holiday treats are a specialty from Alsace, France – a region that has an extensive repertoire of Holiday cookies.
Known in French as “croquants”, these little twice-baked cookies may remind you of the Italian biscotti, but I promise they are French through and through. They are very popular in the South of France, and especially in Provence, where almonds grow abundantly. Just like biscotti, they are quick and easy to assemble, cut cross-ways and twice baked for an incomparable crispness. And they are very hard to stop at one!
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