If you have my first book “Les desserts de Bernard”, you may have noticed my macaroon recipes which are the ones I give during my workshops. And maybe you saw…]]>
If you have my first book “Les desserts de Bernard”, you may have noticed my macaroon recipes which are the ones I give during my workshops. And maybe you saw my wonderful vanilla ganache? I systematically give it a taste during my classes and every time the students love it. I wanted to find this sensation in small pots of cream with the same creaminess as in Clo’s caramel creams. And by adding fresh raspberries, it’s really incredibly sweet. A perfect texture and a fresh and bewitching taste, I present you my last little folly to make you forget the swimsuits of this summer!
Recipe for 6 wonderful creams:
- 30g of sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 250ml full cream
- 250ml of milk
- 80g of egg yolk
- 220g white chocolate (Valrhona ivory couverture)
- 2+1/4 gelatin sheets
- 250g of fresh raspberries
Start by emptying the inside of the vanilla bean into the yolks mixed with 15g of sugar.
Meanwhile, bring the milk, the emptied clove, the cream and the remaining 15g of sugar to a simmer over low heat.
Whisk the yolks/sugar/vanilla together to whiten and fluff as much as possible. Since there isn’t much sugar, it won’t bleach that much.
Pour the liquid over the foamy mixture while mixing.
Return to the pan over low heat and while stirring, bring to 88°C. So it’s a custard you’re making, just much less sweet.
The cream must be well coated.
Off the heat (you can turn it off!) add the soaked and wrung out gelatin sheets.
Then the white chocolate. I used Valrhona Ivory couverture.
Pour off the heat and mix thoroughly. If there is a problem with the appearance, you can use a hand blender.
So ! Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Why let it cool? Because otherwise the raspberries will cook! Place fresh raspberries in small ramekins.
And pour the cream on top.
Leave in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before tasting…
I have been a fan of porridge for a long time. Not the one with water, but the very rich one with milk and a little butter in it. I used to do it a lot when I was younger and all of a sudden I had a huge urge to do it! I brought back some beautiful raspberries on a trip, mostly for the photo, but you can do without them (it’s not in season here) with just a pinch of cinnamon and a little more butter. A simple recipe for a breakfast full of energy!
Recipe for 2 or 3 or 4 people…
- 115g of oatmeal
- 50g of honey
- 500ml of semi-skimmed milk
- 20g of semi-salted butter
- cinnamon
- choice of fruits
Put the oats and honey in a saucepan.
Pour in the milk and stir over low heat.
Add the semi-salted butter.
Add a good pinch of cinnamon.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly over low heat.
The texture should be smooth. At least that’s how I like it!
Serve immediately. I know it’s a bit of an indecency, but I also add a little piece of salted butter that I put in the porridge. It melts very quickly I can’t resist it! Or maybe you are more reasonable than I am, and you put fresh fruit in it…
It’s been a long time since I’ve offered you a pie. I wanted one that was a little old-fashioned, with little crisscrosses of dough on top and a tantalizingly sweet smell of orange and dried fruit as it baked. It’s done with this tart with soft dried apricots, prunes, walnuts and orange zest with a delicious hazelnut powder pastry, ideal to warm up in the heart of winter…
Recipe for the dried fruit tart for a circle of 18cm by 2.5 high (adapt the recipe to another size!):
Dough:
- 210g of flour
- 125g of butter
- 35g of powdered sugar
- 40g of roasted hazelnut powder
- one 50g egg
Prank call:
- 75g of semi-salted butter
- 115g of apricot jam
- 160g soft dried apricots
- 120g of de-stoned prunes
- 110g of nuts
- zest of an unwaxed orange
Put the cold butter in pieces with the flour, powdered sugar and hazelnut powder in a container or in the bowl of your mixer. I put roasted hazelnut powder here. You can use classic hazelnut powder or even almond powder.
Mix until you have a sandy consistency with the sheet of your mixer or with your fingertips (so as not to heat the butter). Then add the 50g of egg.
Mix just enough to make a smooth paste, but don’t overdo it.
Form a ball and wrap in cling film and chill for one hour.
Spread on a parchment paper with the help of a little flour, on a thickness of 3mm.
Fill the circle (or a classic mold) placed on the parchment paper.
Make sure to fill in the right angle between the edge of the circle and the bottom. Then cut off the excess dough.
Melt the butter and jam in a saucepan or microwave oven.
Add the soft dried apricots and chopped prunes.
Crushed nuts.
And the orange zest.
Take a deep breath, because the smell is ultra enticing!
Fill the pie and flatten it out.
Cut strips in the remaining dough with a serrated wheel (even with a knife…).
Arrange them on top of the pie in overlapping crisscrosses.
Trim the excess and press the strips tightly to the edge of the circle.
Chill for 40 minutes then bake for 45 minutes at 180°C.
Carefully remove from a baking rack and let cool before eating!
It’s winter, you have to enjoy it!
I still keep a few recipes secret (I have a notebook full of wonders) and this was almost one of them. I had told you about the Beillevaire cake (see the report HERE), but I am also a lover of Baramel gingerbread. I love their texture, their flavor and especially their super soft and caramelized crust (which is not a crust anymore). There is no egg in their gingerbread. Here I have composed my recipe with this spirit, namely a soft and firm texture and a tender crust. It is not strictly speaking gingerbread, because I put butter and eggs in it. If you wait until the next day to taste it, it will develop its full potential. Very different from the gingerbread I gave you(THERE), this little one quickly became my new favorite with its orange flavor and nuts.
Recipe for gingerbread with orange and nuts:
- 50g semi-salted butter
- 50g of caster sugar
- 170g of liquid honey
- 155g of orange marmalade
- 220g of flour
- 1/4 level teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 level teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/4 level teaspoon of allspice
- 95g egg (break 2 eggs into an omelette and weigh 95g)
- 65g of nuts (you can leave them out)
Place the butter, sugar, orange marmalade and honey in a saucepan. Heat over low heat just to melt the butter.
In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, 4-spice and baking soda.
Pour the liquid over the flour and mix briskly with a whisk.
Add the eggs (in the picture there is only one, don’t take it into account!).
Finish with the nuts.
The dough is ready!
Pour the batter into your pan. I used small cardboard molds, which are handy to take with me or to give as gifts. You can of course bake the gingerbread in a classic buttered and floured pan. The important thing is to have the dough three quarters of the way up.
The quantity of dough is suitable for a small mold of 160X80mm. But you can make several small gingerbread.
The quantity of dough is suitable for a small mold of 160X80mm. But you can make several small gingerbread.
Bake at 145°C for 55 minutes. Check for doneness and adapt to your own oven and the size of the pan you choose. The dough should be cooked and the crust nicely browned.
Let cool overnight in the pan. The crust will get all chewy. The next day you can wrap it in cling film to preserve it.
Gingerbread with Orange and Nuts
I still keep a few recipes secret (I have a notebook full of wonders) and this was almost one of them. I had told you about the Beillevaire cake (see the report HERE), but I am also a lover of Baramel gingerbread. I love their texture, their flavor and especially their super soft and caramelized crust (which is not a crust anymore). There is no egg in their gingerbread. Here I have composed my recipe with this spirit, namely a soft and firm texture and a tender crust. It is not strictly speaking gingerbread, because I put butter and eggs in it. If you wait until the next day to taste it, it will develop its full potential. Very different from the gingerbread I gave you(THERE), this little one quickly became my new favorite with its orange flavor and nuts.
Ingredients
- 50 g semi-salted butter
- 50 g caster sugar
- 170 g liquid honey
- 155 g orange marmelade
- 220 g flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 95 g egg (break 2 eggs into an omelette and weight 95g)
- 65 g nuts (you can leave them out)
Instructions
- Place the butter, sugar, orange marmalade and honey in a saucepan. Heat over low heat just to melt the butter.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, 4-spice and baking soda.
- Pour the liquid over the flour and mix briskly with a whisk.
- Add the eggs (in the picture there is only one, don't take it into account!).
- Finish with the nuts.
- The dough is ready!
- Pour the batter into your pan. I used small cardboard molds, which are handy to take with me or to give as gifts. You can of course bake the gingerbread in a classic buttered and floured pan. The important thing is to have the dough three quarters of the way up.The quantity of dough is suitable for a small mold of 160X80mm. But you can make several small gingerbread.
- Bake at 145°C for 55 minutes. Check for doneness and adapt to your own oven and the size of the pan you choose. The dough should be cooked and the crust nicely browned.
- Let cool overnight in the pan. The crust will get all chewy. The next day you can wrap it in cling film to preserve it.
Nutrition
Serving: 4peopleCalories: 650kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 9gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 596mgPotassium: 246mgFiber: 4gSugar: 75gVitamin A: 388IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 144mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I am a fan of flapjacks and I reserve this recipe for lovers of this oatmeal bar, as it may seem surprising to others. I suggest this rich and decadent version with almonds. I put some in the dough and on top. But I also put jam in the center to keep them even softer. You won’t be eating it all by yourself, that’s for sure! A small square will be enough to get back on track…
Recipe for a 18cm square mold
- 200g of soft butter
- 300g of raspberry jam
- 310g of oatmeal
- 50g of sugar
- 60g almond powder
For the top:
- 100g of raspberry jam
- 100g slivered almonds
Put the butter in a saucepan over low heat to melt.
Mix together the sugar and oatmeal (I used quaker oats!).
Pour everything into the pan.
Mix, still on low heat.
Add jam and almond powder.
Mix and set aside off the heat.
Pour half into a square dish lined with 18cm parchment paper.
Pour in a tablespoon or two of raspberry jam and spread evenly.
Pour in the second half and spread. do this slowly because the jam must be well covered.
You can do without it, but I love slivered almonds! In a bowl, combine the slivered almonds and jam.
Spread over the entire surface of the dough.
That’s it!
Bake at 170°C for about 20 minutes.
Let cool and cut into squares. Store them in an airtight box away from humidity.
Right now, I don’t have as much time as I would like to devote to my blog. The paradox is that I don’t have that kind of time, because I’m 100% on my workshop project and the “physical” version of the blog. This place where I could work and experiment with new recipes, day and night! I’ve also just returned from Milan, where I was able to taste a lot of good things, including this sweet cake with olive oil and white wine. There are plenty of delicacies made with one of these ingredients: canistrellis, zezettes de Sète, rosco de vino, but here it’s a simple sweet cake that I had seen and devoured in Italy. So I suggest this recipe, because it is very amazing in taste, delicious and very quick to make. You can roll it out by hand for a more rustic, imperfect look, which I also love at times!
Recipe for a large cake to share:
150g flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 good pinch of salt
70g of sugar
65g of olive oil
40ml of sweet white wine
Mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
Pour in the olive oil.
Mix by hand or with the leaf of your food processor.
Finally, pour in the white wine and mix just enough to bring the dough into a ball.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Spread it out by hand into a flat disk.
Tap with your fingers to make the surface irregular.
Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes at 180°C. Adapt the cooking to your oven. The dough should be golden brown.
Carefully transfer the cake to a wire rack and let it cool.
Keep it in an airtight box. Open the box in case of emergency and sugar craving!
Some of you may remember my report on the pastry shop “Le Valentin” already two years ago. I had been received for several days to learn and watch. A real privileged moment. I still have in my reserves many recipes that they had given me with their agreement to diffuse them here. I am posting today the recipe of their emblematic shortbread, because it is right next to the Grévin museum: the Grévin shortbread! I have known him for years and even went to this bakery more than 10 years ago to devour him. I give you the real recipe here. This wonderful shortbread with its hazelnut, lemon, pistachio, caramel and walnut flavors won’t last long before our hungry stomachs!
Grevin shortbread recipe:
For a 30x40cm plate.
Dough:
-225g of butter
-125g powdered sugar
-250g of flour
-125g of hazelnut powder
-5g of cinnamon
-75g of egg
-1 lemon peel
Caramel:
-100g butter
-30g of water
-30g of liquid cream
-75g of honey
-175g of sugar
-125g of chopped nuts or pecans
-125g of pistachios
Put the hazelnut powder, flour, powdered sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl.
Add the butter cut into pieces.
Mix well with the sheet (the “k” of the robot) or with your fingertips until you obtain a sandy mixture .
To weigh 75g of egg, simply put two eggs in a bowl and beat them into an omelette.
Then pour them on the sandy mixture by weighing the 75g.
Add lemon zest.
Then mix again just until the dough comes together.
Wrap the dough in cling film and place in a flattened ball in a cool place for one hour.
When the dough has hardened, roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper into a 30x40cm sheet.
Note from Bernard: this dough is rich in butter, so it is quite difficult to spread: it sticks. Just chill it when it gets too sticky and help yourself to a little flour.
Put the dough in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes to cook it well.
Meanwhile, prepare the caramel: heat the honey in a saucepan.
When the honey boils, add the sugar in three additions, letting it melt and caramelize at each addition.
We then obtain a beautiful caramel.
In another saucepan, bring the cream, water and butter to a boil.
Pour the caramel into the butter-cream.
Bring this caramel to 116°C.
Pour the caramel over the baked pastry (it should be golden: on the picture it is not, it should look like a baked shortbread).
Spread the caramel over the entire surface of the shortbread.
Sprinkle with dried fruit: chopped nuts or pecans.
And the pistachios. At Valentin, they use crushed pistachios. I had whole pistachios and the result was delicious !
Return to the oven at 180°C for about ten minutes.
The Grévin shortbread is ready ! Cut into squares of desired size.
And here is the result!
At a brunch at a friend’s house, Carmella, I discovered some amazing cocoa and chocolate chip rolls. Of course I wanted to make some at home. Since I didn’t have a recipe, I had to develop it. Nothing difficult about it. It’s not really bread anymore, because I put some sugar, butter and cocoa in it, but it’s not a brioche either. It’s more of a hybrid bread that will be quite delicious sliced with a little semi-salted butter spread on it!
Ingredients for the cocoa and chocolate chip bread:
- 250g of T55 flour
- 30g of unsweetened cocoa
- 10g of sugar
- 1 packet of dry baker’s yeast
- 180ml of warm water
- 20g of semi-salted butter
- 100g of chocolate chunks or chips
Mix the flour and cocoa.
]]>Add the dry yeast.
And the sugar.
Mix then pour the water little by little while kneading with the hook. You can of course do all this by hand.
Knead for about ten minutes then add the semi-salted butter.
Knead again for 5 minutes.
Put a stretch film on the contact.
Let rise in a warm place for 1h30 to 2h. The dough doubles in volume.
Remove the gas from the dough by crushing it with your hands.
Add the chunks or nuggets.
Mix again.
I split the dough in half, but you can make just one large loaf.
Slightly cut the dough and let it rise again for 30 to 45 minutes.
Bake at 180°C for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and adjust the cooking time to your oven.
Delicious for breakfast with a little semi-salted butter spread on top!
Here is a recipe for my friends and readers who regularly ask me to post gluten-free, egg-free or butter-free sweets… It’s quite a challenge for me, because I like everything and I eat everything. But I wanted to take on the challenge of making gluten-free shortbread and find some cohesion and real crunch in it. So I present you my recipe that I developed after several trials and these patties are gluten free (wholemeal rice flour) without eggs (like shortbreads after all!) and without butter. I made all three “without” in one recipe. And the result? Delicious! These cookies are nice and crunchy, but also very tasty with their seeds and a touch of vanilla. Even without a special diet, I already know that I will do it again from time to time…
Shortbread recipe (for a dozen):
- 260g wholemeal rice flour
- 80g of whole cane sugar
- 40g of powdered sugar
- 115g margarine (or 130g butter)
- 5g of liquid vanilla extract
- 15g of water
- 35g of toasted sesame seeds
- 35g of flax seeds
- 35g of sunflower seeds
Mix the brown rice flour, brown sugar and powdered sugar
Add the liquid vanilla (hidden in the margarine) and margarine.
Mix and add water to form a ball of dough.
Mix the seeds. You can of course vary and put the ones you prefer!
Pour them in and mix well to incorporate them into the batter.
Roll out your dough to a thickness of 5-7mm then cut out the chosen shapes with a cookie cutter. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 170°C for 20 to 25 minutes. The patties should start to brown well.
Let them cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight box.
