Sweet Recipes From France

Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.

From Recipes From All Nations by Countess Morphy, 1946.

Sweets

The “sweet” course of a French meal is something entirely different from the “sweet” course in England. In this country it is part of the real “feeding” process of a meal, and a pudding or pie is an essential ending to an already heavy meal. In France it is a survival of the old dessert, when, after a meal, the table was cleared and a dessert was then put on the table, consisting of various kinds of light pastry, fruit compotes, crystallized fruit, fresh fruit, creams, ices, a variety of cheeses, biscuits and odds and ends.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the confiseurs vied in making the most elaborate decorative candy, sugar and pastry works for “dessert,” and whole gardens, with miniature trees and flowers, either in edible materials or as a background for such, appeared on the table. But this course, coming after three elaborate “services,” was by way of a dainty and happy ending to the serious business of eating. The gourmet would make his selection and perhaps choose, among all these delicacies, a luscious pear, or a tempting morsel of cheese. And so the modem French sweet entremets still retains its light and airy character, and is rarely heavy or stodgy.

Beignets Soufflés ou Pets de Nonne (Soufflé fritters)

This light entremets is popular in every French household throughout France, and although the dictionary tells us that the English translation is “doughnuts,” it is entirely different, both in the ingredients and the making, from what we call doughnuts in this country.

Ingredients: For six people: a little less than 1 gill of cold water, ¼ lb. of flour, 2 ozs. of butter, 3 large eggs or 4 small ones, a little sugar, a pinch of salt, flavouring according to taste—lemon, orange flower, or vanilla.

Method: Put the water in a saucepan with the butter, divided in small pieces, a pinch, of salt and a little sugar. Bring to the boil on a quick fire, and as soon as the mixture bubbles remove from the fire, add all the flour, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon till the paste is perfectly smooth. Replace the saucepan on the fire and turn the paste with the spoon till it begins to dry and no longer clings to the bottom of the pan. Remove the saucepan from the fire, and stir in the eggs, one at a time, making sure that each egg is well absorbed before adding the next. The paste should be well stirred and beaten, in order that it should be light. Shape into small balls, no bigger than a walnut, either with the hand or with a spoon, and drop in a deep frying-pan of boiling fat. Cook till the “beignets” are a golden colour, and have swelled to three times their original size. Roll in castor sugar and serve at once.

Fromage à la Crème (Cream cheese)

This delicious sour milk cheese is a great luncheon dish in France, and is nearly always eaten with sugar. When wild strawberries are in season they are often served with fromage a la creme.

Ingredients: For a cheese sufficient for four people: 2 ½ pints of milk, a few tablespoons of cream.

Method: Put the milk in a jug and keep it in a warm place till it sours and becomes solid. On no account must the milk be soured with rennet. When solid, put it in a piece of butter muslin, gather the ends together to form a bag, and hang this over a basin in a cool place to drain for twelve hours or so. It is then put in a basin, mixed with a little milk, and sometimes put into a mould or a special heart-shaped wicker basket, to shape it, but this is not essential. When dished up a little cream is poured over it.

Oeufs à la Neige (Snow eggs)

Ingredients: For six people: 6 eggs, ¾ pint of milk, 6 ozs. of lump sugar or sugar crystals, 5 ozs. of castor sugar, flavouring of vanilla, lemon, etc., according to taste.

Method: Put the milk, lump sugar and flavouring in a saucepan. This should not be very deep, as the poaching of the eggs becomes difficult. Bring to the boil, stirring well so that the sugar melts. Beat the whites to a very stiff froth—test whether it is sufficiently stiff by placing an egg on it. If the egg does not sink, the whites are sufficiently beaten. Now add the castor sugar to the whites, beating steadily. Put a little beaten white of egg in a spoon, and with a knife smooth it and give it the shape of an egg. Drop these, one at a time, in the boiling milk, and after 1 ½ minutes turn each “egg” carefully with a fork, so that the upper side gets cooked. Leave them in for exactly 2 minutes more—not longer, or they will collapse. Remove from the milk with a perforated spoon, and drain either on a large sieve or on a clean cloth.

The milk is now strained through a sieve. Beat the yolks and add the warm milk to them gradually. Put back on the fire and stir till the mixture begins to thicken. When quite cold put in a glass dish and add the whites, which will float on the surface.

Baba au Rhum (Cake with rum)

Ingredients: ½ lb. of flour, 1 level tablespoon of yeast, 3 tablespoons of unboiled, but warm milk, 3 ozs. of butter, 3 large eggs or 4 small ones, 1 ½ level tablespoons of sugar, a pinch of salt, 3 ozs. of stoned raisins.

For the syrup which is poured over it: 6 ozs. of lump sugar, 1 gill of water, and 6 tablespoons of rum.

Method: Sift the flour in a terrine or a salad bowl, and make a well in the centre. Put the yeast in the middle and with the fingers mix with the warm milk and a little of the flour. Cover the yeast lightly with the flour and let it stand for 5 or 6 minutes. Now add the eggs, which should have been well mixed in a basin, and work with the hands for a few minutes, adding another tablespoon of milk. Knead for about 5 minutes. Cover the basin and stand in a warm place for 30 minutes. Add the melted butter, the salt and the sugar to the paste and work for another 5 minutes, mixing in the raisins. Grease a Turk’s head mould, fill it only half way, and set to rise in a warm place. When it has risen almost to the top of the mould it is ready to bake. Put in a moderate oven and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove at once from the mould and put on a wire tray. Make a syrup with the water and sugar, and as soon as the sugar is dissolved let the mixture boil for 1 or 2 minutes. When nearly cold, add the rum, place the baba on a dish and pour the syrup over it. Babas are often made in small fluted cake moulds.

Compote de Cerises (Cherry compote)

Fruit compotes are as popular in France as stewed fruit in England, and there are few French homes in which a compote of some kind of fruit is absent from the table.

Ingredients: 1 lb. of ripe, sweet, but perfectly sound red cherries, ¼ lb. of crystallized sugar, just under a gill of water.

Method: Wash the cherries and drain thoroughly. Make a syrup with the sugar and water and, when it begins to boil, put in the cherries. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. The cherries should be slightly soft, but not lose their shape or become at all shrivelled. When done, put the cherries on a glass dish and simmer the syrup-till it begins to thicken slightly, when it is poured over the fruit. Let stand till quite cold.

Pain Perdu (“Lost Bread”)

This family entremets is extremely popular in France, and when properly prepared, is excellent.

Ingredients: A few slices of stale bread, cut from a sandwich loaf, the yolks of 2 eggs, a little milk, essence of vanilla, 1 tablespoon of castor sugar, butter, a little icing sugar.

Method: Cut the bread into neat slices, not too thin, and remove the crust. Damp them with a little milk, previously boiled with 1 tablespoon of sugar and a good teaspoon of vanilla essence, and quite cold. Be careful not to get the bread sodden as it will break. Now dip the slices of bread in the beaten yolks of eggs, coating them evenly on both sides, and fry to a golden colour in hot, clarified butter. When done drain them on a clean cloth, then send to table on a dish, on a folded napkin, having sprinkled them freely with icing sugar or castor sugar.

Soufflé au Chocolat (Chocolate soufflé)

Souffles are very much in favour as an entremets in France, and are made with a variety of flavourings.

Ingredients: 3 ozs. of finely grated chocolate, the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 5, ½ pint of milk, 3 level tablespoons of sugar, 1 level tablespoon of flour, 1 1/2 of butter.

Method: Put the butter in a saucepan and, when melted, work in the flour gradually to a smooth paste. Add, very gradually, the boiling milk, flavoured with a little vanilla essence, stirring well. Remove from the fire, and when still warm, but not hot, add the beaten yolks of eggs, mix well, and stir over a slow fire, without boiling, till the mixture just begins to thicken. Add the chocolate, and stir. Remove from the fire and, when quite cold, add the whites of eggs beaten to a very stiff froth. Butter a souffle dish and pour in the mixture, filling only three-quarters full, as it will rise. Put in a moderate oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or till it has risen above the dish. Sprinkle with a little castor sugar and serve at once.

Choux à la Crème et Eclairs (Cream “choux” and “eclairs”)

These delicious cakes are often served as an entremets in France, along with petits fours and other friandises.

Ingredients: The same paste as for Beignets souffles (see p. 73). For the filling of the choux or the eclairs: ½ pint of milk, 2 ½ ozs. of sifted flour, 4 whole eggs, a pinch of salt, 7 ozs. of castor sugar. Flavouring to taste.

Method: Add the flavouring to the boiling milk and let stand for to minutes or so. Put the eggs, the sugar, flour, and the pinch of salt in a saucepan, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add the milk very gradually, and keep stirring continuously. Put the saucepan on a slow fire, and stir without ceasing till the cream comes to the boil, stir for a minute or two more, then remove the saucepan from the fire. Use when cold.

The paste for the choux is put on baking tins in the shape of small balls, and the eclairs are shaped in lengths of about 4 inches. Both are brushed over with a little beaten yolk of egg. Put in a moderate oven and bake till a golden colour. This will take about 25 to 30 minutes. When quite cold, carefully open the choux and the eclairs and garnish with the cream.

Les Crêpes (Pancakes)

From time immemorial pancakes have been one of the most popular of French entremets. There are various recipes for making them, and they are garnished in different ways. The recipe given below is for crepes a la Parisienne.

Ingredients: ½ lb. of flour, 3 ozs. of sugar, 5 eggs, 8 tablespoons of cream, 1 tablespoon of brandy, a pinch of salt, 1 ½ ozs. of butter, ½ pint of milk, 4 ozs. of finely crushed macaroons.

Method: Put the flour, sugar and the pinch of salt in a terrine or a salad bowl, make a well in the centre, and put in the eggs, one at a time, mixing in the flour gradually with a wooden spoon. Then add the milk, to which the melted butter has been added gradually, and start beating the mixture. Finally, add the cream and the crushed macaroons. Let the mixture stand in the kitchen for at least one hour, and then add the brandy just before making the pancakes. Put a very small piece of butter in a small frying-pan and, when hot, put a little of the mixture into it, tipping the pan from side to side so that, there is a thin and even layer all over the pan. Cook one side till done, then toss and do the other side. Fold, sprinkle with sugar, and serve very hot. Hot brandy is sometimes poured over the pancakes and set alight.

The famous Crepes Suzettes are made in the same manner, omitting the brandy, cream and macaroons in the batter. Before folding, the Crepes Suzettes are smeared with butter, worked to a cream with equal parts of sugar, flavoured with Curagoa and the juice of tangerines. They are usually served flambees—hot Curaçoa being poured over them and set alight just before serving.

Raisiné (Grape juice jam)

The raisiné is a kind of jam which is made from grape juice. There is the plain raisiné, made with grape juice, and the raisiné compose, to which various kinds of other fruit are added. It is especially popular in the wine-growing districts of France, where grapes are cheap and plentiful. It is quite simple to make— the grapes are rubbed through a sieve and put in a preserving pan and set on the fire till the mixture thickens and has the consistency of jam. It is then put in pots, well sealed, and kept in a dry place.

Morphy, Countess. Recipes of All Nations. H. Joseph. 1946.

Countess Morphy

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