Off The Shelf - ‘À La Mère de Famille - Artisanal Recipes’ by Julien Merceron

Bought at: Grosgrain Homewares - a gorgeous homewares store in Wahroonga (in Sydney, NSW). 

Recipes Made: Marshmallows pp.108-112, Passionfruit Caramel p.142 & Galette au Beurre p.214. Pistachio Paste p.160, Pistachio Cake p.22.

À La Mère de Famille, Paris.

I have always been a big fan of marshmallow, and I bought a packet of mixed marshmallows at À La Mère de Famille when we were there in 2014. They were nice, albeit a little sticky. A little while later I decided I needed to try and make some of my own and used À La Mère de Famille’s recipe. They turned out exactly as I remembered them from the shop, however didn’t cope very well in the humidity of a Sydney Summer. I found I needed to keep tossing them in the icing sugar and potato flour mix to stop them going wet and sticky. They were definitely nice, however this recipe has not become my go to marshmallow recipe. 

À La Mère de Famille Marshmallows (Raspberry & Passionfruit)

À La Mère de Famille Passionfruit Caramels

After visiting À La Mère de Famille in Paris, I knew I had to make some of the Passionfruit Caramels. I had bought a handful of them when I was there, and they were just so good I couldn’t fathom not eating another until the next time I was in Paris. Luckily the recipe is in their book. You definitely need a candy thermometer for this recipe, however many of the recipes in this book do as well, so it well worth getting one anyway. I found the caramels didn’t work as well when I made them in the heat and humidity of Summer, but worked better in the cooler months. I even went to the effort of buying candy wrappers for them, and I found plastic wrap fairly useless the first time around! 

À La Mère de Famille Passionfruit Caramels

À La Mère de Famille Passionfruit Caramels

À La Mère de Famille Passionfruit Caramels

To me the Galette au Beurre are kind of like the French version of shortbread. Lots of butter, however using icing sugar instead of caster sugar. This recipe makes a lot (about 50 biscuits), but they are that good that it’s worth having that many. I posted the recipe for them years ago here on the blog (one of the very early posts!), and I mention there that when I made them I took some to my Grandpa who was in a nursing home at the time. He seemed to like them, telling me later he had gotten up in the night to eat one! 

I made the Pistachio Paste recently, as I have been on a mission to recreate a pistachio ice cream/gelato. While the book does have a Pistachio ice cream recipe (p.250), I just added some of the Pistachio Paste to my easy egg free ice cream recipe. The flavour was quite nice but the ice cream froze really solid so I think I will need to try another recipe next time. The pistachio paste was relatively easy to make, as long as you have some kind of food processor. I made a half quantity of the recipe and used a mini food processor. As the paste has a sugar syrup in it, the paste firms up quite a lot when it cools. I’m not sure how easy it would be to add to other recipes once it is like this, it would probably need to be pureed again or lightly warmed to get it to incorporate properly. Considering however how difficult bought pistachio paste is to find here in Sydney, making it using this recipe is a great substitute. 

À La Mère de Famille Pistachio Cake

The final thing I have made so far from this book is the Pistachio Cake. It is relatively easy to make (no mixer required), and is meant to use the Pistachio Paste (p.160) from the same book. As I didn’t have enough left after making the ice cream, I used some of the Pistachio Butter I bought from the Royal Nut Company online. The cake turned out well, despite not knowing what size loaf tin I should be using (this book doesn’t seem to mention sizes or dimensions of anything unfortunately - for this cake I used one  22 x 10 x 9cm loaf tin). The green colour of my cake was probably a little muted from using pistachio butter rather than paste, but I think it still made a good substitute (though I should probably test with pistachio paste next time to really compare). If you don’t have access to good quality pistachio paste or butter, or can’t be bothered making some, I would recommend using this Pistachio Cake recipe instead to get your pistachio cake fix! 

Favourite Things About The Book: This book has an amazing variety of recipes from cakes, biscuits, chocolates, confectionary and ice creams. It really gives a great representation of what À La Mère de Famille is all about and the types of products they sell. It also gives a history of the store (which was established in 1761) periodically throughout the book which is lovely. 

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Pain d’Épice p.32, Praline Paste p.48, Pistachio Nougat p.154, Strawberry Pâte de Fruits p.168, Quince Paste p.176, Macaron de Nancy p.242, Pistachio Popsicle p.250.

À La Mère de Famille, Paris

Vanilla Sugar Madeleines + How to Make Vanilla Sugar

I love madeleines, and nothing beats a warm madeleine fresh from the oven in my opinion. While they are still great the next day, there is something so wonderful about a freshly baked madeleine. 

When I was in Paris a few years ago, I was determined to find a lovely freshly baked madeleine in one of the many patisseries I planned on going to. While I did try one at Ladurée, I distinctly remember thinking it wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as good as I had expected and sort of wished I had of ordered one the rose réligieuse my Mum was eating. Strangely I also saw packets of pre-made madeleines in the small supermarkets we stopped into to get milk, and felt quite surprised to see such a thing being sold. 

I did however find some lovely very tiny madeleine tins from the cooking supply shop E. Dehillerin. They wrapped them up in brown paper, and I have to admit I didn’t unwrap them for quite a while as it looked so pretty just like that. The shop looked as if it hadn’t changed since it opened in 1820, and buying something from there felt like stepping back in time. I oddly only bought one tray, I think I was overawed by all the baking goods and worried about luggage space, but since the madeleine moulds are so so small, you would need at least four trays to cook a whole batch at once! Hopefully one day I will return to Paris and add to my madeleine tray collection. 

How to make Vanilla Sugar

Use the left over vanilla bean pods - add one or two used vanilla bean pods to 1-2 cups of caster sugar and leave to infuse in a airtight container or glass jar. The longer you leave the sugar and vanilla to infuse, the deeper the flavour you will get. I would recommend leaving it to infuse for about a month before you use it for maximum flavour. The vanilla sugar can then be used in baking or as a garnish.

Vanilla Sugar Madeleines

Ingredients:

80g unsalted butter, softened

100g vanilla sugar, plus extra 

2 eggs

seeds of one vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)

100g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Method: 

The day before you wish to bake the madeleines prepare the batter. Cream the butter with one tablespoon of the vanilla sugar. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, remaining vanilla sugar and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

Whisk the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl to remove any lumps, then gently fold in to the whisked eggs. 

Add one third of the batter to the creamed butter and mix well. Add the remaining batter to the creamed butter and fold in very gently. 

Place a medium-large plastic piping bag over a large glass or jug so it is easy to fill. Transfer the batter into the piping bag and seal the top end with an elastic band. Leave in the fridge overnight (or for at least 3 hours). 

When you are ready to bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius and prepare two twelve hole madeline trays by greasing them lightly with butter then dusting with flour (if your trays are non stick this isn’t 100% necessary, I forgot one of the times I made these and I didn’t notice any difference). 

Snip a small hole at the piping end of the piping bag containing your madeleine batter and pipe the batter into the prepared tins, filling each hole about 3/4 the way up. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly golden in colour. Leave in the tins for a few minutes to cool, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Madeleines are best eaten the day of baking and can be served as they are, with a dusting of icing sugar or a sprinkling of vanilla sugar.

Reference: Fanny Zanotti ‘Paris Pastry Club’ (Hardie Grant Books, 2014) p.15.

New Beginnings & Raspberry and Rose Cupcakes

Many apologies for my six week or so absence from here. Though I do doubt that anyone is sitting at their computer waiting for me to post a new recipe! I have had an exciting few weeks full of new experiences and new beginnings. All of which meant time spent updating my blog were few and far between. 

In summary, during the last few weeks I have taken part in a food photography and styling workshop with Billy Law and Luisa Brimble, baked forty cupcakes and 20 biscuits for a bridal shower, baked 60 biscuits, made 250 mini quiches and 330 finger sandwiches for a wedding afternoon tea, quit my job, bought a new camera and attended a wonderful weekend ‘Slow Living Workshop’ with Beth Kirby, Rebekka Searle and Lusia Brimble (photos of the weekend to come!). 

Hopefully you will notice an improvement in my photography and styling skills soon, and fingers crossed I will be able to dedicate more of my time to this blog from now on! 

Below are some photos I took at the workshop with Billy and Luisa. 

 . . . . 

 The recipe I have decided to post today is something I created a month or so ago. I had been reminiscing about the cakes and teas Mum and I enjoyed while we were in Paris back in February. At Ladurée in Paris we tried a creation called the rose réligieuse. It was a round two layered choux pastry with crème pâtissière and raspberries, decorated with a rose icing on the outside. The flavour combinations were simply wonderful. And of course the presentation was impeccable. 

Tea & a Rose Réligieuse at Ladurée, Paris.

I decided to create something using this as an inspiration, and came up with a raspberry and rose cupcake. I am very pleased with how they have turned out, and seem to have become an instant crowd pleaser. 

Raspberry & Rose Cupcakes

Ingredients: 

125 g margarine (flavourless such as canola oil based)

3/4 cup caster sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 eggs 

1/2 cup milk, preferably low fat

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

185 g raspberries, roughly chopped (approx. one and a half punnets if using fresh)

Ingredients for Icing: 

2 - 2 1/2 cups icing sugar, confectioners 

3 tsp rosewater

2 tbsp hot water 

pink food colouring 

dried rose buds, for decoration

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line two cupcake trays with cupcakes cases. The mixture will only make about 15-16 cupcakes, so you won’t need to line all of the second tray. 

In a large bowl, cream the margarine, vanilla and sugar until it has combined, and is fluffy and light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add the flour and the milk, half of each at a time, beating in between to combine. 

Once all the ingredients are combined, add the raspberries to the mixture, gently folding them in with a spoon or spatula (not an electric mixer) until evenly distributed. 

Evenly fill each cupcake case with the mixture, approximately 3/4 full. 

Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are lightly golden and spring back when touched. 

Allow to cool on a wire rack. 

Once the cakes have cooled make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then add the water and rosewater and mix to combine. The icing should be smooth and slightly thick so it doesn’t run down the sides of the cakes. Add the pink food colouring, keeping the colour light. If the icing is too runny, add more sifted icing sugar a little at a time. If the icing is too thick, add more hot water a little at a time.

Spread the icing over each cupcake and place a rose bud in the centre. Allow the icing to dry before storing in a airtight container, or eat straight away! 

Original cupcake recipe from The Australian Women’s Weekly Cakes & Slices Cookbook, p.89.

 Originally Posted September 8, 2014.

For more recipes showcasing the best of rose, check out my Baking with Rose eBook by clicking the link below!

Galette au Beurre and ‘À La Mère de Famille’ Paris

Recently, I was lucky enough to travel to London and Paris. I’m not really sure what anyone else thinks of doing when they travel, but all I think about is the food. Once the travel plans were organised, I set out looking up where I wanted to eat. Which in the end, mostly meant I had looked up where the cake shops, bakeries, patisseries and tea salons were. The list I made for each city took us round to all the places we could get good food, cake, tea, kitchen and baking supplies and more cake. By the time we returned home I was really excited to bake something inspired by my travels.

This recipe is from a book I bought before I knew I would get to go overseas. The book, ‘À La Mère de Famille’, is the cookbook from a confectionary shop/chocolatier in Paris of the same name. The shop, which now has more than one location in the city, was established in 1761. The original shop, on the Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, was on my absolute must do list. As in, I wasn’t leaving the city unless we went there. I even walked past one of the newer subsequent locations of the shop and refused to go in because I had my heart set on going to the original one. I’m not really sure why I was so insistent on only going to the original shop. Maybe there’s just something special about going into a shop that has been there for so long. In any case, I’m glad we waited because it was very quaint and sweet. The window displays were enticing and once you were inside, it was easy to imagine the shop selling more or less the same things for all those years. They even had a separate booth for the cashier. All the pâte de fruits, caramels, chocolates and cakes were beautifully presented and I had a hard time choosing what I wanted. I settled on some chocolates for gifts, some marshmallows and some passionfruit caramels. 

So, once we were home, the chocolates were gifted away and the marshmallows eaten (I am still rationing the caramels because they are so very good), I decided I just had to make something from À La Mère de Famille’s book. Confectionary was ruled out due to my jet lagged state, so I settled on these plain but very pleasing biscuits. They are quite easy to make, and they make a fairly large quantity too. Everyone who ate them agreed they were nicer than shortbread, as while they are a butter biscuit they are lighter than shortbread and less crumbly as well. I gave some to my Grandpa and he told me, that not only did he like them, but had gotten up in the night to eat them! 

Ingredients: 

270g softened unsalted butter

250g icing sugar

2 eggs

500g plain flour 

milk (for glazing) 

Method: 

Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, then sift in the flour. Lay a sheet of baking paper onto a bench or flat surface and tip the dough onto it. Cover the dough with a second sheet of baking paper and roll the dough until it is 2-3mm thick. Chill in the refrigerator for one hour. 

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line three large baking trays with baking paper. Remove dough from fridge and remove top layer of baking paper. Cut biscuits out using a fluted 48mm pastry or biscuit cutter. Place evenly on trays. Brush with milk and push down lightly on each biscuit with a fork to create a slight indentation. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. I found I needed an extra 10 minutes or so until the biscuits were golden, but it will depend on your oven. 

Best stored in an airtight container. Makes at least 50 biscuits. 

Recipe from ‘À La Mère de Famille Artisanal Recipes’ by Julien Merceron p.214.

The shop can be found at 35 Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, Paris.

À La Mère de Famille - 35 Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, Paris.

Originally Posted March 18, 2014.