List of 126 recipes using Caster sugar (gluten free)

Foie gras ballotine

Making your own foie gras, from raw liver, will give you not only the satisfaction of having made it yourself, but also a liver of simply remarkable quality and taste, far better than any commercial foie gras. It's a tricky operation, but one that's entirely within your grasp, as long as you follow the 3 delicate stages of the recipe, which are well explained here, in the following order: de-veining, seasoning and cooking. This recipe will be cooked "en ballotine", a simpler and much easier...

Foie gras cured in salt

This a quite different preparation from the terrine of foie gras, this time it does not go in the oven, the liver is salted for 48 hours and it "cooks" (or cures) in this way.

Home-made terrine of foie gras

Preparing your own home-made foie gras from raw is immensively satisfying: good quality liver and a simply amazing flavour – much better than anything you can buy. This recipe is a bit tricky, but quite within everyone's grasp, as long as you follow the 3 most delicate stages carefully. These are, in order: de-veining the liver, seasoning and cooking. As usual, I have explained every stage of the recipe in full, with photos to help you.

Gravlax

Gravlax is a Nordic speciality and consists of boned salmon dry-cured overnight in salt and sugar. The cured salmon can be eaten like smoked salmon, just with a trickle of lemon juice, or with a light sauce of cream cheese and herbs.

Almonds pyramids

If you are already familiar with coconut pyramids, you might like to try these almonds flavoured pyramids. The recipe is very straightforward, but these little cakes, with their crisp outside and moist centre, are simply delicious.

Amandier (gluten-free almond cake)

This gluten-free cake is called "amandier" in French, as it is made with ground almonds instead of flour (the same word also means almond tree). The texture is moist and the flavour is, well, almondy.

Amaretti

Amaretti are little Italian almond biscuits. They are a bit like meringues, very sweet, and made with ground almonds.

Amaretti almonds and lemon

These delicious little Italian cookies, both soft and crunchy, with their almond and lemon flavour, will delight you.

Apple and almond gratin

Imagine a gratin, but sweet, made with apples and toasted ground almonds. This delicious dessert combines apples and almonds with a vanilla custard-like mixture - simply yummy!

Apple Batter Puddings

Similar to a traditional French "clafoutis", usually made with cherries, this simple apple and almond dessert is quick to make.

Apple crisps

This is a really simple recipe - there's really not much to do, other than wait while the crisps (or chips for Americans) cook gently in the oven.

Apple macaronade

This gratin-style apple pudding has an almond "macaronade" crust for a delicious combination of flavours.

Apple paste

Apple paste, like most other fruit pastes, is a simple mixture of apple juice, sugar and a gelling agent - pectin here.

Apple Tatin Terrine

Imagine a sweet terrine, made of layers of apples with sugar, cooked slowly in the oven until caramelized. Serve warm in slices with custard.

Apricot blancmange

Blancmange is a very old dessert recipe, going back to the middle-ages. Updated for our century, it's almond milk with whipped cream and a smooth apricot puree.

Apricot jam with vanilla

A really flavoursome apricot jam, minimally sweetened, with a hint of vanilla and the discreet crunch of the almond-like kernels.

Apricot jelly

An apricot jelly is made using only the pulp of the fruit, removing the skin and any fibrous parts, which requires some cooking. The result is a much smoother, more pleasant preparation, a little less tart than a classic jam.

Blackcurrant jelly

Blackcurrants are full of flavour and make an excellent jelly. In the depths of winter, you'll be glad you made some now.

Blackcurrant, vanilla and lime verrine

Vanilla-lime, confectioner's custard and blackcurrant coulis, topped with a layer of whipped cream (chantilly) and dusted with a little matcha green tea powder. Light and flavoursome.

Candied grapefruit peel

Not really a dessert, more a kind of sweet. After soakiing, strips of grapefruit skin are cooked very slowly to conservethem in sugar. It's a real treat with coffee at the end of a meal.

Caramel rice pudding

We start with a classic rice pudding and add beaten eggs, this is poured onto hot caramel in the bottom of a dish, and then cooked in a bain-marie in the oven until firm like a cake.

Chaud-froid of grapefruit, pineapple and lime custard

Cold grapefruit quarters with slices of hot caramelized pineapple, lime custard (crème anglaise) and citrus crunch.

Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée

This crème brûlée recipe is a sophisticated combination in three layers: chocolate ganache, vanilla custard, and, of course, a delicious thin crust of caramel. It is more complicated than a simple chocolate crème brûlée, but well worth the effort when you see your guests' reactions.

Chocolate cream

A very simple recipe with a really chocolatey taste. Cream, milk and chocolate, mixed with egg-yolks and sugar, then cooked in the oven in a bain-marie, like for crème brulée.

Chocolate cream with a crunch, irish coffee mousse

This is a chocolate cream with chopped candied grapefruit peel and caramelized nuts added to give bit of crunch. The small pot of cream is topped with an Irish coffee mousse (flavours of coffee, fresh cream, sugar and whisky).

Chocolate mousse

Here is a simple quick recipe for chocolate mousse. It is just necessary to be careful at the final stage, when mixing the melted chocolate and the beaten egg-whites.

Chocolate mousse with hazelnuts

Here is a marvellous new chocolate mousse recipe that will delight real chocoholics. This is a rich, gourmet version, though not over-sweet and with the added crunchy texture of toasted hazelnuts. You'll love this one!

Chocolate sauce

This rich smooth chocolate sauce, with its full flavour, is one of the indispensable ingredients of profiteroles, but it can be used with many others desserts.

Chocolate-chestnut cream cake

A delicious and very moist cake, where the flavors of chestnuts and chocolate are perfectly balanced.

Chocolate-verbena cream

A chocolate cream with delicious aromas of fresh verbena.

Clafoutis "Marie-Antoinette"

This "Marie-Antoinette" clafoutis is a lighter version of the traditional fruit-in-batter baked dessert, almost a soufflé, with apples and lemon. The apples are sautéed in butter and Calvados, then combined with a lemon-flavoured confectioner's custard, lightened with raw meringue. This mixture is then baked rapidly in the oven. The result is a very light and delicate dessert with a harmonious blend of apple and lemon flavours.

Coconut pyramids

Small coconut cakes, golden, crusty, and soft inside.

Confit of quinces in Macvin

In this simple recipe, the sliced quinces are gently stewed in Jura Macvin until melting and caramelized. Served with real custard, this gives a delightful contrast of flavour and colour.

Crème brulée

Crème brûlée (burned cream) is quite easy to prepare: it's a simple egg-cream dessert. The only difficulty is in making the delicious crunchy caramel layer on top. The perfect crème brulée (for me) is a cold and soft cream, with on top a nice hot caramel crust. This is a completely new version of the former recipe, with video.

Crème caramel

Crème caramel (upside-down caramel cream) is a classic of bistro cuisine. The vanilla cream is made with eggs, cooked in a dish with a layer of caramel in the bottom, and placed in a bain-marie. It's traditionally served turned out so that the liquid caramel runs down over the cream.

Crunchy blackcurrant and mascarpone cream verrine

A three-tiered verrine: mascarpone whipped cream, blackcurrant coulis and granola crunch.

Dandelion flower jelly

With dandelion flowers and a hint of lemon, here's how to make a delicate and surprising jelly, which in franche-comté (eastern France) is called "cramaillote", or sometimes "dandelion honey".

Eton mess

Behind this strange name there lurks a delicious traditional English dessert made of meringues, strawberries and cream.

Flambéd bananas

The trick of this recipe is to end up with bananas caramelised on the outside, still firm on the inside, coated with a tasty syrup which is not 95% butter.

Fresh mint ice-cream

This well-flavoured ice-cream is excellent on its own, or in profiteroles with a chocolate sauce for example.

Frozen cottage cheese with strawberries

Here is a refreshing and very quick recipe (if your fruit is already prepared). In just a few seconds you can enjoy a delicious frozen cream cheese and strawberry dessert, with no need for an ice-cream maker.

Fruit paste : Blackcurrant

If you like the taste of blackcurrant, this recipe is for you, the very pronounced taste of blackcurrant and its small acidity, in a delicious treat.

Hazelnut and cocoa amaretti

You may already be familiar with almond and lemon amaretti, so here's an equally delicious hazelnut and cocoa version, with a simplified recipe.

Ice-cream Vacherin

Ice-cream vacherin is a festive French dessert. It consists of two different flavours of ice cream (blackcurrant and vanilla here) sandwiched between two circles of meringue, topped with whorls of Chantilly (whipped cream) which is then frozen. It is not too complicated, but involves a bit of work and quite a few trips to the freezer and back.

Jelly-style plum jam

Lots of people make plum jam, but you can also elevate this to a rather elegant jelly, simply by removing the skins. It's not a true jelly (this is normally made with juice), but leans towards that style: light and, above all, delicious.

Lemon creams

These light and flavoursome lemon creams are "set" by the curdling action of the lemon juice on the heated cream, so no thickening agent is needed. They are served in individual glasses, topped with a layer of fruit coulis (blackcurrant here).

Like Bounty

You will no doubt be familiar with Bounty, the chocolate-covered coconut bar. Here's a melt-in-the-mouth version "on a plate" for a chic dessert.

Like MaronSui's

Perhaps you've heard of "MaronSui's", those chestnut mousses you find in shops? Here's a much better homemade version, easy enough to make.

Little vanilla, clementine and chestnut verrines

This is a fresh-flavoured verrine with 3 different flavoured layers: vanilla panna cotta, clementine and chestnut mousse.

Macarons (the original French macaroons)

This recipe really is "of the moment": the success of these small, highly-coloured cakes, in an infinite variety of flavours, is impressive. It's a recipe which needs some care, in order to produce a result worthy of a professional pastrychef. No problem, I will guide you through the recipe, particularly the tricky parts. This variety of flavours means that I test many alternatives, so don't be surprised if in the pictures the colour of the macarons changes, I used the best photograph available...

Melon with port sorbet

This recipe is a new twist on the classic melon with port: melon balls served on a bed of port sorbet.

Meringues

A very simple recipe but which always impresses.

Mint and chocolate cream

Inspired by the chocolate cornstarch cream, this cold cream, with the very matching flavors of mint and chocolate, will give you a delicious and quick dessert.

Minted Melon

It is tempting to call this a melon Mojito: little balls of ripe melon in a light Mojito-flavoured syrup with mint, rum and lime.

Mousse with two chocolates

Chocolate mousse is a great classic home-made dessert. Here's a version using two different chocolates (dark and milk) with a hint of vanilla, that owes much to a recipe by Christophe Michalak.

Norman flambéed apples

Apples sautéed in butter and sugar, then flambéed in Calvados (from Normandy) and served with real custard.

Nougat

Nougat is a sweet made with honey and almonds that has changed very little since ancient times. The nougat we know today is the Montelimar variety, in which egg whites are added to the basic recipe for a lighter texture. Here is a simplified version.

Orange Rice Pudding

In this light and airy version of rice pudding with orange zest and juice, you first cook the milk and rice together, and add sugar only at the end. This results in softer, more plump grains and a creamier texture.

Passion fruit jellies

Usually to make fruit jellies or (fruit "paste"), it's like jam but you need to cook fruit pulp and sugar much longer. Unfortunately, this long cooking is bad for both vitamins and flavour. In this recipe we use a special jam gelling agent, to reduce cooking time as much as possible .

Pears in red wine with blackcurrant

Pears cooked until soft in a red wine and blackcurrant syrup, served with the reduced syrup and custard sauce (crème anglaise).

Piedmont pyramids

If you are already familiar with coconut pyramids, you might like to try these hazelnut-flavoured Piedmont pyramids. The recipe is very straightforward, but these little cakes, with their crisp outside and moist centre, are simply delicious.

Pistachio ice cream

Rediscover the real, delicate taste of pistachio in this ice cream with its very definite flavour.

Pistachio panna cotta with custard

In this dessert, the pistachio panna cotta is teamed with real vanilla custard and topped with a few caramelised pistachios.

Plum and almond panna cotta

The combination of plums and almonds is always a winner. Here's a version that uses almonds to make a delicious panna cotta with a difference.

Quick bramble jelly

Fruit jelly is jam made with the juice only. All the skin and seeds are strained out, which gives a very smooth texture. Here's a quick recipe which will give you an excellent jelly, and which keeps the full flavour of the blackberries thanks to its very brief cooking.

Quick orange marmalade

Just oranges (organic) and sugar in this simplified marmalade recipe.

Quince jelly

This quince jelly, with a very pronounced taste, will delight lovers of this fruit.

Rice pudding (riz au lait)

My personal version of this classic family recipe.

Rice pudding with fruit and nuts

This is cooked like a normal rice pudding, but with fruit and nuts added halfway through: toasted almonds and pistachios, sautéed diced apple and strips of dried apricot. These added flavours and textures make an already creamy rice pudding even more delicious.

Roasted Apricots with Verbena

Roasted apricots are simply apricots cut in half and then gently baked in the oven with a little butter and sugar, to caramelize them and intensify their flavor. The result is a fruit that’s softer, more fragrant, and slightly candied—without turning into a full-fledged compote—which is often served with yogurt, ice cream, or cottage cheese, for example. Here’s a version with verbena, an herb that pairs very well with apricots.

Roasted pears and verbena mascarpone mousse

This recipe features a double dose of verbena: the pears are roasted with sprigs of verbena—you’ll see, the pear-verbena pairing is a real winner—and the mascarpone cream, in which the cream itself is also infused with verbena.

Santiago Cake

Santiago cake (or Torta de Santiago) has a lovely moist texture. It is made with almonds and lemon and contains no butter or flour. This Spanish speciality from Galicia is still often decorated with the cross of St James.

Sautéed pears with custard and orange syrup

Pear halves sautéed in butter and sugar served with real custard (crème anglaise) and a reduced blood-orange syrup.

Soft chocolate-orange cake

If you like the combination of chocolate and citrus fruit, you'll love this very simple, very moist cake, with its deliciously pronounced chocolate and orange flavors.

Soft fruits in sabayon

This recipe is made by briefly cooking an assortment of soft fruits (raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, currants...) with a little sugar to glaze them. They are served in a small dish, covered with a delicious sabayon which can be lightly "burned" on surface.

Strawberries in a thyme and lemon-flavoured red wine reduction

Serving strawberries in red wine is a classic French dessert. Here is a more sophisticated version, with the red wine reduced to a light syrup with notes of thyme and lemon.

Strawberry mousse with mascarpone

This dessert is bursting with strawberry flavour. The creamy mascarpone mousse is made with a cream whipper and served on a bed of lightly sweetened fresh strawberries.

Strawberry, kiwi and mascarpone verrines

Chopped kiwi with lemon, ripe strawberries and smooth mascarpone cream.

Tatin apples with mascarpone cream

Small pieces of apple cooked "tatin" style (caramelized in a pan) with a light mascarpone cream.

Vanilla ice cream

Rediscover the full flavour of a real vanilla ice cream with this classical recipe.

Blackcurrant liqueur

The fruit liqueurs (or "creams" in French) are a mix of neutral alcohol in which fruits are macerated, and sugar syrup. They are the basis of the very famous "Kir", mixture of dry white wine and blackcurrant liqueur. This recipe is for blackcurrant, but it can be made with other soft fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.

Mulled apple juice

This very simple recipe will give you a warming drink with an amazing flavour of apples and spices. Just the thing to serve to your guests as a "trou normand" (traditionally a small glass of calvados served between courses), or to round off a meal with the dessert.

Mulled wine Belle-Plagne style

If it's cold or you're in the snow, you will appreciate mulled wine which warms body and soul... There are as many mulled wine recipes as ski runs, so here is a basic one that you can easily adapt to your taste.

Almond dacquoise

A dacquoise is a sort of almond meringue that can be eaten like a biscuit or can be used as the base of more sophisticated desserts.

Apple compote with verbena

For this version of stewed apple, we'll add the delicate taste of fresh verbena, which goes very well with apples.

Apple confectioner's custard

For this strongly apple-flavoured version of confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream), apple juice is used instead of milk and the quantity of sugar is reduced.

Butter cream

Butter cream is made with egg yolk, sugar syrup and, of course, butter. These days it has fallen rather out of fashion, probably because it's very rich, but it still has its aficionados. Here is the classic plain version, which you can lighten and flavour as you wish.

Caramelised walnuts

These delicious nuts can be used in several cakes, but you can also put them on ice-cream, pancakes, fruit salad, or eat them just as they are.

Citrus crunch

These are fine crumbs of candied citrus peel. It can be used to sprinkle a dessert or other preparation to add both crunch and the flavour of the chosen citrus fruit. It is easy to prepare well in advance, and will keep in an airtight jar. This recipe is given for clementines, but can be made with all citrus fruits: lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit...

Citrus syrup

This citrus-flavoured syrup blends the bitterness of the zest with the delicious acidity of the juice. It can be used to soak biscuits or cakes when making desserts. You can make this with whatever citrus fruits you prefer. It can be prepared in advance and will keep for several days.

Clear strawberry juice

In French this is called a "clarification". The method for making a clear strawberry juice is simple, with little added sugar. The delicious juice obtained can be used in lots of recipes: mousse, cream, jelly, etc.

Clementine confectioner's custard

This clementine confectioner's custard makes the most of the delicious fruity flavour by using both the juice and zest.

Clementine Creamy

A clementine cremeux is a little different from cremeux based on pulpy fruits (such as blackcurrant or raspberry), this time more juice is used and the zest.

Coffee custard

You are probably familiar with the classic real custard (crème anglaise). Here's a coffee-flavoured version.

Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)

Quite similar to crème anglaise but much thicker. It is used in many pastries like choux pastry (pâte à choux) or millefeuille.

Fruit crémeux

This kind of "crémeux" (it means "creamy", but contains no actual cream) is a basic recipe in the repertoire of French pastry chefs. It is smoother but less frothy than a mousse and uses gelatin to set it as it cools. Often used as a tart filling or in other desserts, crémeux is usually poured to set in a mould. This fruity version is made with raspberries.

Italian Meringue

Italian meringue is made with sugar cooked to 120°C or 248°F. This is different from the French, which is made from caster sugar. The cooked sugar gives a softer meringue which can be added to other preparations or use as it is.

Kumquat compote

Here's how to make a kumquat compote that's low in sugar but high in flavor, for use in pastries, or simply on top of cottage cheese or yogurt.

Lemon Confectioner's Custard

This recipe is for a confectioner's custard with a difference: it's a little less sweet than the classic confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream) and has double lemon flavour, using both zest and juice, for plenty of tangy lemon taste. It's the perfect filling for lemon tarts, of course, but also verrines, profiteroles, eclairs, etc.

Lime (or lemon) curd

Lime curd is a delicious conserve and variation on the traditional lemon curd, made with limes, eggs and butter. It's the perfect filling for either large or small tarts.

Lime confectioner's custard (pastry cream)

Taking its inspiration from lemon confectioner's custard, this version has a distinctive lime flavour. Both juice and zest are used to combine the juice's slight acidity with a hint of bitterness from the zest.

Lime crémeux

This "crémeux" is a creamy mixture ideal for filling tarts, either on its own or as a bottom layer topped with fruit, for example.

Macaronade mixture

Macaronade is the sweet almond and egg-white mixture (inspired by macarons (the original french macaroons) that French pâtissiers use as a topping on cakes and brioches. It forms a delicious crust when baked.

Nougatine

Nougatine is a delicious nut toffee: caramel mixed with toasted flaked almonds. Not a dessert in itself, it is often used to decorate cakes and pastries. But those who enjoy good things are sure to want to eat it on its own!

Panna cotta

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert which means "cooked cream". It's a set vanilla cream, similar to blancmange, which is frequently served with other things like fruit coulis (fruit purée), caramel etc.. Here is the basic panna cotta recipe.

Paris flan filling

This is how to prepare the custard filling for a classic Parisian "flan". This is not the whole recipe, just the filling mixture, which can be used in lots of other flan-style recipes on this site.

Pears compote

Stewed pears are not as easy to prepare as stewed apples, as they contain more juice and you risk ending up with more of a coulis than a compote. So here are two simple methods to help you succeed.

Pistachio confectioner's custard

This is very similar to the classic confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream), but its marked pistachio taste brings a distinctive flavour to a whole range of desserts.

Pistachio powder or paste

Pistachio paste has a similar texture to almond paste, but the similarity ends there, as its flavour and colour are quite characteristic.

Poaching syrup

Less sweet than normal sugar syrup, poaching syrup is specially for slow cooking fruits to be used in other recipes.

Praline

Praline is a preparation of caramelized nuts (in this case almonds), with a very characteristic flavour. Either crushed or as a paste, it is used to fill or flavour all manner of things like creams, chocolates, biscuits, etc.

Praline spread

See in this recipe how to make your own spread, much better and healthier than those from the food industry.

Quince compote

Quinces make an excellent compote, full of their delightful perfume and flavour. However, preparing the fruit is hard work, so here's a recipe to show you how to manage this.

Real custard sauce (crème anglaise)

Real custard or vanilla sauce consists of egg yolks beaten with sugar and cooked slowly in vanilla milk. It is the base or the accompaniment for many desserts.

Stewed apple (compote)

Here is a very basic but delicious recipe, and the pitfalls to avoid.

Stewed apricots

Here is how to make delicious stewed apricots, both an easy and a more sophisticated way.

Stewed plums

Quick and simple, stewed plums can also be spread like jam.

Stewed rhubarb

This is perhaps the best known use of rhubarb, and can be used as the basis for other recipes.

Sugar syrup

This syrup is mainly used as a basis for all sorbet recipes, which consist of this syrup and fruit pulp, but it can be also used to soak biscuits for example, or for fruit salads.

Vanilla sugar

Almost essential in patisserie, you can find it in expensive little sachets of about 10g. It's necessary to distinguish between the vanilla sugar which really contains vanilla, and vanillin sugar, purely chemical which has never seen a vanilla pod. Here is how to quickly make a whole jar full of your own vanilla sugar.

Cooking sugar

Cooking sugar, which is one of the basics of patisserie and sweet-making, is a delicate operation in which sugar is heated from 100°C or 212°F to 180°C or 356°F. Here is some information on this tricky subject. [Translator's note: the terms used below correspond to the French tradition, as often used by English-speaking chefs, but there are other stages and terms in other traditions. Best to use a thermometer, and be guided by temperature, as the English terms commonly used in domestic cooking...

You should not beat egg yolks at high speed to start with

You should not start beating egg yolks and caster sugar at high speed, because this splashes drops of egg yolk against the sides of the bowl, which then go hard as they dry.

You should not leave egg yolks in contact with sugar

You should not leave egg yolks in contact with sugar for too long without beating them, because this contact "cooks" egg yolks and you will get small lumps of hard egg in your mixture.

Nachos

Nachos (or tortilla chips) are small Tex-Mex snack triangles, often served with guacamole. Authentic nachos are made from tortillas, cut into triangles and fried, but here is a lighter, oven-baked version. The recipe is very simple, though the cutting out is a bit of work, and I've given you 2 methods for this.

Pavlova

Pavlova is a dessert which originated in New Zealand (or was it Australia?). It consists of a meringue shell filled with a layer of whipped cream and topped with seasonal fruit.

Sushi

Sushi is probably the best known element of Japanese cooking outside Japan. For the Japanese it's a culinary art learned over time from masters, but we can make simplified and easier sushi which are still pretty and delicious. The most common types of sushi are nigiri: a little oval-shaped mouthfuls of rice topped with raw fish, and maki: a nori seaweed roll filled with rice and other delicious ingredients.