How to beat egg whites

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Beat egg whites is very common in cooking and pastry, here are some tips to get there easily.
February 21^th 2011562 K5 5 min.

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

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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.
February 21^th 201194 K 24.5

You should not leave egg yolks in contact with sugar

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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.
February 21^th 2011130 K5

Hollandaise sauce

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This sauce is quite similar to Béarnaise sauce, but with a light lemon flavour. It can be used hot, warm or cold on several things: vegetables, fish, eggs... Not easy to get right, like all "emulsified warm sauces" (Béarnaise, Hollandaise, etc.), but you will find all the tips you need here.
July 25^th 2019247 K 14.7 25 min.

Swiss meringues

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Swiss meringues are a variant of the classic French meringue. The eggs whites and sugar are beaten together in a bain-marie at first, then beaten stiff as normal. This makes for a firmer meringue which can be used to make small items or figures to decorate cakes or ice creams (such as mushrooms,...
June 2^nd 2015126 K3.8 1 hour 20 min.

Mexican-style pork medallions

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For this recipe with a Mexican flavour (New Mexican, actually), I have used tender medallions of pork fillet mignon. These are first marinated in a spicy oil then pan-fried with the remaining marinade. Serve with green beans and sauce made with a reduced vegetable stock in the frying pan.
August 11^th 202378 K5 30 min.

Chestnut moelleux

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"Moelleux" means soft, and is also the name given to the gooey, soft-centred cakes that are popular in France. These muffin-style cakes are doubly chestnutty: there is chestnut purée in the mixture and pieces of marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) in the middle as well. The result is a little...
February 11^th 201856 K 15 1 hour 15 min.

Gâteau Nantais

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This traditional cake from the French city of Nantes is deliciously moist, flavoured with almonds, vanilla and rum. For the finishing touch, the top is covered with boozy white icing.
January 8^th 201757 K3.9 1 hour 30 min.

Fish in white wine

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This recipe for cooking fish in the oven is both simple and delicious. The fish is cooked with herbs and onions in white wine. It is served in a light sauce, made with the cooking juices and a little lemon juice.
December 14^th 2016128 K4.3 60 min.

Toffee apple upside-down cake

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With a flavour reminiscent of the French classic tart tatin, this cake is made with a ring of tart apples arranged on a layer of caramel, then covered with the batter. After baking, the cake is turned out while still hot so that the caramelized apples are on the top with the moist cake underneath.
December 4^th 201657 K5 1 hour 50 min.

Lemon Confectioner's Custard

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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...
May 9^th 2018208 K4.4 25 min.

Amaretti

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Amaretti are little Italian almond biscuits. They are a bit like meringues, very sweet, and made with ground almonds.
May 31^th 201576 K4.5 1 hour 3 min.

Oaty walnut cake

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This is a moist-textured walnut cake with rolled oats, but the real secret comes from dry-roasting the nuts before adding them to the mixture.
April 19^th 201594 K 15 2 hours 35 min.

Nougat

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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.
June 19^th 2013129 K 15 1 hour 45 min.

Key Lime Pie for Jeremy

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Key Lime Pie is a famous speciality from the Keys region of southern Florida. This delicious tart is usually made with Key limes - a special variety. But in this simplified version, normal limes will work perfectly well.
September 30^th 201299 K 13.8 3 hours 50 min.

Marchand de vin sauce

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The rich "marchand de vin" sauce, made with red wine and shallot, is a classic accompaniment for meats that is traditionally made in the roasting tin or dish. This is a simplified version that can be made while the meat is cooking, even beforehand, so there is no risk of it going cold.
May 31^th 2012273 K4.1 35 min.

Blackcurrant, vanilla and lime verrine

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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.
September 12^th 2010199 K4.9 1 hour 9 min.

Butter cream

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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.
October 13^th 2010333 K4.4 60 min.

Blanquette of veal

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Blanquette is a classic dish of French family cooking, but can also be found in bistros. Veal is cooked slowly, and the sauce is thickened with a mixture of egg yolks and cream. I have set out a rather special way of making it.
February 5^th 2015425 K4.4 2 hours 50 min.

Beurre blanc sauce

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Beurre blanc sauce is a great classic of French cuisine, made with vinegar, white wine and shallots. It is a wonderful accompaniment for fish and shellfish.
February 2^nd 2012185 K3.8 35 min.

The power of sayings and beliefs in the kitchen

One day, in the comments on the recipe for beaten egg whites, a young woman asked if you could beat egg whites stiff while having a period, as a friend had told her it wasn't possible. Sometime later another person commented that for mayonnaise it had been (get this!) scientifically proven that a...
February 6^th 201150 K4.4

The 3 kinds of meringue

Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...
June 14^th 201361 K4.5

Is it really necessary to cream egg yolks?

Let’s try and answer a question that crops up in cookery and patisserie, even if it verges on the existential: do the egg yolks in a custard recipe really need to be beaten until pale, or not?
February 28^th 201841 K4.3

Stand mixer tools

Whether we call it a stand mixer, food processor, or simply refer to it by brand (Kenwood, KitchenAid, etc.), this machine is a valuable tool for amateur cooks, bakers or pastry chefs like ourselves. All these machines come supplied with 3 different tools. Let’s take a look at their names and...
November 2^nd 201935 K4.5