How to know when a cake is cooked

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It's a frequently asked question and it's not so easy to answer it, especially for beginners: you can have a cake that's nice and golden brown outside, but which is not cooked enough in the middle.
May 7^th 2020283 K4.1 1 min.

You should not push with the sharp edge of a knife

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When you cut something into small pieces on your working surface, it's an automatic gesture to push the pile with your knife blade. It's a bad habit because this will blunt your blade.
February 21^th 201159 K5 1 min.

How to slow cook meat

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By cooking meat slowly with no added fat, it will become very tender - almost melt-in-the-mouth - and can be cut with a fork.
November 6^th 2011162 K5 4 hours 45 min.

Foie gras fingers

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An elegant canapé which consists of a crisp layer of shortcrust pastry topped with a layer of foie gras.
December 21^th 2011132 K4.6 2 hours 50 min.

How to prepare an avocado

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Here is how to get from an avocado only the flesh of the fruit.
January 9^th 2010194 K 14 15 min.

Caramelised walnuts

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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.
February 21^th 2011363 K5 25 min.

Croque-monsieur

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A classic of French "street food" or bistros: a slice of ham between two slices of bread spread with béchamel sauce. The sandwich is then sprinkled with cheese and toasted in the oven.
August 1^st 2010253 K4 50 min.

Ice-cream Vacherin

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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...
December 21^th 2014171 K4.5 8 hours 45 min.

Salt cod brandade

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"Brandade de morue" is a classic of French bistro cuisine, especially in the south. It is a puréed mixture of salt cod and olive oil with (or sometimes without) potatoes. Here is a simplified version.
March 2^nd 201488 K4 1 hour 35 min.

How to prepare purple artichokes

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The small purple artichokes, which are more tender than the larger green ones, are almost entirely edible. But they need to be prepared in a particular way. Here is how to do this fairly easily.
February 26^th 2016660 K 44 20 min.

How to poach peaches

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To poach peaches, we begin rather like for tomatoes. To peel them, we boil them for a few seconds, then plunge them into cold water. Once the skin has been removed, they are poached gently in a light syrup.
September 6^th 2012225 K3 1 hour 50 min.

Potatoes with prawns

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This recipe, originally from Belgium, consists of baked potatoes which are hollowed out and filled with fried prawns. A cream and white wine sauce is then poured over the potatoes before returning them to the oven.
January 14^th 2016115 K3.8 1 hour 50 min.

Vegetable stock

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Vegetable stock is a very easy and versatile basic recipe. It can be used in many different ways: for cooking rice, making soups, sauces, etc. It's a good idea to keep a supply of vegetable stock in your fridge or freezer.
October 5^th 2011262 K4.3 1 hour

Baked potoatoes with herb butter or cream

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Here's how to prepare good baked potatoes, and two ideas for toppings. Herb butter can be easily be made in advance and store in the fridge folded in plastic film, it can also be served with red meat because it look like very much to the "Beurre maitre d'hotel" (butler's butter, usually with parsley...
October 24^th 2010192 K 13.8 1 hour 45 min.

Potato purée

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The French have fond childhood memories of this, and while nothing will ever be as good as "Maman" made, here's a fairly straightforward way to make it.
October 3^rd 2010233 K5 1 hour 35 min.

Surprise eggs

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These look like perfectly normal boiled eggs, but when the shell is cracked open - surprise! They contain a mixture of scrambled egg, cured ham, fried prawns and chives.
September 26^th 2010177 K5 55 min.

How to prepare a pumpkin (or potimarron)

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Here is how to prepare a pumpkin for use in a recipe like the delicious potimarron soup.
February 21^th 2011403 K4.6 25 min.

Tomato ladybirds

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Tomatoes filled with a tuna mayonnaise and rice mixture, in a fun ladybird shape that kids will love, served with a puree of fresh garden peas. A good way to encourage them to eat vegetables.
February 21^th 2011272 K 14 1 hour 50 min.

Potato tortilla (Spanish omelette)

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Tortilla is a recipe from Spain, which can be eat hot or cold. It's a kind of omelette, with several ingredients, in this recipe potatoes, onion and smoked ham. Ingredients are cooked first, then mixed with egg, to make a tortilla which is cooked on both sides.
February 21^th 2011289 K 34 1 hour 20 min.

Soufflée omelette with cheese

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Halfway between an omelette and a soufflé, this quick recipe give a light and delicious result. The secret is mainly in the two cooking methods: frying pan, then oven.
June 22^th 2013432 K4.7 55 min.

Ice-cream and sorbets

Making homemade ice cream may seem complex, but with the right methods and a few tricks, you can achieve a creamy texture and incomparable flavors. On this page, we'll be revealing the secrets of successful homemade ice cream, guiding you step by step through the various stages of preparation. ...
August 12^th 2024433 K4.0

Making your own bread

You'll find a whole range of bread and pastry recipes on this site, but before you get started, perhaps you'd like to know more about the subject, get some tips and tricks, and find out what the main mistakes beginners make? If so, this page is for you.
August 22^th 2024565 K 63.9

Slashing loaves

When it's time to put them in the oven, the dough pieces for future breads or viennoiseries need to be "lamés", i.e. made with a very sharp blade, by making quick incisions at the top, known as "grignes". Let's see how it's done.
August 29^th 2023282 K 43.6

When should I change my knife?

I already spoke to you in a previous post about knives, those without which nothing is possible (or almost) in the kitchen, so I'm going to come back to them a bit and try to answer the question "When should I change my knife?
November 2^nd 201712 K4.7

The Holy Grail of French bakers

While browsing through the recipes on this site, you may have noticed that while I adore cooking (everything, in fact, to do with eating and drinking), I am particularly drawn to bakery: bread, viennoiseries and all that goes with them – it’s a real passion of mine; I love making them and I...
March 24^th 201815 K 34.7

The 3 essential knives

You must have heard a chef or cook say: "There’s no good cooking without good ingredients". This is very true, of course, but for any amateur or beginner it is equipment that really counts to start with. What I mean is that you should not skimp on kitchen equipment, good utensils, a food...
May 30^th 201821 K5

For well opened (puffed) cakes

It's always nice to have a well puffed up cake after baking, not only will it taste good but it looks great too. Let's see how to get this beautiful shape almost every time.
January 23^th 201928 K4.2

Drawing a pattern in pastry

Often in the kitchen, in pastry-making, or in baking, we need to trace a pattern on a pastry. It's just a question of aesthetics but it has its effect after baking on a galette, pithiviers, pâté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), etc.
May 23^th 201927 K4.1

In praise of the whetstone

Have you ever seen a butcher or a chef sharpen his knife before using it? Usually he uses a special tool, a long thin cylinder made of very hard metal. And in a smooth and elegant gesture, he very quickly passes the edge of the knife against the rifle, which makes a very characteristic noise,...
June 5^th 20216,8654.8

The right bread knife

We almost all have a bread knife in our kitchen, that is to say the knife we use almost exclusively to cut bread. Is this knife efficient, is it really the one you need? Here is some information to guide you in your choice. .
September 15^th 20228,152

Cooking cauliflower

Dramatic observation: cauliflower when cooked has a bad reputation ("it doesn't smell good!" and the like), and yet it's an excellent vegetable, very Breton, that deserves to be treated well, to give the best of itself.
August 29^th 20238,0173.3