Category "french-cuisine"

What could I substitute for coffee in an Opéra cake

I would like to bake an Opéra cake for someone who doesn't really appreciate the taste of coffee. Since coffee and chocolate are the two main elements, I

How can I make the tops of my macarons smooth?

After a recent trip to France, I have become mildly obsessed with making macarons (using this recipe). I have made a couple of batches so far - the first didn't

Why didn't my clarified herb butter solidify?

I was making spicy clarified butter but wanted to avoid the flecks of red or black that can throw off the color of a dish. I decided to steep some basil and a

Veloute consistency after being refrigereted

Not been into French cuisine much so I started to try to make the mother sauces for some fun. I cooked up some chorizo in clarified butter and used that fat to

Amount of Brioche dough in a Brioche mould?

I have a 22 cm classic fluted Brioche mold (22 cm being the widest measurement on top). It's volume is extremely close to 1500ml. I'm wondering how much dough

What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef?

What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef? I am told they just butcher the animals dfferently. Certainly the cuts don't seem the same. Fo

What is the purpose of papillote on lamb bones?

Is it just for decoration, or does it serve a purpose?

What's the name of the black-brown decoration sauce used in French cooking?

When my boyfriend and I visited France a few months ago, I noticed that a lot of savory dishes were drizzled with some black-brown colored sauce on top (see pic

Giant meringue French pastry - what are these called?

A few months ago we were visiting Paris, and in Montmartre, there were several pastry shoppes with large meringues. And by large, I mean the size of someone's h

Can I save a Creme Brûlée with a soggy crust?

I wasn't thinking, and put the top layer of hardened sugar on my creme brûlée last night. Now it's a little bit soggy, and I'm trying to figure out

why should the madeleine tins start off cold?

I have a recipe for Madeleine's which calls for the tins to be buttered, sprinkled with flour and then put in the fridge or freezer for the remainder of the pre

Water vs. milk/cream (or nothing) in traditional (French) omelets

Previous questions here have addressed the reasons why water or milk is added to scrambled egg mixtures in cooking. However, the two questions I've linked seem

How did Cardinal Mazarin give name to a Swedish cake?

Mazarin is a classic Swedish pastry, well known in neighbouring countries as well in lots of variations. It seems that - as one with a bit of historic backgroun

Reverse engineer the Perfect Japanese Omelet

I've come across this video of a very impressive japanese omelet and I've been trying to understand how it's done and what do I need to make it at home. I've s

Macarons...Why not color the syrup?

Much to the amusement of @ElendilTheTall, I'm working on French macarons. I'm using the method that makes an Italian meringue, so I pour hot sugar syrup into th

Au poivre without green pepper, is it good?

So I am trying to learn different recipes. One I'd like to do soon is the steak au poivre, it's a quite simple one but all the recipes I found say you need gree

Making a pocket-type french omelette without the curd sticking to the pan?

I'm trying to make the pocket/rugby-ball shaped type of omelette, basically the second omelette in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10etP1p2bU . I w

Spring onion (green onion/scallion) in coq au vin?

I recently ran into an Australian recipe for coq au vin that called for "spring onions", which (in Australia) refers unambiguously to what the French call c&eac

What is the difference between making French baguettes and US style baguettes?

I have noticed that there is a large difference between French baguettes with chewy crust and consistent airy and chewy inside. Baguettes in the US are a diff

French equivalent of brisket

I live in France and would like to know what cut of veal is equivalent to American brisket.