Paris Pastry Club: A collection of cakes, tarts, pastries and other indulgent recipes (10 page)
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Authors: Fanny Zanotti
Tags: #ebook
I didn’t grow up on cornbread but cornbread grew on me. It might have been because of that guy with deep-blue eyes and the cutest American accent ever. He would make me peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and halve strawberries into salads.
One morning, as I was still deep inside my dreams, he went to the kitchen and pan-fried a whole lot of cornbread pancakes. That very morning, after too many pancakes than I’d like to admit, I told him those three words of the loving kind. This is his recipe and, trust me, you’ll fall in love with it too.
I like to serve mine with a salsa made of crushed avocado and chopped tomatoes, drizzled with lots of lemon juice and sprinkled with sea salt, sliced chilli peppers and lots of fresh coriander.
Makes 6 fat pancakes
130 g (4½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
½ tablespoon baking powder (baking soda)
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
a pinch of ground cumin
130 g (4½ oz) whole milk
1 egg
juice of 1 lime
200 g (7 oz) corn kernels
(from 2 medium corncobs)
3 spring onions (scallions), sliced
1 chilli pepper, thinly sliced
2 heaped tablespoons chopped
coriander (cilantro)
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cumin, milk, egg, and lime juice in a large bowl. Add the corn kernels, spring onions, chilli and coriander and give it a good stir.
Heat a non-stick pan over low heat and ladle the batter (roughly one-third of a cup) into the hot pan and cook for about 1 minute until the bottom of the pancake is golden-brown. Flip the pancake over with a palette knife and cook for a further minute. Transfer to a plate and keep on cooking pancakes until all the batter has been used up.
These are not your everyday pancakes. They are pockets of melting chocolate and light brown sugar.
If you ever make them, please drop a fat knob of butter in your pan and leave it to turn golden brown. It will give these breakfast ‘cookies’ the best flavour ever.
Makes 12 cookie-sized pancakes
2 eggs, separated
120 g (4¼ oz) plain yoghurt
60 g (2 oz) whole milk
60 g (2 oz) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt
120 g (4¼ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
50 g (1¾ oz) 70% dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
50 g (1¾ oz) 40% milk chocolate, chopped into chunks
1 teaspoon baking powder (baking soda)
butter, for frying
Combine the egg yolks, yoghurt, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks. Scoop one-third of the egg whites onto the yoghurt mixture and whisk in to loosen the batter, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Add the flour, chocolate chunks and baking powder and mix until just combined.
Heat a knob of butter in a non-stick pan over a high heat until brown and foamy. Reduce the heat, ladle in the batter – roughly a quarter of a cup – onto the hot pan and cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom of the pancake is golden-brown. Flip the pancake over with a palette knife and cook for a further minute. Transfer to a plate and keep on cooking pancakes until all the batter has been used. Eat with your fingers, with a glass of ice-cold milk.
These pancakes are perfect for those mornings when you want a breakfast celebration. I made them for the very first time for my boyfriend’s birthday. That day, we had pancakes in bed – with all the trimmings, candles and kisses included – lunch in a fancy restaurant, and chocolate cake with glasses of champagne for dinner.
I like to serve them with a one-minute ‘frosting’, but they’re great with maple syrup or honey too. And when it comes to the carrots, they need to be grated super-finely. I use Microplane grater, which does a fantastic job.
Makes 10 – 12 pancakes
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE ‘FROSTING’
100 g (3½ oz) cream cheese
3 tablespoons yoghurt
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE PANCAKES
100 g (3½ oz) cream cheese
80 g (2¾ oz) whole milk
2 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
90 g (3 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (baking soda)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
160 g (5½ oz) carrots, finely grated
(approx 4 small carrots)
Start by making the frosting. Whisk all of the ingredients in a bowl until smooth and chill until needed.
Combine the cream cheese, milk, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold into the pancake mix along with the carrots.
Heat a non-stick pan over low heat. Ladle the batter – roughly a quarter of a cup – into the hot pan and cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom of the pancake is golden-brown. Flip the pancake over with a palette knife and cook for a further minute. Transfer to a plate and keep on cooking pancakes until all the batter’s been used up.
Serve with a generous dollop of frosting.
You can call them doughnuts or fritters, but to me, these will always be
beignets
(pronounced ‘bay-nee-yeah’). They are made from a simple pâte à choux with just a touch of honey and lots of ricotta. Thick yoghurt works like a charm too, if that’s all you have in your fridge. All you’ll need is a generous drizzle of honey and perhaps a small handful of pinenuts, toasted in a frying pan until just golden, and a fun breakfast made of sticky fingers will happen.
Makes 30-40 bite - sized doughnuts
125 g (4 oz) whole milk
50 g (2¾ oz) butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
75 g (2½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 eggs
100 g (3½ oz) ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon honey
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
runny honey, to serve
toasted pinenuts, to serve (optional)
To make a choux paste, bring the milk, butter, and salt to a rolling boil in a saucepan over a low heat – you want the butter to be fully melted before the milk boils. Take the pan off the heat and add the flour all in one go, mixing well until combined.
Return the pan to the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until a thin crust appears at the bottom of the pan. This shows that the dough is dry enough – it should not be sticky.
Transfer the paste to a large bowl and leave to cool for 2–3 minutes. While still warm, fold in the ricotta and honey. Scrape the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 20 mm (¾ in) nozzle.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan to 160°C (320°F).
Start piping the dough into the oil, snipping off 1 cm (½ in) pieces as you go with scissors. Cut 6 or 7 at a time and please be careful not to burn yourself. Fry for around 6 minutes, flipping the balls halfway through, until they are deep brown.