La Chandeleur - Let's Enjoy Crepes!

A French Holiday on February 2nd!

French Lessons

For the last sixteen months, I’ve been studying French via Skype. My French teacher lives in the south of France. She teaches for Verbal Planet, and online language school. Each week we meet for about an hour, talking about the past week, the current week, and anything interesting coming up. Then we review my lesson’s homework, and plan for the following week. Pascale, my teacher is great. She loves cinema, food, and is very interested in the world of pastry. It’s so fun to discuss traditional recipes and customs with her.

During the Christmas season, she shared several customs unique to the Provence. I was especially interested in the Provence Brioche des Rois. Rather than the traditional Galette des Rois made with puff pastry and almond paste/frangipane, the custom is to make a crown shaped brioche decorated with dried fruits and apricot glaze (nappage). This year on January 6th, I made the Provence version which was from a recipe Pascale had shared from her family.

La Chandeleur

A few weeks ago, we were discussing crepes and she mentioned I must really like Fête Chandeleur. I told her a had never heard of it. She explained it a crêpe holiday! Here’s the history.

La Chandeleur is a popular holiday in France. It is celebrated on February 2nd, 40 days after Christmas. The day that Jesus was presented to the temple of Jerusalem, 40 days after his birth.

History says, in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius offered crepes to pilgrims as a reward for coming to Rome to celebrate. It was also a way to use reserved excess wheat stores.

Even earlier, the pagen Candlelight Festival was celebrated with candles and torches where people celebrated the fertility of the land regained by the disappearance of the cold winter.

Why Crepes? (or Pancakes?)

The shape and color of the crepe symbolizes the sun and the return of Spring.

In preparation for La Chandeleur, I present my favorite crepe reicpe. I took the plunge and picked up a crepe maker with a flat surface and wooden turned/twister. You can use a small nonstick pan or a griddle.

I’ll add a link for buckwheat flour (Farine de Sarassin). Buckwheat is used for savory crepes. I use all purpose flour or Cup4Cup for sweet crepes.

I’ll link some the equipment for you:

Crepe Maker Crepe Spreader and Spatula

Buckwheat Flour (Yummly Bazaar is a great online shop!)

This recipe is perfect.  The crepes are beautiful.  Crispy edges, no spongy middle, and a fantastic taste.  The best part is you are able to prepare the batter and use it immediately rather than needing to wait for two or more hours for the batter to settle and develop.

If you celebrate Chandeleur, Buckwheat (of Sarassin) are the most traditional crepes for Chadeleur. Buckwheat is not wheat, and may be more easily tolerated by those with gluten intolerance.

crepe on plate

crepe maker

Crepes Batter (Sweet Crepes)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk (1-2 T more to thin batter if using Cup4Cup)

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour or Cup4Cup

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons melted butter

Favorite fillings such as Nutells, chocolate, fruit, whipped cream

Instructions:

1. In a blender, add together (in this order) the milk, egg yolks and vanilla, flour, sugar, salt and melted butter.   Whirl in the blender for about 30 seconds, until smooth, stopping to scape the sides.

2. Heat a crepe pan or griddle/crepe maker  over medium heat, until hot. Coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Pour about 1/4-1/3  cup of batter into the pan and tip or spread to move the batter to the edges in a thin layer.   When bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry, flip over and cook until lightly browned on the other side and edges are golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

3. Before folding, spread the crepe with Nutella or make it savory with ham, cheese, chives...  the options are endless!

Crêpes au Sarrassin

• 1 cup buckwheat flour

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup milk

• 3/4 cup water

• 2 eggs

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• butter to cook the crepes

• Filling such as shredded cheese (Guryere or Comte), Ham, even egg. Salad/ Arugula mix for garnish

Whisk all of the ingredients together to make a smooth batter. Allow the batter to sit in the refrigerator several hours or overnight before cooking. I like to let the buckwheat rest to become tender.

After the rest, you may need to add more milk. The batter should be pourable, but not runny.

To prepare, heat a non-stick skillet or crepe pan on medium heat until hot. Using a paper towel coat the bottom of the pan with a bit of butter. Pour in a scant 1/4 cup of batter (for about 9 inch crepes) and tilt and turn the pan to spread the batter evenly. Once the top of the crepe is just cooked, use a spatula to gently turn it and cook for 15 more seconds. You may have to adjust your heat to get the crepes just right - they should be lightly browned on both sides.

If you’re ready to eat the crepes, add filling - not too much-, and fold. A savory crepe is usually folded in from each side to make a square, with part of the center showing. Garnish with simple topping of salad or arugula.

As you cook each crepe, stack and wrap them in a clean tea towel. This will keep them warm. Or you can rewarm them by wrapping in aluminum foil and warming in the oven at about 200 degrees F.

Makes about 10 crepes. Adapted (from Easy French Food)

Bon fête!

Susan

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

Hello and Happy Christmas Week!

It’s the week of Christmas, and I hope you’re enjoying this time. I’m secretly wishing for lots of snow, but I don’t think that’s going to happen - at least this week.

There’s something we need to discuss.

Butter. Butter is great, and it’s really great for baking. A few of you asked me why in the world my holiday cookie recipes included shortening. (Read that with a shudder). Well, here’s my best explanation. I don’t know why. The recipes I’ve shared are very old family recipes, the kind that are on tattered note cards with little notes in the margins. They were handed down from my great grand mothers and who knows who made them before that. And maybe when shortening become cool, my grandma swapped it out to be hip. I have found several shortening pamphlets and simple cookbooks in her collection. Who knows? The recipes use shortening. Truth be told, I think it’s a little weird too.

Here’s the thing. For the most part, fat is fat. Different fats have different tastes. Generally, they’re soft at room temp and firm when cool. If you change the fat, you can change the taste. Better? Maybe.

The best fat is the one that tastes the best to you and produces the result you like. Memory has a huge play in what tastes good to us. Would butter taste better if I were eating this cookies for the first time? Probably. For me, these recipes taste great. They evoke memories of learning to make them standing beside my grandma or my mom. I remember like it was yesterday getting to make the batches of cookies all by myself. When I make them now and I critique the outcome, it’s the memories and the taste that combine for the satisfaction of a job well done. I’m sure that one day I’ll try with recipes with butter, and I’m sure they’re taste great. And if you’d like to try them with butter, please do, I promise I won’t be the least bit offended. In the meantime, for these recipes, once a year, it’s shortening.

Now on to the recipe for the week!

I know some of you have made these a tradition for Christmas morning. Thank you! I like to make them in a deep pan and cut them into squares, then use the frosting as a condiment! They’re big & fluffy, and just what Christmas morning should be. You can make the dough the night before and let the rolls rise in the frig (gently cover with plastic wrap). Bring them up to room temperature and bake.

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

2 pkg. active dry yeast

1 C. warm water (105-115 degree)

2/3 C. plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar, divided

1 C. warmed milk

2/3 C. butter

2 tsp salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

7-8 C. all-purpose flour, or more if needed

Filling:

1 C. melted butter, divided (2 sticks)

1 3/4 C. granulated sugar, divided

3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/2 C. chopped walnuts, optional

1 1/2 C. raisins, optional

Creamy Glaze (not pictured):

2/3 C. melted butter (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp.)

4 C. powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4-8 Tbsp. hot water

In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky).

Turn out onto a well-floured board; knead 5 -10 minutes. Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on floured surface into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.

To prepare filling: Spread dough with 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins, if desired.

Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and a 8-inch square pan with remaining 1/2 cup melted butter, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans. Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly.

To prepare Frosting: Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla; add hot water 1 Tbsp. at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Alternate Icing: (this is the one in the photo)

Ingredients:

2 cups margarine (yes, really margarine!)

2 cups cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Allow margarine and cream cheese to reach room temperature. Beat cream cheese and margarine together in a bowl with a mixer. Slowly add in all powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar is in the bowl mix for AT LEAST an additional 12 minutes. When almost done, add in the extracts.

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Before I sign off, I have to tell you about a new product created this week in the shopping area. It’s kind of a gift certificate, but you get to choose the amount. The person you give it to gets to spend it down with a code as they sign up for various classes. It’s pretty neat. You can have the code sent to you or to the person you’re gifting it to. It’s called the Little French Bakery Gift Card. There are eight different price points. I hope you like it.

I’m so glad so many of you signed up for the Pithivier Class. It’s going to be fun. There will be people from all over the country. Maybe even a few outside the US!

Have a great weekend! I’ll see some of you on Monday for the Scandinavian Baking Class! We’ve got a great line up for you.

From my house to yours,

Susan

Cookie #3 and New Classes!

Greetings!

I couldn’t wait! I was planning to share this on Monday, but you’ll want to make these over the weekend. This cookie is the favorite in our house each and every Christmas. These are my dad’s all time favorites. It’s just not Christmas without them. They’re light, crunchy, sweet and a little messy! I’m overdue to make them this year. I have to time it so we have them soon enough, but also so they last until Christmas. I guess I can always make more!

Yesterday was our 32nd wedding anniversary. We worked together in the bakery preparing kits for this weekend, and just hung out,. Then we ordered take out, and watched a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy. It was a great day with a great guy!

New Classes are open!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a Scandinavian Baking Class coming up on December 28th over Zoom. Jacqui Sharpe from Fika Bakery in Three Lakes, WI and I will be co-teaching. She’ll be teaching a few from her kitchen and I’ll be in mine. It’s a Monday evening, starting at 6:30 PM. She has SO much great information on Sweden’s love of pastry and customs.

We’re really looking forward to teaching together. We met over Instagram when we were both vacationing in Door County. We followed each other’s posts, then one day when I had traveled to Wisconsin’s north woods, I popped in to say hi. Well, as they say, the rest is history. I hope you’ll join us for this cozy baking spiced evening.

I’ve also added more classes in January. These are new. There’s a class all about CHOCOLATE!. History, tempering, ganache, and more. It’s a new class and one you’ve been asking for!

I’ve also scheduled a Macaron Class and a Croissant Class for those wanting a refresher or ready to jump into the world of French Pastries! These are great classes for giving. Just head over to the CLASSES page to register.

Pecan Crescents

Pecan Crescents

I’ve been baking at the holidays since I can remember. As we got older our job in the baking changed. One of my first jobs was shaping the crescents. Make a double batch, these will go fast!

Makes about three dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar for rolling the warm cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Mix the the ingredients together to form a dough.

3. Pinch off a walnut sized piece of dough. Roll between your palms to make a log shape. About 2- 2 1/2 inches in length.

4. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bend the log to form a crescent shape.

5. Bake 12-15 minutes, until barely golden brown.

6. When cool enough to handle, roll in powdered sugar.
   

Stay tuned for Cookie #4!

Stay healthy, be safe & kind

xo

Looking back…

Cookie #1 Toffee Bars & Spotify Holiday Play List

Cookie #2 Rolled Sugar Cookies

Tomato Bisque Soup for a Cozy Day

Happy December!

Happy December!

Well, I’m back from Paris. It was everything I had hoped for and more. I was able to scout out some new places, and visit several of my favorites. The weather was cool, rainy, and dreary. But… it was Paris. I bundled up in an extra layer (or two, or three) and off we went.

The city was just preparing for the Christmas season. The lights were being hung, but hadn’t been switched on yet. The anticipation was killing us, but perhaps another time. A very nice man, who sold me some shoes, sent a text message last week when the lights came on so we could see the pretty streets lit and twinkling on his street.

And then there’s cheese!

I had every intention of offering you all a cyber Monday special. Cyber Monday came and went, but how about a Tuesday treat? I’ve added gift certificates, and a few January classes. I’m leaving February open for those interested in booking private classes. Or, I might add a few Macaron classes early in the month. To celebrate the season, I’m offering a little present to you. At checkout, use the code: MERRYMERRY19

You’ll get 10% off on your purchase.

The Paris trip for 2020 is sold out! Thank you for your interest. For those on the waiting list, Santa has a very big surprise for you. (SSShhhh, I can’t tell you yet!)

Happy Holidays to you and yours! Here’s to 2020 and I hope to see you soon!

Susan