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Delicious Milk Bread
Winter always makes me a bit nostalgic for my mother’s milk bread. The air was not only filled with the aroma of yeast and baking, but permeated with the expectation of homemade bread, fresh from the oven and served with butter and homemade strawberry jam OR (even better in my opinion) butter and hot chocolate made with real chocolate. My dad and I could barely wait until the bread was cool enough to slice! This last Sunday I posted some terrible pictures of my own fresh-out-of-the-oven milk bread and I was bombarded with questions about how to make the bread, so I thought I’d make a quick recipe post for you all to enjoy and try. So, this is my sweet mother’s most delicious treat! And she baked many, many loaves for many, many people to say thank you, or to cheer them up, or just because. You could too! …
Brownies
Outside of the people who are allergic to chocolate or don’t enjoy chocolate… who doesn’t love a well-prepared brownie? Since the very first time I tried one many years ago, I have learned and re-learned one golden rule about baking brownies: creating the perfect brownie is not just baking. It’s an art form. Why? Because a brownie is not cake. A brownie is not fudge. The perfect brownie is something in between: a thin layer of crunch on the outside, followed by what’s not quite a cake structure, and semi-gooey center. Best consumed a little warm with a scoop of vanilla-perfumed ice cream and a little warm chocolate sauce.Ingredients and preparation – Brownies For 6 – 9 people About 2 cups (392 gr) sugar, it may be less if you want to experiment 1 cup melted butter that has cooled (you can also use vegetable oil) 4 eggs – room …
Super easy apple tart
Someone in my house doesn’t love cooked apples (hint, it’s not me!). But I’ve finally come up with an ‘apple pie’ – actually it’s an apple tart – that my husband likes. Hurrah! What’s even better, it’s super fast and super easy to make. Honestly, if you mess this one up, just maybe it’s time to avoid the kitchen altogether. But this might just be the dessert that proves you DO belong in the kitchen, and it’s easy for beginners and children too! A timer and some aluminum foil is recommended! This lovely apple tart is prep to table in under an hour. Ready for after lunch coffee or tea?Ingredients and preparationFor up to 6 people pâte feuilletée (puff pastry) – 1 pie crust (ROUND) 4 to 5 cooking apples (start with 4) 3 tablespoons sugar (regular or dark brown) 3 tablespoons butter 1 lemon 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract …
My mother’s Frangipane
Not quite a Gallete des Rois but just as delicious! January 6th – the Christian Feast of the Three Kings or the Epiphany – is coming. Traditionally this is a day when a “Galette des Rois” is consumed ‘en masse’ in France. It is a puff pastry filled with almond-based cake or frangipane and a ‘bean’ hidden inside, typically in the form of a small golden crown or a genie lamp. French bakeries and super markets sell this typical delicacy with a golden crown. The person who gets the bean, gets to be King and wear the crown. My mother’s Frangipane doesn’t have the puff pastry but it is super delicious, my personal fav to serve with afternoon coffee or tea. I bake it often because typically I have the ingredients at hand and what’s more, the preparation is quick and easy, and you can’t really mess it up either! My …