Pete Fred

Funny you should say that because the lace cookies spread so much that you have to have a conveyor belt of trays on the go. There's even a 'hack' to streamline the process...

Skinny peanut wafers by Maida Heatter (recipe)... I made these double sized. They were ok. Honey-roasted peanuts would certainly have added a little more interest but they don't appear to be a thing here in France so I had to make do without. There's no salt in the recipe - presumably because salted peanuts contained waaaay more salt back in the day before the health police stuck their beaks in - so I gave them a generous sprinkling of sea salt to finish, but the dough itself would've benefitted from another pinch or two. Erna's lace cookies by Marian Burros... These were good. Super-thin and delicate, and pleasingly crisp with a nice buttery caramel flavour. Very moreish.

@Jim D. I'm not gonna pretend that my opinion is worth a bag o' beans. I simply follow this advice from Ottolenghi. I recently found the magic words hulled, toasted and Ethiopia on this stuff at Amazon France, took a punt, and was pleasantly surprised... Right consistency, nice deep colour, and I could eat it straight from the jar, which makes a change from the pale, claggy stuff that's the only thing available in shops within 200km of me. I see that Al Arz is available at Amazon US, but I've never tried it. Cortas is also a brand I've happily used before. In the UK I used to buy Al Nakhil which was also good. Good luck in your quest!

A couple of not so great cookies... The tahini-honey ones are normally pretty decent, but this time I was using up some second-rate honey and third-rate tahini... And the matcha crinkle cookies suffered from inferior matcha... But even if I'd used the ceremonial grade stuff from the Emperor's personal stash they still would've disappointed, mainly down to the recipe from some random French blogger - too powdery and claggy, as well as being bland.

Nutella cheesecake by Honey & Co... I improvised the base from a recipe for migas dulces (sweet crumbs) that was stale cake blitzed with walnuts, milk powder, butter, sugar and egg, then baked to a crumble consistency. I didn't bother with the chocolate sour cream topping. It had a light, creamy texture, more custardy than cheesecakey, but that might partially be down to my preferred method of baking in a very low oven. The Nutella flavour was sadly lacking, mostly because of the addition of the coffee grounds, which overpowered; I'm not sure what they were doing in there. Recipe here but I wouldn't wholeheartedly recommend it to Nutella fans, and certainly not without omitting the coffee.

Another day, another nata or ten... When I made fairy cakes last month I regreted not fully embracing the nostalgia by fashioning the "wings". As it's been giving me sleepless nights... The ooze was provided by the seemingly inexhaustible supply of plum caramel that I made last year. I had a litre of raw milk that was past its use-by date so made caillé or curds. I usually eat it as is, with a sprinkling of cassonade (brown sugar), but decided to make a couple of small Yorkshire curd tarts instead... Ordinarily I would use a pâte sucrée for the tart shell but this time I went with an unsweetened shortcrust made with butter and lard. It had a nice, melting texture but it looked a bit anemic and I missed the crunch you get with a sweet paste. And because I hadn't put the nata moulds away, a couple of dinky ones used up the scraps...

A couple of recent purchases... Amazon were celebrating 25 years in France with a €25 voucher so I was happy to let Mr Bezos chip in. And I've been pretty impressed with the bowl holder. Would recommend to anyone who thinks they might find it useful.

A za'atar and white chocolate cookie sounded interesting so I gave it a whirl... It was good. You get the milkiness of the white chocolate, followed by the herby tanginess of the za'atar, then a blend of the two. A surprisingly effective and harmonious combo. I prefer my cookies less cakey so lowered the temperature and indulged in a spot of pan-bangin' for more crunch... Recipe here.

I'm a sucker for a pastel de nata, even the mass produced supermarket versions, so I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse to make a surprisingly decent home version... These looked particularly nice in the French morning sunlight so, Mr DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up... I was worried about overcooking the filling, so maybe next time I'll give them a minute or two longer for a slightly firmer set. But there's a lot to be said for the creamier texture, so maybe not.

Matcha Latte Bar from King Arthur... I'm largely ambivalent about American buttercream so only made enough to cover one slice. As cake-like substances go, it was ok but unremarkable. It probably didn't help that the matcha powder was from Lidl and no doubt low grade. The base was relatively dry and needed the icing to lift it. I suppose visually it's something a bit different, but other than that... meh.

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd utter - my dinner this evening was confit cabbage... I was intrigued after seeing the technique on a cheffy YouTube channel. It was tasty. If I'd had a bigger pan I could've happily polished off the other half of the head.

@ElsieD I can't say that I understand the grading of French flours, other than in the most general terms. In the UK I would look at protein content to gauge the strength, but over here the ash content (T) remains a mystery to me, other than knowing T45/55 is for cakes etc., but also, errrr, for bread and croissants. What I don't understand in the above video is that they say refined flours (T45/55) have more gluten than T80 flour (which doesn't make sense to me - T45 and T55 flours are 10%, whereas T80 flour is 11%, as well as the additional germ). So if you use a strong Canadian bread flour then you would going against his advice to minimise 'elasticity', whatever that means. It's all very confusing. You seem to have had good results of late, so I'm not sure there's anything to be gained, other than satisfying your curiosity.

In case it's of interest to cannelé obsessives, I'll add to your information overload with this video of how Cassonade make theirs (I mentioned them on the previous page). Auto-translate will hopefully give you a rough idea of what's going on, but the main takeaways are that they use a flour with a higher bran content than plain/AP, they have a specific temperature for the milk to pre-gelatinize the starch (65C/150F), and the batter is rested for at least 48 hours. For non-obsessives, hey just look at the pretty cannelés. (Incidentally, for behind-the-scenes footage of French bakeries in action, that channel has some cool videos.)

The disappointing HXBs from the other day deserved better than the bin so this pain perdu from the guys at Fallow seemed as good a way as any to use them up... I didn't have any marmalade so used Jersey Black Butter instead. It was pleasant, and I liked the whisky cream. However, I'm not sure how long it'll take to work my way through the remaining 1.3kg (3 lb) block! (The Fallow YouTube channel is worth a look, by the way.)

As the nursery rhyme goes: Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a penny, two a penny, Hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons. One a penny, two a penny, Hot cross buns! These were based on a Thomas Keller recipe which I seem to have adapted at some point in the past, unfortunately to its detriment. The spice mix was all wrong, and the texture a bit dry and crumbly. I'm scratching my head as to how it made its way into my recipe folder.

Tahini and date cookies... I tend to make these when I've the dregs of a jar of tahini. A pleasant cookie.

Yeah, I remember that ad from the 90s. (This YouTuber says 1997. Sounds about right.)

Another Galette des Rois, using the last of the Grand Marnier crème pâtissière in the filling, together with some inverted puff from the back of the freezer... This was a partial fail. The amount of pastry was a little smaller than I would normally use for a 24cm (9½-inch) galette, and in making it stretch (literally!) I compressed the layers too much. The top lost its shape and contracted in places, and towards the centre you can see where the layers failed to separate. The bottom was overworked and leaked butter. The final insult was the disappointingly muted flavour, with just the merest hint of orange. I'll get me coat.

I had some leftover cream from the choux puffs and, after admonishing others for being unseemly, I thought it unwise to simply plant my face in the bowl and inhale. So I made fairy cakes instead... Strictly speaking, I suppose these are more of a fairy cake/cupcake hybrid, combining a dainty base with a creamy swirl on top. And I'm kicking myself for not doing the fairy wings.

@Katie Meadow @JoNorvelleWalker Ladies, please! Control yourselves. This is a public forum. What I get up to in the kitchen late at night is not for idle speculation or gossip. You're better than this.

Choux au craquelin... The filling is a Grand Marnier crème légère.

I think I checked out the same video as you. So, I will see your meat chopper... ...and raise you the citrus press... But the question is, will anyone go all-in with the takoyaki pan?!?

I was just being silly. Oeufs de Lompe is lumpfish roe. For the avoidance of any doubt, I do not have a monthly supply of Sevruga sturgeon caviar, whereas I can often be seen shopping in Lidl. 😉

I guess you'll either love it or hate it, Jason Atherton's Marmite tart... It was Insta-famous for ten minutes before everyone moved on to the next thing. Given the ingredients, they really should stick it on the lunch menu at the Museum of Iconic British Brands... I liked it. It's essentially just a savoury crème brulée, not too strong, with a nice tangy note. In his restaurant, Atherton adds a scoop of caviar, so that was all the excuse I needed to break the seal on this month's tin of Sevruga* ($400/100g)... If anyone's curious and wants to take a stab, the recipe is here. *It's a bit cheaper at Lidl ($3/100g ) if you're lucky enough to have one nearby...

I was particularly taken with the Grand Marnier, but I've liked them all so far. For me, chocolate is probably more suited to a smaller soufflé, as it's quite rich. I'll try to make more with fruit purée as the base; I have a fig tree so thanks for the nod. The copper moulds are by Mauviel.