Pete Fred

For almost everything that calls for ground almonds I just buy a bag of the stuff made from blanched almonds. Very occasionally I might make my own if something a little more rubble-y might be nice (there's a Tarta de Santiago and a couple of almond tarts that I do it for). I probably should experiment a little more with unblanched or roasted as I often read about the benefits of leaving the skins on and blitzing your own. The handful of times I've bothered, though, I'm not sure it was worth it; but that may be down to the quality of the supermarket nuts I have access to <shakes head ruefully>.

From "Casablanca: My Moroccan Food" by Nargissa Benkabbou, Rose and Almond Ghriba... These are quite soft and cakey. No fuss, just make a paste from almonds, sugar, butter, baking powder, egg, rosewater. Simple. Quite nice.

Lidl occasionally have Amarena cherries in syrup. I usually buy half a dozen jars. So good.

OK, I may have finally run out of things to do with egg whites (for the time being 🤥). I was curious what Œufs à la Neige/Îles flottantes/Floating Islands would be like with the meringue cooked in the microwave. Turns out it works rather well. Who knew?!. I didn't have any flaked almonds to hand otherwise I would have toasted a few and strewn them atop. The one on the left was drizzled with a traditional dry caramel, but I find that too crunchy and tooth-bothering, so the other was squirted with a tube of salted butter caramel. Both islands floated on shop-bought crème anglaise. Do not judge me. The last couple of whites were used up in a dozen sour cherry amaretti from an Ottolenghi recipe...

Nah. Just a hobby. Too much free time! 🙂

Still working my way through a freezer drawer of egg whites. This is a Macaroné du Poitou... Fancy name but it's pretty much just a big slab of amaretti or a giant almond macaroon, consisting of ground almonds, sugar and egg whites. Simple and tasty.

I was very taken with the Paul A Young brownie from last week. In fact they're so good I made some more... This was baked a little longer (pulled at 82C) for a firmer set. The wet-look is more an artefact of dipping the knife in hot water. There is a recipe and a video of him making them on daytime telly. (Or on YouTube if that won't play in your location.)

No update for a few months. I hope this is down to the OP finally living their best life in canelé paradise, rather than descending into madness. Anyway, this deep dive was in my feed today. I'm not sure that it generates more light than heat, but somewhere in there might be the key that unlocks the puzzle for @JeffGCor anybody else who's struggling with this little pastry.

They're Dorie's Moroccan Semolina and Almond Cookies. She writes of them... It was a picture in a French magazine that won my heart and set me to dreaming about what these cookies would be like. In the picture, the sugar-coated cookies were cracked — I later learned that in Morocco the cracks are often called smiles — and you could see the slightly rough crumb in the crevices. I couldn’t tell if the cookies, sometimes called ghrieba, sometimes ghoriba, would be airy or substantial, but I was betting on a shortbread-like texture, and I was right. I was also betting on a certain very agreeable graininess because of the semolina. Semolina falls somewhere on the texture continuum between whole wheat our and cornmeal; it’s golden and it’s high-gluten, which is why it’s the flour of choice for pasta. In a cookie, it provides a bit of bite and a slight grit, the kind of presence the French would call sablé, or sandy. And then there’s the almond flour, for flavor, of course, but it also adds another mysterious layer to the cookie’s surprising elegance.

I took some Semolina Almond Cookies (Dorie Greenspan) round to a friend's... I had a feeling I'd posted them here a few years back, and when I checked I was a little surprised to read that I didn't particularly rate them at the time. 🤯 Not sure why. I've made them several times since and think they're delightful. I can only think they must've been better the next day and I didn't bother to follow up.

That’s the one. 👍 It’s a very good cookie.

Another day, another way to put egg whites to good use. François Payard's Chocolate-Walnut Cookie... I'm a fan. Very easy to make, and gluten-free if that's your thing.

Peanut and sweet potato stew from Melissa Thompson's Jamaican cookbook 'Motherland'... I had no red kidney beans so subbed in flageolet beans which was all I had to hand. It was good, but lacked some acidity. A splash of lemon juice and a sprinkling of sumac lifted it for my taste.

I always seem to have an abundance of egg whites. So in the the last couple of weeks I've put them to good use. The first port of call is usually financiers. A buckwheat one from a Christophe Felder recipe... And a hazelnut one by Cedric Grolet... But when I need to use up a lot of egg whites (nine!) then I make L’annécien by Maxime Frédéric... The texture's soft but bouncy (in a good way!). When I first made it last year it seemed to me it was basically a Gâteau Lorrain (similar to Angel Food Cake, only with butter), hence the cross... The Bundt version is the way to go because the mould is dusted with crunchy sugar for added interest.

I'm not sure there's much you can do taste-wise with a brownie, other than the quality of the chocolate and quantity and type of sugar. I guess it's more of a texture thing with Mr Young's brownies. They're on the fudgy side. 🙂

After seeing mention of the Paul A Young brownies a few posts back I wondered if I'd ever got round to making them myself. It turns out I hadn't. So... I think I pulled it a couple of minutes too early, but better under than over, huh? Anyway, they were very good. So add another recommendation to the long list of plaudits. 👍

Added to RecipeGullet. Bon courage!

For @Kim Shookand anyone else who fancies a date with Mister Crunch... 15g butter 15g flour 160g milk, warmed a bay leaf freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper 25g butter, softened 2 slices of bread 1 tsp Dijon mustard, or to taste 60g Comté or Gruyère, grated 60g ham Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Add the bay leaf and bring to the boil. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside. Preheat the grill to high. Butter each slice of bread on one side and place under the grill, buttered side up. Toast until golden. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7/200°C Fan. Line a baking tray with parchment. Spread a little mustard on the untoasted sides of bread. Cover one slice with half of the béchamel, right up to the edges. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and cover with the ham. Top with the other slice of bread, toasted side up, and spread with the remaining béchamel. Sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and season with a little more nutmeg and pepper. Transfer to the prepared tray and bake until bubbling and golden, 15-20 minutes. Tips For the béchamel, a splash of Worcestershire sauce is highly recommended. And if there's any parmesan lying around I'll grate some of that in for a double umami-bomb. I let the béchamel cool to room temperature to thicken to the texture of wallpaper paste (yum!). That way it clings to the bread better so the sides crunch-up nicely. Any cheese that melts well should work. Gruyère is traditional, but i prefer Comté. Avoid Emmental, too bland. If the croque's nice and hot all the way through but not coloured to your liking, whack it under the grill until blistered and bubbling.

Crème Brûlée using my last Tahitian vanilla pod. I'm too frightened to look what a re-up is gonna cost me these days.

Ahhhh, yes... when I said "made", perhaps "assembled" would be more accurate. The three that went in the freezer were unbaked and simply wrapped in clingfilm... When I can resist their siren call no longer I defrost overnight in the fridge and bake from chilled in a 200C/400F oven. By the time the top is nicely browned and bubbly, the croque is piping hot all the way through, about 25 minutes. I can't say that I've noticed any issues with the bechamel separating after being frozen, but then again I've never had a good poke around to check. Too busy enjoying the cheesy goodness! 😋

Croque Monsieur made with 18-month unpasteurized Comte and a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce in the bechamel. I made three more for the freezer. I suspect they may not last the week.

Yup. Just like nutmeg. But it is very strong, so just a very light grating with a microplane is enough. For example, the custard tart a few posts back had basically a whole nutmeg grated onto it. For this cake, maybe it was a dozen strokes on the microplane.

Dorie Greenspan's Have-It-Your-Way Almond Cake... Quite an unassuming and plain looking cake, but very quick to come together with a delightfully light texture. I flavoured this with freshly grated tonka and it really complemented the almonds. So much so that I've already polished off four of the nine squares from the 8-inch cake. 😏 (Hopefully no-one from the FDA is reading this and coming to arrest me.)

Another day, another pancake. This time in the form of a Dutch Baby... I filled it with a bag of red berries that was lurking at the back of the freezer, together with a good glug of creme anglaise. I must make this more often. Such a great mix of temperatures and textures: hot, crispy, soft, chewy, cold, creamy, fruity. So good.

Seeing as it's Shrove Tuesday I thought I'd have custard pancakes... I made some crepes, added a dollop of vanilla pastry cream, folded like a spring roll, then pan-fried in butter and sugar for five minutes, turning a few times until caramelized. I usually make a quick butterscotch pan-sauce with a little more butter, sugar and rum. Not today though.