Tag: Crème fraîche

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Gateau au pommes

Apple cake for my French class. This is an apple batter cake that is relatively simple recipe, well, it’s relatively simple for Cook’s Complicated, er, Illustrated. (Actually it is from Milk Street but that’s Christopher Kimball and it’s all the same, Cook’s Country, Cook’s complicated, er Illustrated, America’s Test Kitchen, whatever). 

The cake is supposed to be served with crème fraîche. 

I believe that it is possible to buy crème fraîche in the grocery store for slightly more than a half a week’s salary so I decided instead to make it myself. It is stunningly easy. One cup of cream and 2 TBS of buttermilk at room temp uncovered for 12 hours or something. 

Letting milk or cream stand out at room temperature overnight goes completely against my nature but I did it and it was amazing. It turned thick and tangy and it was perfect on the cake.



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Marquise au whatever

So freaking much hoopla about this. A splashy half page with Dorie Greenspan in Saveur magazine. Créme fraîche. Whatever. I seriously have no idea why anyone thinks this is so special. I made this exactly like the recipe in Saveur using the finest Finnish chocolate I had saved for something special. The recipe called for créme fraîche and being unfamiliar with it (and certainly not having any laying about in the house—for the record, thin down some sour cream with whipping cream or use Mexican crema . . . NOT ONE SOUL WILL KNOW THE DIFFERENCE). Good Lord such a hoopdedoo. It’s just frozen chocolate mousse covered with “fondant.” Melted chocolate and cream. It’s good although a little too sweet but I napped it with the creme fraiche and that was a nice touch. But on the whole. . . meh.