These past couple of weeks, Denis’ mother and cousin came to visit from France. I’ve always enjoyed cooking with my mother-in-law, and this trip was no exception. We have significantly influenced each other in the kitchen, she teaching me traditional French wisdom like how to make homemade liqueur the old-fashioned rural way or how to make a vinaigrette taste French (it’s all about the shallots), and me nudging her to expand her spice repertoire and be a bit more adventurous in her cooking. While getting a French person to eat spicy food is a bit like telling another person to eat a dish you just seasoned with arsenic, she has taken to some of the warm, Southwestern spices, which we smuggle across the border in little pouches like cocaine. Her absolute favorite is a spice blend from Penzeys called Northwoods Fire (in her sketchy English, she calls it Norfoof, and thus so do we now), and Norfoof finds its way into pretty much everything in her kitchen, boeuf bourguignon included!
I was excited to find out that our cousin Tom, who’s 12, is also a budding fan of the culinary arts. Since my son’s naps left us with several hours at home every afternoon, we had plenty of time to have some fun in the kitchen. When I suggested to Tom that we do a blog post together in which he tells us about things he likes to make at home, he was full of good ideas. His main interest is in baking, so over the course of the week, he made us two treats that I will share with you today. They both make creative use of sweets you can easily find at the supermarket.
One is a playful cake in the shape of a French cartoon character called Barbapapa (“Daddy’s beard,” which refers to cotton candy). The really cool thing about this cake is the icing, which is luscious and simple, made of melted marshmallows and confectioners sugar. It makes a thick coating that dries smooth, almost like a cheater’s fondant (the smooth sugar-based dough that is blanketed onto wedding cakes to make them look perfectly iced). It is perfect for a kid’s birthday cake since you can color it in any way you like and add details (eyes, nose, etc) at the end. The second is a more sophisticated, but equally simple tart using store-bought caramels. The combination of the crunchy cookie crust with just a kiss of buttery caramel was honestly fantastic. I couldn’t believe how delicious it was with so little effort!
I thought today’s post deserved a French translation, so here it is:
Ces dernières semaines, la mère et le cousin de Denis étaient à Chicago pour une visite. J’ai toujours aimé faire la cuisine avec ma belle-mère, et ce voyage n’était pas une exception. Nous nous sommes influencées pas mal en cuisine je pense. Elle m’apprend le savoir-faire traditionnel français : comment faire une liqueur de cassis à l’ancienne, ou comment faire une vraie vinaigrette à la française (il faut macérer des échalotes dans le vinaigre avant de commencer) ; et moi, je la pousse à s’ouvrir à d’autres goûts et à d’autres cuisines du monde. J’esssaie aussi de partager ma passion pour les épices, ce qui n’est pas évident étant donné que quand tu dis à un Français qu’un plat est épicé, autant lui dire qu’il est empoisonné ! Mais en fait, elle a appris à apprécier certaines épices, en particulier un mélange qui s’appelle Northwoods Fire et qui rappelle les saveurs boisées du sud-ouest des Etats-Unis. Elle en met dans presque tout maintenant, même dans son bœuf bourguignon, et je suis donc devenue trafiquante de Northwoods Fire à chaque fois que je vais en France !
J’étais très contente d’apprendre que notre cousin Tom, qui a 12 ans, aime aussi faire la cuisine. Puisqu’on avait toujours quelques heures par jour à la maison pendant que Damien faisait sa sieste, on avait du temps pour s’amuser dans la cuisine. Quand j’ai proposé à Tom qu’il m’aide à écrire un article de blog dans lequel il parlerait de plats qu’il aime faire, il avait un tas d’idées. Ce qu’il préfère c’est la pâtisserie, donc au cours de son séjour, il nous a fait deux gâteaux que je vais partager avec vous. Dans les deux cas, on fait bon usage de bonbons qu’on peut acheter facilement au supermarché.
Pour le premier, il s’agit d’un gâteau en forme de Barbapapa. Ce que j’ai trouvé génial avec ce gâteau, c’était le glaçage, qui donne un effet un peu comme les glaçages très lisses des gâteaux de mariage, mais sans demander beaucoup d’efforts. Il suffit d’acheter des chamallows et de les faire fondre avec du sucre glace. La crème durcit et vous donne un résultat vraiment sympa, surtout si vous voulez faire un gâteau décoré. Le deuxième est une tarte au caramel très sophistiquée mais super simple. La combinaison de la pâte sablée croustillante et une fine couche de caramel est franchement délicieuse!
Tarte au caramel
For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp sugar
- dash of salt
Mix the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor until it forms a ball. (Alternatively, crumble the butter into the flour by hand until it resembles coarse crumbs.) Add salt, sugar and egg and blend. Remove and shape into a rough disk, slip into a ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator.
Press the dough into a round cake pan or pie tin, being sure to form high rims around the edge which will hold the caramel in later. Punch the dough several times with a fork and bake at 375 until golden.
For the filling:
- about 15 caramels, unwrapped
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Melt the caramels in a small saucepan and add cream. Cook on medium an additional couple of minutes and then remove from heat. Pour the caramel into the baked crust. Chill and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
For the Barbapapa Cake, you can use any cake you like. To make it look like one of the lovable family of pear-shaped characters, pictured here, we made a rectangular sponge cake and trimmed the edges:
Gâteau Barbapapa
1 sheet cake, cut into pear shape
8-10 large marshmallows, placed in a microwave-safe bowl
Around 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp water
Food coloring (optional)
Microwave the marshmallows, keeping a close eye on them, and waiting until they begin to puff. Once they are just melted, stir in water and powdered sugar until you get a smooth paste. Add food coloring to give your cake a fun color. Ice cake as desired, going over the surface with a spatula until smooth.
Ice cake as desired, going over the surface with a spatula until smooth. Decorate with marshmallows, sprinkles or other candies and allow to set in the refrigerator.
