French Dessert for 8th grade French project?

Question

i have to make a french dessert for my french project. the two easiest recipies i've found are Sucre a la Creme and Bonbons aux Patates. i was wondering which you like better, which is easier and if you know of any other easy delicious recipies for me to use. thanks a lot!

Answer 1

I'm horrified by what I'm reading - whatever these recipes are, they aren't French. French patisserie is not about instant mixes and whipped cream you buy in a store! In a French recipe, you would make the whipped cream yourself (it's easy and so much better).

Anyway - 2 suggestions, both quite easy: gateau au chocolat or mousse au chocolat. They are family recipes, and they're super good. Here you go (both feed 6 to 8 (French) people):

Gateau au chocolat:
200g dark chocolate (buy the good stuff, no crap chocolate)
200g unsalted butter
4 eggs
150g caster sugar
40g plain flour
7g baking powder
1 pinch of salt
(there are a bunch of websites where you can convert these into cups and tea/tablespoons if you don't have a measuring glass or a scale)
Preheat the oven to 350 degree (Fahrenheit)
Cut the chocolate into pieces, add the butter, and melt in the microwave (on low power - better to take some time than burn the chocolate).
Mix the melted chocolate and butter together.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar.
Add the salt, baking powder and flower to the eggs and sugar, and mix.
Mix the contents of the two bowls together.
Put in cake dish and put in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 mn (check with a knife whether it's ready - if there's no liquid dough on the knife it's good). This cake should not be overcooked, it's best when it's still moist inside. Let it cool completely before eating; you can put it in the fridge for a few hours.

Mousse au chocolat:
200g dark chocolate (again - spend the money and get some really good cooking chocolate)
1 tablespoon caster sugar
6 eggs
Break the chocolate into pieces, melt it in the microwave with a bit of water (on low power)
Separate the yolks and the whites. The yolks go in the melted chocolate, the whites in another bowl.
Mix the yolks and the melted chocolate
Add the sugar
Beat the egg whites until they are very firm
Incorporate the egg whites into the chocolate/yolk mix. Do that delicately - the more delicate you are, the lighter, larger the mousse will be
Put in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Wow, that was quite a bit of effort writing all that. I do hope that catlover will get inspired, and hopefully a few other people!

Answer 2

cream puffs are extremely easy. It's just like baking biscuits, then hollowing them out when they come out the the oven and filling them wtih pudding or whipped cream or whatever. Then you just sprinkle them with powdered sugar or drizzle them with chocolate. Then you're done. These were the best things that came to class when I took French.

Good recipe:
INGREDIENTS
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
DIRECTIONS
Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

Answer 3

I was going to suggest Creme Puffs as did Princess.
Her recipe is basic and makes 10 large sized puffs, using a heaping TB as your measure. You can make mini ones if serving for your class...but...I wouldn't use the instant pudding. It breaks down after a short time, so I would use a cooked custard or whipped cream that you fill just before serving. A dusting of powdered sugar over top or drizzle a chocolate ganashe (sp)on top and you have a spectacular presentation. Good luck!

Answer 4

You've got all the tourist attractions above, so I'll give you a couple of restaurants. Number 1 - (Right Bank) "Chez Julien" is near Porte St. Denis and is an old "belle epoch" style restaurant with mirrors, murals and antique hats hanging on coat hooks. Very charming. Number 2 - Le Polidor - rue de Petit Prince and very old. It has an old bureau with lots of little drawers where regular customers kept their napkins and cutlery till they returned again for dinner. Prix fixe menu - not the greatest food but very traditional and reasonable. Charming place where several people sit at large tables family style.

Answer 5

If you are not a very experienced cook/baker....and it sounds like you might not be if you are looking for the easiest thing to make, you might give any recipe a test run first. Cream Puffs...or Choux Pastry is very easy to make, but if you put too many on the pan when they bake, the steam from them could deflate them all and make them a flat, crinkled looking mess. So be careful.

If you are making this dish for an entire class, I might suggest Chocolate Mousse. It's pretty easy, really forgiving (like if you screw it up, nobody really knows!) and you could serve it in little dixie cups so one batch would be enough for the whole class.

Answer 6

bon bons for the win! we had a smiliar project in our highschool french class, someone else made crepe's with strawberrys and that was good as well, but bon bons got everyone's vote here in NY!

Answer 7

how about chocolate eclaires? Smooth and creamy custard inside, and the chocolate you love outside!

Answer 8

crepes, tortes or something flambee is always fun!