Sweet Treats with Bonne Maman – With perfect timing for Mother’s Day, here’s a lovely book that brings together a selection of Bonne Maman’s delicious treats. Sweet Treats with Bonne Maman encourages bakers to bring the iconic taste of the Bonne Maman range into their own kitchens. The recipes are organised into family treats, bite-sized treats and treats for sharing, there is something for every baker – from kids to connoisseurs. It includes bakes such as marble cake, banana bread, madeleines, cookies, linzer biscuits, shortbreads and double chocolate muffins.
Just published by White Lion, at £14.99 for a hardback, it’s written by Ilona Chovancova, a passionate food stylist, photographer, and cookbook writer based in Paris. It will make a lovely Mother’s Day or Easter gift, and, of course, you can also try one of these recipes yourself and present the results as a gift.
Lemon Squares
MAKES 12 SQUARES PREPARATION 25 MINS BAKING 40 MINS
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
260g (9¼oz) butter, softened
60g (2oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar + a little more for dusting
320g (11¼oz/scant 2½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ tsp salt
LEMON CREAM
Juice of 4–5 lemons (220ml/7½fl oz/scant 1 cup)
220g (8oz/heaped 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
7 medium eggs
50g (1¾oz) cornflour (cornstarch), or plain (all-purpose) flour
Preparing the pastry
Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan/200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Line a 20 × 30cm (8 × 12in) cake tin with baking parchment.
Make the shortcrust pastry by whisking together the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl or food processor. Then add the plain flour and salt. Mix to obtain a smooth, even dough.
Baking
Spread out the dough in the cake tin. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the lemon cream ingredients together in a large bowl to obtain a smooth, even mixture. Pour this mixture onto the baked dough. Lower the temperature of the oven to 140 °C fan/160 °C/320 °F/Gas 3. Bake in the oven for a further 20 minutes.
Leave to cool before removing from the tin, then cut the pastry into squares. Sprinkle with icing sugar.
Remember to remove the butter from the fridge 2 hours before starting.
Double chocolate muffins
MAKES 9 PREPARATION 20 MINS BAKING 25 MINS + COOLING
160g (5¾oz) butter + a little more for the tin
180g (61/4oz/1 1/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour + a little more for the tin
100g (3½oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces
3 eggs
170g (6oz/¾ cup + 1½ tbsp) granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
15g (½oz) unsweetened cocoa powder, sieved
¼ tsp salt
100g (3½oz) white chocolate, broken into pieces
Preparing the batter
Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan/200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Grease a 9-hole muffin tin with butter and dust with flour (or line the holes with muffin cases).
Put the butter and the dark chocolate in a small bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Alternatively, place in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water set on a low heat, stirring regularly until melted. Leave to cool.
Whisk the eggs with the sugar in a large bowl until the mixture becomes white and foamy.
Combine the flour with the baking powder and add the melted butter and chocolate, cocoa powder and salt. Mix thoroughly. Stir three quarters of the white chocolate pieces into the batter.
Baking and finishing touches
Divide the batter between the 9 holes. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove the muffins from the oven. Leave to cool completely.
Once the muffins have cooled, melt the rest of the white chocolate and decorate the muffins with it.
The Seasoned Gastronome