VEGAN CRÈME AU BEURRE, AU SUCRE CUIT

[Vegan Butter Cream II - with sugar syrup]

...this recipe is from the section called THREE BUTTER CREAMS...the first one was the simplest...using powdered sugar...VEGAN CRÈME AU BEURRE, MÉNAGÈRE...

...I must say that this recipe did not turn out anything like what I was expecting...

...which was pretty much this icing...

...when we were first dating and well into our married life...the Man's Mom used to make a boiled chocolate icing...much like this one...it had that crinkly sugary 'crust'...image and recipe here...and in truth it often turned grainy...and it was always spread (or poured) onto a sheet cake and served out of the glass pan it was baked in...not sure why she doesn't make it any more...

...so...based on what I thought I was making...haha...I made the sheet cake to spread it on...using this old recipe for a Golden Layer Cake...I did the two layer version...but it wound up a little bit thin so I probably should have done the three layer version...and I put that in the oven while I proceeded with the recipe...

...then...I creamed the butter...the 'recipe' for Vegan Beurre en Pommade precedes this one...

...then you need 5 vegan egg yolks...and I used about a 1/2 cup of Aquafaba for that...

...and just beat it a little bit until it started to get frothy...

...then...I made the sugar syrup...just sugar and water...and I'm using vegan turbinado sugar and since I'm making chocolate icing that's fine...but if I were making a white icing...I'd use a white sugar...natch...

...and boil that to the soft ball stage...(236° to 238° F - 113°-114° C)...

...I just checked mine on a cool plate...squishy and pliable...

...and then I turned the mixer back on and poured that in...you don't have to be careful like you would with egg yolks...

...and you beat it for 4 to 5 minutes...Julia says the mixture will be light, foamy, doubled in bulk...then you beat in your whipped vegan butter...

...and melt some chocolate...I used bakers semisweet...Julia gives other suggestions as well...kirsch or orange liqueur, or strong coffee, OR, 1 Tb vanilla extract...

...so that's 2 ounces (Julia says 2 squares but in my Baker's block it was 4) melted, semi- sweet, baking chocolate 2 to 4 Tb softened...just melted in a double boiler...

...so I just whipped that into the vegan egg and butter and sugar syrup mixture...

...and here's the surprise...it's a light and creamy sort of whipped frosting...nothing like what I was expecting...

...since it's still a little bit warm...Julia says to put it into a basin of cool water...

...so I just set it into a sinkful of cool water and continued stirring it a little bit...see how nice and creamy it looks...

...so then the cake was ready...it just needed to cool first...

...and then I dolloped on the fluffy frosting...not poured over like I was expecting...

...and just frosted the cake...

...it was so pretty...

...and this is a pretty long and involved recipe...but it really did turn out to be delicious...and nothing like what I was expecting...it was a light fluffy perfectly smooth and creamy frosting...

Substitutions

Vegan Butter for the butter
Aquafaba for the egg yolks

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 681-683

Vegan Beurre en Pommade

[Vegan Creamed Butter]

...kind of surprised that this counts as a 'recipe'...but if you look at this MtAoFC as an instruction manual of sorts...as Craig Claiborne called the recipes Glorious in the first review on October 18...

"The most comprehensive, laudable, and monumental work on French Cuisine was published this week and it will probably remain as the definitive work for non-professionals. This book is for those that take fundamental delight in the pleasures of cuisine. It is written in the simplest terms possible and without compromise or condescension. The recipes are glorious."

...this is what Julia says about creaming butter...

"HOW TO CREAM BUTTER
The butter must always be creamed or beaten before the flavoring is added to it. You can blend the butter to a cream in an electric beater, pound it in a bowl with a pestle, or mash it, a bit at a time, with the back of a wooden spoon, then beat it vigorously until it is light and creamy. Then the flavorings and the butter are creamed togedrer, and the mixture is put in a cool place to firm up. If it is refrigerated, it will become as hard as an ordinary piece of chilled butter."

...I used this vegan butter...

...and just whipped it up in my stand mixer...and it definitely wound up being light and creamy...

Substitutions

Vegan Butter for the butter...haha...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 100

VEGAN OIE RÔTIE AUX PRUNEAUX

[Vegan Roast Goose with Prune and Vegan Foie Gras Stuffing]

...for the vegan goose...I made Tracy's Compassionate Breast...but I used chickpea flour instead of soy...and added a little vegan beef bouillon for a little bit darker colour...VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC...and then for the vegan liver I used the same black walnut based VEGAN FOIE DE VEAU...

...you start with the much maligned prune...mine were already pitted...but Julia says to pit them carefully...you want whole prunes...

...steep them in hot water for a few minutes...

...and then add them to a pot with some white wine...

...and some vegan beef stock...and simmer them slowly for about 10 minutes...and set aside...

...make the vegan liver pâté...

...chop some green onion (or shallot)...

...and add that to a pan with some thyme...

...boil some wine...(port)

...and reduce it to about 2 Tbls...

...and add that to your vegan liver...taste and adjust your seasoning...

...prepare your vegan goose...

...and stuff each prune with a teaspoon or so of the liver pâté...

...and then stuff your vegan goose with the stuffed prunes...

...pour over the reserved prune liquid...

..and it's ready for the oven...Julia gives directions for roasting the goose...which won't really apply to a vegan goose and there's a chart on the previous page with times per weight...but I just baked mine for about 30 minutes at 350° F...(176.667°C)

...we served our vegan stuffed goose with boiled red potatoes and zucchini and onions with parmesan...

...and it was much much better than I was expecting...haha...the prunes lend a nice sweetness and it compliments the earthy vegan liver...

Substitutions

VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC for the goose...just subbing some chickpea flour and vegan beef bouillon
VEGAN FOIE DE VEAU for the liver...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 283-285

Vegan Soufflé Panaché

[Vegan Half and Half Soufflé]

Julia says that two kinds of souffle may be cooked in the same mold, use vanilla, and coffee, pralin, or orange. Chocolate will not do, as it cooks in a different manner....not sure why...I've not tried the chocolate one yet...

...and based on my experience with the Vegan Soufflé au Café...which was very mildly flavored of coffee...I only steeped a tablespoon or so of coffee in the milk...

...this time...I used a decaf instant...because I wanted there to be more contrast between the vanilla side and the coffee side...the other way you'd hardly be able to tell the difference...or maybe use a lot more of the grounds to steep in the milk...

...but I may have gone too far in that direction and made it too strong with coffee...but there will be a contrast for sure...haha...

...and I had a little bit of the praline left in the freezer from the Vegan Soufflé Praliné...so I added that down the center...after I did that I was afraid it would just sink to the bottom...but it did not...

...and as long as you got the vanilla and the coffee sides together it was not too strongly flavored...haha...it was good...and you can definitely taste the coffee this time...

Substitutions

Almond milk for the milk...
Vegan Egg for the egg yolk
Aqua Faba for the egg white


Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 618-619

Vegan Suprêmes De Volaille Archiduc

[Vegan Chicken Breasts with Paprika, Onions, and Cream]

...Julia says that 'the onions giving the chicken and the sauce a subtle flavor, while the paprika lends fragrance and rosiness...'

...this is a variation of the VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC

...you start by dropping some minced onions into boiling water for a couple of minutes...

...and then you drain those...and rinse with cold water...

...then you melt some vegan butter in a casserole...

...my Suprême is just tofu...I roughly cut a block of tofu into a Suprême shape and froze it and thawed it...it changes the texture...making it a bit stringier and chewier...Cooks Illustrated explains it here if you're unfamiliar with the process...

...and roll your Suprêmes in that...and salt and pepper them...

...cover with a buttered round of waxed paper...and pop into the oven...

...then put your blanched onions into a pan...

...with the paprika and vegan butter and cook over low heat...without browning the onions...

...then add the Suprême from the oven...

...and the vegan cream...I'm using homemade (kind of thick) almond milk...but you can use a commercially prepared vegan cream too...

...it does make a lovely 'fragrant' rosy sauce...

...we served ours over noodles with a salad and French bread...

...it was really delicious...I'd make it again...

Substitutions

tofu for the chicken...
homemade (thick) almond milk for the cream...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 268-269)