4 Recipes for Plant-Based French Pâtisserie Classics

From her new cookbook, Amanda Bankert, an American expat pâtissière at the Boneshaker bakery in Paris, showcases decadent plant-based delights, including reimagined French classics.

FINANCIERS

Makes | 2 financiers

Rumour has it that these miniature almond cakes, typically dotted with raspberries or flavoured with citrus and pistachio, got their name from their resemblance to bars of gold (financiers are traditionally baked in rectangular moulds), but today you’re just as likely to see circular versions, as I’ve done here.

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups (150 g) powdered sugar
• ¼ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup (72 g) almond flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 ml) aquafaba
• 4% tablespoons (65 g) vegan butter,
• melted ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, sift together the powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, almond flour and baking powder. Add the aquafaba, melted butter, vanilla and almond extract and stir to combine. Transfer the batter to a storage container and let it rest in the fridge for 2 to 6 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C). Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin, taking care to make sure each cup is very well. greased and floured. Fill the cups two-thirds of the way full with the batter.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through, until golden around the edges.
4. Let cool completely in the pan, then gently remove them by running a butter knife around the edges of the cups and lifting out the financiers.
5. The cakes are best served the day they’re made but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

VARIATIONS

• Pistachio financiers: Whisk 1 heaped tablespoon of pure pistachio butter into the batter before refrigerating. Top each financier with about a teaspoon of crushed pistachios before baking.
• Lemon financiers: Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon to the batter before refrigerating.
• Raspberry financiers: Press 3 or 4 berries into the top of each financier before baking.

LUNETTES

Makes | dozen sandwich cookies

Lunettes, named for their resemblance to reading glasses, are made by simply sandwiching cut-out butter cookies together with jam. My version, using both raspberry and apricot jam, is perhaps more akin to two-toned 3D movie frames. You can stick with one flavour of jam if you prefer, raspberry is the traditional choice.

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ cup (100 g) solid white vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons aquafaba
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) plant milk Raspberry jam Apricot jam (optional)
• Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. It’s not necessary to sift the ingredients, but I like to give them a quick whisk to aerate the flour a little and mix everything together.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the shortening, sugar, aquafaba, vanilla and almond extract on high speed until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the milk and mix until incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed until fully combined. Be careful not to over-mix. (If you’re not baking the cookies immediately. divide the dough into 2 flat discs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for up to 2 days)
4. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough about ½ inch (1 cm) thick. Use a 4in (10 cm) round or oval cookie cutter to cut out 24 cookies. Use a lin (25 cm) cutter to cut out two eyes’ on half of the cookie discs and place all the discs on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Allow the cookies to cool completely. When you’re ready to assemble, spread a teaspoon of raspberry jam in the centre-left of one of the non-cut-out cookies. Spread another teaspoon of jam on the centre-right (apricot jam on this side, if using). Place the remaining 12 cookies (with cut-outs) on top and press them together to seal. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

MI-CUIT AU CHOCOLAT

Makes | 4 cakes

Chocolate lava cake mi-cuit (half-baked) in French is a classic on dessert menus worldwide and for good reason. Is there anything more serotonin-inducing than sliding your spoon through a thin layer of chocolate cake to reveal a pool of molten chocolate? I doubt it. I’ve made these in every restaurant I’ve worked in. At home, make like a pastry chef and prep these cakes in advance: pipe the batter into ramekins and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Bake the cakes à la minute and when you remove them from the oven, add flaked salt and a cheeky scoop of ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 2/3 cup (3.5 oz/100 g) chopped dark chocolate
• 7 tablespoons (100 g) vegan butter
• ¼ cup (150 g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup plus
• 1 tablespoon (50 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Grease four 4in (10 cm) ramekins and dust the centre of each with about I teaspoon of cocoa powder. Spin the ramekin in your palm, tuming it so the cocoa powder coats the entire surface. Tap out the excess and set the ramekins aside.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the ground flaxseed with 7% tablespoons (110ml) of water. Set aside to thicken for about 10 minutes. This is your flax egg.
4. Make a bain-marie by placing a large heatproof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water (the chocolate will bum). Add the chocolate and butter and heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has just melted. Alternatively, you can microwave it in 30-second increments until melted. Let cool slightly.
5. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, add the chocolate mixture, flax egg, sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed until smooth. Finally, fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Transfer the batter to a piping bag and fill each ramekin three-quarters full. At this stage. you can either place the fondants in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them (up to a day in advance), or bake them for 10 to 12 minutes. The cakes should be puffed up on the sides but still wobble (the tiniest bit) in the centre when you take them out of the oven.

TARTE AU CITRON

Makes | one 9in (23 cm) tart

This is no-fuss, eat-straight-out-of-the-pieplate baking.

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

• 1 cup (125 g) crushed vegan graham crackers or vegan digestive biscuits
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the filling:

• ¼ cup (150 g) sugar (superfine preferred, but granulated will work)
• 1 tablespoon plus
• 2 teaspoons pectin
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon agar agar powder
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup plus
• 1 tablespoon (200 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (260 ml) barista- blend oat milk
• 8 tablespoons (113 g) cold vegan butter, cubed

METHOD

Make the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl and add the melted butter, sugar and salt. Stir until the crumbs are coated with butter and then tip them into a 9in (23 cm) pie pan or tart plate. Using your hands, press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie pan. I like to take a metal measuring cup and go over the crust once, pressing firmly with the cup to ‘set’ it.
3. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown.Let cool while you make the filling.

Make the filling:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, pectin, comstarch, agar agar and turmeric.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the pectin mixture, lemon zest, lemon juice and oat milk. Cook, whisking constantly. until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Bring to a boil and boil for I minute, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the butter, piece by piece, until completely incorporated. Let cool for 5 minutes before pouring into the tart base and smoothing with a metal spatula or offset spatula.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours, until set.

From France Today Magazine