Dear Reader,
This week I’m highlighting a book from one of my favorite publishing houses, Phaidon Press. I first came across them when I bought The Nordic Baking Book, which I mentioned in a previous email.
Phaidon has an incredible range of cookbooks showcasing the cuisines of different countries. So far, I’ve collected their volumes on Nordic, French, Portuguese, Irish, British, and Italian food.
Today, I want to focus on their French edition: France: The Cookbook. Sadly, this version is no longer in print. It was first published in 2009 as a translation of a 1932 classic by French home economics teacher Ginette Mathiot, Je Sais Cuisiner (I Know How to Cook).
This is truly a tome—975 pages packed with recipes and practical advice for the home kitchen. Mathiot’s book has been a staple for generations of French families, republished time and again as the go-to reference for everyday cooking. In many ways, you could think of her as France’s version of Julia Child.
Luckily, Phaidon Press later released a more approachable remake of the book called Classic French Recipes —360 pages, with plenty of photos. I haven’t had the chance to flip through this newer edition myself, but I imagine they trimmed out many of the recipes unlikely to appeal to modern cooks, such as fried calves’ hearts or eel in aspic.
There’s a hefty dessert and baking section—some recipes elaborate and others very simple. This week I chose a simple chocolate rum cake because, as I’ve said before, I need my recipes to be simple mid week. I was intrigued by this recipe because it is not actually a chocolate cake, but rather a rum-soaked sponge with chocolate spread on top.
I thought this cake was delicious, but I would not serve it chilled like the original recipe suggests. I found the chocolate to be too hard to cut into easily with a fork. Instead, I would spread the chocolate, wait for it to set, and then serve at room temperature.
Printable on a web browser.
Until next time, happy baking!
Kristin