Christmas is all about spending time with the people you love and many of us choose to do so around a well-filled dining table. For once, we pay no attention to the amount of calories and sugar we’re consuming, only concentrating on the good and flavourful. While many Christmas menus might have already been decided on, chances are, you’ve still got room for dessert. We’ve selected 3 easy Christmas recipes for fans of French cuisine.
1. Orangettes with chocolate
Let’s start off with what is by far the easiest dessert on the list and one you could easily make beforehand. Thanks to its small size, it’s also perfect to serve with your coffee and you could even put some in gifting bags and hand them out as homemade treats. Orangettes, as they are called in French, are candied orange peel. Dipped in chocolate for some extra sweetness, they’re a staple in French households, especially during the holiday season.
1.1. Ingredients (4 people)
- 2 organic oranges
- 150 grams of good quality dark chocolate
- 200 grams of sugar
1.2. Instructions
- Start by removing the peel from your oranges, preferably in 2 or 4 equal parts. Cut the peel in thin strips and shortly blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes. You can eat the flesh or use it in another recipe.
- Once the orange peel slices are done, get them out of the water and dry them off.
- Take a thick-bottomed pan, add the orange peels and the sugar, together with around 150 millilitres of water. Bring to a boil while stirring regularly, then lower the heat to a minimum and let simmer for an hour.
- Turn off the heat and let your orange peel strips cool down in the pan.
- Once cooled, melt the chocolate until you’ve obtained a smooth mixture. Dip the orange slices in the chocolate, then put them on parchment paper to cool down.
- When the chocolate has hardened, serve the orangettes or store them for later.
2. Chocolate mousse
If you’ve ever visited a French restaurant, you’ll know that chocolate mousse is almost always present on the menu. The quality of course varies depending on the restaurant and some take the dessert to a whole different level, but in order to make your Christmas dinner as easy as possible, we’re opting for a classic, fail-proof variant.
2.1. Ingredients (4 people)
- 100 grams of good quality dark chocolate
- 3 eggs
- 20 grams of salted butter
2.2. Instructions
- Start by melting the chocolate and the butter over a bain-marie.
- Meanwhile, separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
- Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and put aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks and add the melted chocolate little by little, until you’ve obtained a smooth texture, then take off the heat.
- Gently fold in the egg whites, paying attention not to beat out the air.
- Either put into a big bowl or individual-sized ramekins, depending on how you want to serve the chocolate mousse and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
3. Crêpes Suzette
If you don’t find it necessary to get all the work done before your actual Christmas meal and want to impress your guests, crêpes Suzette are a beloved option. You can prepare the actual crêpes beforehand but the marinating and flambé-ing will have to wait until the last minute. In case there are children at the table, you can just keep some crêpes aside and serve them with other toppings.
3.1. Ingredients for 8 crêpes
- 500 millilitres of milk
- 200 grams of plain flour
- 40 grams of butter
- 2 eggs
- Pinch of salt
- Vanilla (sugar)
3.2. Instructions for the crêpes
- Melt the butter on low heat.
- Beat the flour, vanilla (sugar) and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk in the eggs one by one.
- Add the melted butter and stir again.
- Mix in the milk little by little until you’ve obtained a smooth mixture.
- Heat up a pan and fry your crêpes in a little butter. Set aside.
3.3. Ingredients to flambé the crêpes
- 30 grams of sugar + extra to put on top
- 25 grams of butter
- 100 mililitres of Cognac
- 200 millilitres of Grand-Marnier
- 1 organic orange
3.4. Instructions for final assembly
- Add the sugar, butter, Cognac, orange zest, orange juice and 100 millilitres of Grand-Marnier to a pan and gently heat up. The idea is not to set the alcohol on fire but to make most of it evaporate.
- Once the liquid is done, pass your crêpes through the mixture one by one. Fold in four and put aside, making sure to keep them warm.
- When all your crêpes are soaked, pour the remaining liquid over them and add some more sugar on top.
- Just before serving, heat up the remaining Grand-Marnier in a pan and flambé the crêpes in front of your guests.
