Here’s a Trois Crèmes Cake that uses crème fraîche three different ways for a much more sophisticated effect: a crème fraîche cake with hazelnut and crème fraîche filling, drizzled with salted vanilla crème fraîche caramel. The three different uses of creme fraiche make it very elegant.

The recipe and photo are via Vermont Creamery, courtesy of Paul Lowe Einlyng, a native of Oslo, Norway, whose online magazine and blog will make you want to make everything. Paul now lives in New York City, where he working as a stylist, editor, publisher, magazine developer and blogger.

RECIPE: TROIS CRÈMES CAKE

Ingredients For The Cake

Make your last cake of the year this beauty. Photo courtesy Sweet Paul | Vermont Creamery.

Ingredients For The Caramel

 
Ingredients For The Crème Fraîche Filling

 
 
*If you can’t find Vermont Creamery Madagascar Vanilla Crème Fraîche, add a half teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to regular crème fraîche. It won’t be as wonderful, but it works.

1. MAKE the caramel. Pour the sugar into a dry saucepan and melt it over medium-low heat. it will first begin to get clumpy and then after a few minutes it will melt completely. Once the sugar is completely melted, carefully…

2. ADD the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Be careful as the sugar will boil up as you add the butter. Stir to combine the butter completely into the sugar. Finally, drop the crème fraîche into the caramel a spoonful at a time while you stir it. It will boil up and sputter yet again. Mix until fully incorporated. Stir the mixture for about 1–2 minutes more until it reaches your desired consistency. Be careful if you are tasting your caramel because it’s super-hot! Remove from heat and allow to cool. You can store it for up to 1 week in a sealed container in the fridge. If so, you may want to microwave it slightly before serving or using it as a topping.

3. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.

4. CREAM the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light fluffy. Add in the crème fraîche and mix until fully incorporated. Add in eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated. Add in the vanilla or maple syrup and chopped hazelnuts and mix until incorporated. Add in the dry flour mixture slowly and mix until all is incorporated.

5. POUR the batter into a 9-inch round pan and bake for 45–60 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick starting at 35 minutes. The toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. When the cake is completely cool, slice it in half to create two equal layers of cake.

6. PREPARE the crème fraîche filling by simply mixing the crème fraîche with the powdered sugar.

7. PLACE the bottom layer on the cake plate and spread 2/3 of the crème fraîche mixture on the bottom layer. Drizzle a bit of the caramel on top of the filling and place the top layer on top. Spread the rest of the crème fraîche on top of the cake. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and drizzle the caramel all over the top of the cake.

8. SERVE immediately and store any leftover cake in the fridge, as the crème fraîche needs to be kept chilled.
 
WHAT IS CRÈME FRAÎCHE

Crème fraîche (pronounced crem fresh, French for “fresh cream”) is a thickened cream—not as thick as sour cream, more of the consistency of yogurt, which is an appropriate analogy because it is slightly soured with bacterial culture. Originally from Normandy, the dairy heartland of France, today it is used throughout Continental and American cuisines.

Sour cream, which is more accessible and less expensive, can be substituted in most recipes; but crème fraîche has advantages: It can be whipped, and it will not curdle when cooked over high heat. In addition, it is usually a bit lighter in body than commercial sour creams, more subtly sour, and overall more elegant.

Crème fraîche is made by inoculating unpasteurized heavy cream with Lactobacillus cultures, letting the bacteria grow until the cream is both soured and thick and then pasteurizing it to stop the process. Thus, authentic crème fraîche cannot be made at home because generally, only pasteurized cream is available to consumers. To add Lactobacillus to pasteurized cream will cause it to spoil instead of sour.

Crème fraîche is the ideal addition to sauces and soups because it can be boiled without curdling. Our favorite use is as a topping and garnish. Just a dab helps balance flavors and makes anything more delicious. Here’s more about crème fraîche plus a recipe to make your own.
  

The shredded meat—originally pork belly or pork shoulder—is mixed with enough of the fat to form a paste or pâté in French, which refers to any cooked ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. The paste was placed in a crock.

The word first appears in writing in 1845. It derives from the Old French rille, meaning a slice of pork (rille dates all the way back to 1480).

Rillettes are typically served at room temperature with bread or toast points—and wine, of course. Long before the current, trendy bacon jam, there were rillettes.

Over time, the technique was applied to other meat and poultry: chicken, duck, game birds, fish (anchovies, salmon, tuna), goose and rabbit. Fish is not actually cooked in the fat, but it is blended with fat to create the paste.

In this recipe from Chef Aida Mollenkamp, was developed for Moët & Chandon to serve with Champagne. You can serve it with any sparkling wine.

Smoked salmon rillettes. Photo courtesy Chef Aida Mollenkamp.

The recipe—Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche, and Fennel Rillettes—requires just 15 minutes or prep time, plus 2 hours of chilling time.

Chef Mollenkamp gave the classic recipe a modern, quicker, and slightly healthier twist, including a double dose of anise flavor from the fennel and the tarragon. The spread has a smoky, sweet anise flavor and is as delicious on a cracker as it on toast for a luxurious sandwich.

Let your imagination wander: We’ve enjoyed the leftovers on toast with scrambled or poached eggs!

Ingredients For 2 Cups (15 to 20 Hors d’Oeuvre Servings)

1. MELT the butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the shallots and season with a pinch of salt and a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper. Cook until the shallots are translucent and soft. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. COMBINE the shallots with the fennel, lemon juice, herbs, Pernod, lemon zest and crème fraîche. Season with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

3. BREAK the salmon into bite-sized pieces and fold into the mixture until just combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired. Transfer the rillettes to an airtight container, cover and refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours.

4. LET the rillettes sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving so they’re spreadable. Sprinkle with herbs and serve with crackers or toast, along with the cornichons and/or pickled onions. For the best flavor, consume the rillettes within four days of preparation.
 
SUBSTITUTES FOR PERNOD

If you don’t have Pernod, you don’t need to spring for a bottle for the tablespoon required here. Instead, you can substitute absinthe, aguardiente, arak (a Middle Eastern liquor like ouzo), ouzo, pastis, raki (a Turkish liquor like ouzo) or Ricard.

Sambucca, which is anise-flavored, is typically sweetened and thus not right for this recipe.
  

The recipe is from Annie’s Eats for Go Bold With Butter. Check out both websites for more delicious recipes.

Prep time: is 15 minutes, cook time is 35 minutes. While the bars are baking, check out the history of eggnog.

“Grate whole nutmeg for these rather than using the pre-grated stuff,” Annie advises. “It definitely enhances the flavor.”

RECIPE: EGGNOG CRUMBLE BARS

Ingredients For 16 Bars
 
For The Dough

For The Filling

For breakfast, make Eggnog French Toast. Substitute eggnog for the milk, but do add the egg! Photo courtesy Organic Valley.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Line 8 x 8-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper.

2. MAKE the dough: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in medium bowl; stir to blend. Add the butter, cutting it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the eggnog and stir with a fork or knead very briefly, just until crumbly dough comes together.

3. TRANSFER two-thirds of the dough mixture to the prepared baking pan and press down into the bottom of the pan to form an even layer.

4. MAKE the filling: Combine the cream cheese and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, light and fluffy. Blend in the egg, then the eggnog and vanilla, until smooth. Pour the mixture over the layer of dough in the baking pan. Crumble the reserved dough over top of eggnog mixture.

5. BAKE—rotating the pan halfway through baking—until just set, about 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature on wire rack. Chill well before slicing and serving.

Americans consume approximately 17.3 billion quarts of popcorn each year. Sweet-and-salty kettle corn is the category’s fastest-growing flavor. Hot and spicy foods in general have been trending for some time.

So Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog combined the two into a recipe for Sriracha Kettle Corn: sweet and salty plus a warm burn with each bite.

This whole grain snack couldn’t be easier or faster to whip up, whether for better snacking while you’re hanging at home this week, or when guests drop by. Adjust the sriracha to taste, depending on how hot you like it.

> The history of Sriracha sauce.

> The history of popcorn.

> The different types of chiles.

> The Scoville Scale, which ranks the heat levels of different chiles.
 
 
RECIPE: SRIRACHA KETTLE CORN

Ingredients For 8-10 Cups Popcorn

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium heat, along with two or three kernels. Keep covered, and when the test kernels pop, add the rest, along with the sugar and sriracha. Stir well to coat before quickly covering with the lid once more.

2. SHAKE the pot constantly and vigorously to prevent the corn from burning. This is critical, both for even cooking and for fewer unpopped kernels. Once the popping has slowed to one every two to three seconds…

3. REMOVE the pot from the heat and uncover, continuing to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped. Pour the popcorn onto a sheet pan and sprinkle evenly with salt, to taste. Let cool and break up the large clumps, picking through to remove any unpopped popcorn kernels that might remain.

[2] Rooster brand Sriracha sauce from Huy Fong, the first Sriracha in the U.S. (photo © Steven DePolo | Wikipedia).

Kettle corn is sweet-and-salty popcorn. A Colonial invention, the corn was popped in iron kettles and then sweetened with sugar, honey, and sometimes molasses before adding the salt. It is less sweet than caramel corn and appeals to those who like a sweet-and-salty flavor profile.

Check out the history of popcorn.
 
 
WHAT IS SRIRACHA?

Sriracha, pronounced see-RAH-jah, is a Thai hot chili sauce. It is made from red chiles, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt; and is aged for three months or longer.

Unlike American hot sauces such as Tabasco, which are vinegar sauces that are infused with hot chiles, sriracha is primarily puréed chiles, making it a much thicker sauce.

The sauce is named after the coastal city of Si Racha in eastern Thailand, where it was first made and marketed. Different brands can be found in the Asian aisle of many supermarkets and in Asian groceries.

According to multiple sources, including an article in Bon Appétit, the sauce was made more than 80 years ago in by a local woman, Thanom Chakkapak. She initially made the condiment for her family, and then for friends, to enjoy with the local seafood (think of it as a much hotter counterpart to American cocktail sauce).

As is a common story in the specialty food business, they encouraged her to sell it commercially—and it became the best-selling chile sauce in Thailand. In 1984, Ms. Chakkapak sold her business to a major food company, Thai Theparos Food Products.

What’s the correct spelling: sriraja, si-racha, sriracha or siracha?

According to Andrea Nguyen, who wrote the article for Bon Appétit: Since Thailand does not adhere to one romanization system for Thai words, many variants have emerged, chosen by manufacturers who have created their own version of the original sauce.

However, the most commonly accepted spelling is sriracha.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Bagna càuda, pronounced BON-ya COW-da, is a riff on crudités with dip. The name means “hot bath”; the dip is olive oil and butter, seasoned with garlic and anchovies and served hot. Bagna caôda is an alternative spelling.

A dish from Italy’s Piedmont region, bagna càuda is served during the autumn and winter months, often as part of a Christmas Eve buffet. Why not try it on New Year’s Eve?

Traditional dippers in Piedmont include artichokes, bell peppers, cardoons*, carrots, cauliflower, celery, fennel and green onions.

In some parts of Piedmont, cream is used instead of butter; and hazelnut or walnut oil is substituted for the olive oil. If you’re in Alba, lucky you: There may be some truffles added to to the oil.

Here’s the drill:

 
 
RECIPE: BAGNA CÀUDA DIP

Ingredients

 
 
Preparation

[1] Bagna cauda is a “hot bath” of seasoned olive oil for dipping raw vegetables. Here’s the recipe from Lucero Olive Oil.

[2] This bagna càuda is served in a regular dish, not a fondue pot. Photo courtesy FineDiningLovers.com; here’s their recipe.

2. BLEND the oil, butter, anchovies and garlic in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the dip to a medium saucepan, taste and season as desired.

3. HEAT over a low flame for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add to fondue pot or dish. Stir in the parsley right before serving.

4. SERVE with crudités and bread.

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*Cardoons are relative of artichokes, and aren’t readily available in the U.S. they resemble celery.