Batch of links

- The always-delightful Natalie Portman visit the Bon Appétit test kitchen and makes a vegan carpaccio following only verbal instructions.

- PSA: Green Valley Organics changed its name to Green Valley Creamery. The bad news is that for the moment, they are no longer making lactose-free butter, as there is apparently a nation-wide shortage of organic cream.

- I heard about Sarah Harmeyer, who brought her community closer thanks to a large wooden table handmade by her father. Together, the two now run a company called Neighbor’s Table where you can order your own handmade table (continental U.S. only). If I had $1,700 to spare, I think I’d actually order one!

- A really interesting article titled Everything you know about obesity is wrong. There is so much information in there that it’s a wonder society (and doctors in particular) still treats obesity in ways that don’t work. Did you know that ALL diets fail? The chances of a woman classified as obese reaching a “normal” weight are 0.008%. Unfit skinny people are twice as likely to get diabetes as fit fat people. And only 4% of all agricultural subsidies go to fruits and vegetables. Anyway, it’s a long read, but well worth it.

- A British study found that men are embarrassed to order vegetarian food.

- Scary news: for some people, taking probiotics can actually harm gut bacteria.

- And, oh yeah: elimination diets can MAKE you allergic to a food you previously tolerated.

- Why deaf people sneeze silently.

- Why mistranslation matters.

- I just read a very interesting article in Real Simple titled (in the print edition) How to split the chores so everyone is happy. It contained interesting statistics, such as the fact that chore-related arguments are the third most cited reason for divorce (after infidelity and drifting apart). Also, adoptive parents are happier than other parents with the division of labor in their household. This could be due in part to the fact that couples who adopt have often survived difficult times (infertility, IVF, the adoption process itself) and have a strong partnership. But research suggest that this is also in part because given the absence of pregnancy and breastfeeding, both parents start out on a more even playing field. Finally, “same-sex couples are somewhat more likely than straight couples to feel their division of chores is fair” because “they’re less likely to fall back on traditional gender roles and make assumptions about who will do what” and more likely to assign tasks “based on preference, ability, and natural inclination.”

- The above article made me think of the always relevant comic, You should’ve asked.

- It also reminded me of an article I linked to previously, from The New York Times Magazine, which had found that a more equal marriage meant less sex. It turns out that their data was from the early 1990s (even though the study was published in 2013); a more recent study with data from 2006 found that this trend had reversed. (There’s an article about it in French here.) Interestingly, though, according this the more recent data, couples where men who did at least 2/3 of the household chores had less sex than either couples who split things 50/50 or couples where women did at least 2/3 of the chores (but couples with an even split of chores had the most sex). I’d love to see data from the past few years!

- In a recent issue of Parents magazine, I read an article titled Parenting with a Buzz. I found it interesting mostly for the statistics, because I don’t really drink myself and so had no idea what is considered “normal”, beyond the memes I see online and in stores. (I just never liked wine or beer and I never found pleasure in being drunk. My idea of daily self-care is a few squares of dark chocolate in the evening. And knitting.) So the fact that 47% of moms have been drunk or tipsy in front of their children was surprising to me. Also, 50% of women say they drink more than their mothers, but it’s hard to say to what extent generational differences mean something is wrong. And 77% of moms say that it doesn’t affect the way they parent (which means that, depending on how the question was phrased, perhaps over 1 in 4 moms thinks that alcohol DOES affect the way she parents, and then one might wonder whether she meant that she lays off until the kids go to bed or whether she is actively trying to be more chill). And nearly one in three Americans is an excessive drinker.

Carrés aux dattes

Voici une recette bien simple, qui est dans ma famille depuis avant ma naissance. C’est la recette de ma grand-mère, un peu adaptée au goût du jour. Le Petit Prince n’a pas vraiment aimé les dattes (!), mais le reste de la famille a adoré. Je vais devoir en faire plus souvent!

Pour la garniture aux dattes
½ lb. de dattes dénoyautées
1 c. à soupe de cassonade
½ tasse d’eau (ou plus, au besoin)

Pour la croûte
1 tasse de beurre sans lactose, à la température de la pièce
2 tasses de flocons d’avoine
1 tasse de farine
½ c. à thé de bicarbonate de soude
1 pincée de sel
1 tasse de cassonade

Pour la garniture aux dattes
Dans une petite casserole, mélanger les dattes, la cassonade et l’eau. Faire bouillir ensemble jusqu’à ce que les dattes d’écrasent facilement à la fourchette, en ajoutant de l’eau au besoin pour éviter que les dattes brûlent. (J’ai utilisé un total de ¾ tasse d’eau. Si vous avez mis un peu trop d’eau, il suffit de laisser chauffer le mélange plus longtemps pour que l’eau s’évapore.) Le mélange doit avoir la consistance d’une confiture épaisse. Laisser refroidir.

Pour la croûte
Pendant ce temps, préchauffer le four à 350 °F. Graisser un moule carré de 8 pouces.

Dans un grand bol, bien mélanger le beurre et l’avoine avec une cuillère de bois de façon à ce que tous les flocons d’avoine soient bien enrobés de beurre.

Dans un petit bol, bien mélanger la farine avec le bicarbonate de soude et le sel. Ajouter les ingrédients secs au mélange de beurre et d’avoine avec la cassonade; bien mélanger.

Mettre la moitié du mélange dans le moule et presser pour bien aplatir et former une croûte. Étendre uniformément la garniture aux dattes par-dessus, puis recouvrir du reste du mélange pour la croûte (je l’ai émietté entre mes doigts pour en avoir partout).

Mettre au four environ 30 minutes ou jusqu’à ce que le dessus prenne une belle couleur dorée. Laisser refroidir puis (ça ne surprendra personne) couper en carrés.

Cardamom Cake with Plum Jam and Coffee Buttercream

At the tail end of summer, I made a few recipes with stone fruit, which was just perfect here in Texas. The always-lovely almond torte with sugared apricots made an appearance, and I tried a cinnamon oatmeal peach crisp which, sadly, did not live up to my expectations. Then, when I saw red apricots, I couldn’t resist buying them and trying a vegan version of the ice cream I’ve been seeing everywhere that calls for whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk – sadly, I still need to work on it to get the consistency right, so no recipe just yet; but look how pretty!


I ended up also trying a recipe I bookmarked on Not Without Salt several years ago: cardamom cake with plum jam and coffee buttercream. It was delicious! I ended up overcooking the plums a bit, so to counterbalance the loose consistency of the plum jam, I added a cornstarch slurry. Honestly, it was hard to gage in the pan! Perhaps “jam” is the wrong word here, though; it should be more of a plum filling. Also note that while the cake was delicious as is, you could consider omitting the coffee from the buttercream, to end up with a plain vanilla Italian meringue buttercream. I did love the consistency of that frosting, though, even if it is more complicated than American buttercream!

It turns out that my cake layers were concave, which became very obvious once I had cut into the cake (it really didn’t show before I assembled it, I swear!). So I decided to bite the bullet and buy both baking strips and baking heating cores; I’ll let you know how that went next time.


For the cardamom cake
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the buttercream)
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 cup lactose-free sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. orange zest (optional; I didn’t use it)
½ lb. (2 sticks, 1 cup) lactose-free butter, at room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the plum jam
1 lb. fresh plums, pitted and halved (I quartered them)
¼ cup sugar

For the coffee buttercream
1 ¼ cups sugar
5 large egg whites
1 lb. (4 sticks, 2 cups) lactose-free butter, chilled
2 tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ cup strong coffee or espresso

For the cake
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Grease two 8”x2” round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; grease again.

Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and sour cream in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and orange zest (if using). Turn the mixer on low and mix until everything is combined. Add the butter while the mixer is still running and continue to mix until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Slowly add half of the wet ingredients and beat until combined. Add the remainder of the wet ingredients, speed up the mixer to medium speed, then beat for 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Finish the batter by stirring with the spatula a few more times.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake for 17 to 22 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown and pulling away from the edges of the pan ever so slightly.

Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment, and let cool completely.

For the jam
Combine the plums and the sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until the plums start to break down and the juices look like warm honey. (This is where I had trouble and cooked the mixture too long; I used a cornstarch slurry to thicken it and only used about half of it on the cake.)

For the frosting
Combine the sugar and about ¼ cup water in a small saucepan.

Bring the sugar to a boil, then cook to 240 °F or soft ball stage. (Apparently, you can test this by blowing a sugar bubble through the tines of a fork, but I didn’t want to risk that!)

While the sugar cooks, whip the egg whites to soft peaks.

Carefully stream the sugar down the side of the bowl with the machine running on medium speed. Increase the speed and whip until the bowl is no longer hot.

Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, and whip until smooth. IT may look like a mess, but keep whipping until it comes together.

Add the vanilla, coffee and salt.

Pipe a border around the edge of the first cake layer. Fill with the jam. Add the other cake on top, then cover the layers with frosting. (I put on a crumb coat and refrigerated for 20 minutes, then frosted as usual.)

Muffins au maïs et aux framboises

J’ai pu feuilleter plusieurs numéros du magazine Ricardo cet été (ma mère a un abonnement, et il y en avait toute une pile au chalet). J’ai essayé certaines recettes qui sont tombées à plat (jus de melon d’eau puis sorbet express au melon d’eau, tiens), mais d’autres étaient vraiment réussies. C’est le cas de ces muffins au maïs et aux framboises, que j’ai faits sans les canneberges séchées de la recette d’origine. Bon, je suis la seule à les manger, parce que l’Ingénieur et le Renard détestent les framboises et que le Petit Prince a déclaré ne vouloir manger les muffins que s’ils contiennent du chocolat, apparemment. Mais moi, j’adore! La farine de maïs leur donne un goût délicieux, et le yogourt les garde moelleux. Ils se congèlent bien, en plus!

À noter que pour la farine, j’ai pris de la farine de blé blond, comme d’habitude, et j’en ai utilisé 150 grammes, même si cela correspond plus à 1 ¼ tasse qu’à la simple tasse demandée. J’ai aussi ajouté une pincée de sel, quand même!

1 tasse (150 g.) de farine tout usage non blanchie (voir note plus haut)
½ tasse (60 g.) de semoule de maïs fine
2 c. à thé de poudre à pâte
1 pincée de sel cachère
2 œufs
½ tasse (100 g.) de sucre
½ tasse d’huile végétale
1 tasse de yogourt grec nature
1 ½ tasse de framboises surgelées

Placer la grille au centre du four. Préchauffer le four à 375 °F. Chemiser 12 moules à muffins de caissettes de papier ou de silicone.

Dans un bol, mélanger la farine, la semoule de maïs et la poudre à pâte. Réserver.

Dans un autre bol, mélanger au fouet les œufs, le sucre et l’huile. Incorporer le mélange de farine. Ajouter le yogourt et mélanger jusqu’à ce que la pâte soit homogène. À la cuillère de bois, ajouter les framboises. Répartir la pâte dans les moules.

Cuire au four 20 minutes ou jusqu’à ce qu’un cure-dents inséré au centre d’un muffin en ressorte propre. Laisser refroidir. Servir avec du yogourt nature, si désiré.

Summer 2018

I haven’t gotten around to recapping the summer, even though school started a few weeks ago already. In my defense, summer doesn’t actually end until September 21st, right?

So over the summer, while in Montreal, I got to try Natrel’s lactose-free ice cream. The vanilla flavor was very good, but my favorite was the saly caramel! There are five flavors in all, but I’m not sure they’re all available in Quebec – British Columbia seems to be their testing ground. This ice cream comes in small packages, like Häagen Daz or Ben & Jerry’s, but without being as fancy or as wild with the flavors. Still, I’ve always preferred that format over large tubs that get frosted over by the time you finish them. I look forward to eating more!



I tried assortments of chocolates from two places for the first time. There was a box of 10 jewels by Christophe Morel – presentation was beautiful, but there was no insulating packaging for shipping, so a few of the chocolate were stuck to the box; I suppose I’m lucky they hadn’t melted further! They were good, but many of them had caramel or nuts, which aren’t really my thing in chocolate.


Then I bought a selection of nine at Chocolats Privilège (this is the place at Jean-Talon Market where I have bought cocoa nibs previously). These were more to my liking, because they were more melt-in-your-mouth while still having original flavors (though, to be fair, I didn’t have them shipped and don’t know how they would have compared to the other ones in that aspect). The box also comes with instructions for the best range of temperatures in which to store the chocolates as well as a “best before” date a month down the road; both these factors make me feel like the chocolate makers are more professional, though obviously that’s just an impression. These chocolates were also a bit less expensive, so all in all, that’s what I’d lean toward next time.



I took the opportunity to make a chocolate peanut butter icebox cake again, to much acclaim. (And this time, the Engineer had been warned not to snack on the chocolate wafers, so I had enough to decorate the top of the cake properly!)


I also made a cake for the Little Prince’s birthday, following his precise instructions regarding contents (chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate chips, M&Ms, and sprinkles) and their placement (the chocolate chips are in between the two cake layers, which is why you can’t see them here).



As for restaurants, the Engineer and I celebrated out tenth (!) wedding anniversary at Maison Boulud, which is in the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Montreal. I started with the acorn-fed senorio iberico ham, followed it up with the egg yolk ravioli with sheep milk ricotta and spinach coulis, and for dessert, the chocolate coolant with fleur de sel liquid caramel and caramelized milk (and obviously I had some LactoJoy to go with this meal!).

Since my parents are such great babysitters, we went on another date in a nice restaurant: Chez l’Épicier, in the Old Port, which I’d been meaning to try out for a while. I started with the sourdough bread, wild honey and brown butter appetizer, then had the filet mignon with onions and potatoes, and finally the white chocolate aero, rose milk and pink peppercorns for dessert (more LactoJoy, naturally). Presentation was superb, and as much as I loved the food, I think I was even more enamored with the ceramic dishware. I’d have bought a few pieces on the spot!

Also, my mother took me to lunch at Europea, where Jérôme Ferrer is the executive chef; the restaurant is a member of Relais & Châteaux. We had the four-course discovery menu: lobster cappuccino with truffle purée; smoked duck ham and beef tartare, fresh mustard leaves, wild souffléed rice and taro chips, heart of frisée salad; roasted Cornish hen, smoked mashed potatoes, asparagus and root vegetables, bold meat juice reduction; strawberry trifle, candies and sweets (which included tiny lemon madeleines, meringues and cotton candy). This was one of the best meals I’ve had, ever! The lunch menu also offers excellent value. This is one place where I really hope to go again!


Finally, I surprised myself and bought… Crocs. See, I always thought of Crocs as unsightly clogs with holes, which only children and people with no self-respect wore. But I was wrong! I saw some shoes on which Drew Barrymore collaborated and realized I should go take a closer look in a brick-and-mortar store. To be clear, it’s not because they were designed by a celebrity, but it made me realize how stylish some Crocs are! So I went and tried on a few pairs (not hers, in the end), before settling on Swiftwater sandals in turquoise, which replaced my beat-up Land’s End sandals. They haven’t even come close to giving me blisters, which is incredibly surprising for me! Granted, I haven’t worn them for long walks in the Texas heat, but we’ll see how they fare. I’ve also acquired a pair of Kadee flats in black and have loved them so far. Plus, these shoes are really not expensive! I’m including two pictures with the old pair I’m getting rid of on the left, and the new Crocs on the right for comparison. It may be rubber, but it’s a step up, at least for casual occasions.

Salade de patates douces façon tex-mex

J’ai essayé une recette estivale de tomates grillées à l’ail, mais nous l’avons tous trouvée moyenne. (J’ai réduit les restes en purée et je les ai mis au congélateur, en espérant les passer dans une sauce tomate.) J’ai aussi fait un souper en me basant sur une recette du magazine Ricardo (pas en ligne) pour des tacos au bœuf et aux patates douces, avec des avocats et des oignons, qui étaient tout simplement délicieux!



Pour faire le pont avec ces goûts tex-mex et les tomates d’été, j’ai ensuite fait une salade de patates douces tirée du magazine Tellement bon! avec une belle tomate de variété ancienne. Malheureusement, le magazine n’est plus publié, alors la recette ne se trouve pas en ligne non plus, mais je trouvais ça tellement dommage de ne pas vous en faire profiter que je l’ai recopiée ci-dessous en l’adaptant un peu. C’est exactement le genre de chose que j’aime manger le midi, et il y avait assez de variété pour plaire au Renard. Bon appétit!

3 patates douces, pelées et coupées en cubes d’environ 1 ½ po.
2 c. à soupe d’huile d’olive
1 pincée de piment fort (ou de piment coréen, ou rien du tout)
sel et poivre, au goût
1 boîte (15 oz ou 19 oz, selon le pays) de haricots noirs, rincés et égouttés
1 boîte de maïs en grains, égoutté
2 avocats, en dés
8 oz. de tomates, en gros cubes
1 petit oignon rouge, en lamelles
1 petite botte de coriandre, grossièrement hachée
le jus de 1 lime

Préchauffer le four à 400 °F. Sur une plaque à cuisson, mettre les cubes de patate douce, puis les enrober de 1 c. à soupe d’huile, de flocons de piment fort, de sel et de poivre. Les faire rôtir 30 minutes ou jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient tendres.

Dans un grand bol, mélanger les haricots, le maïs, les avocats, les tomates, l’oignon, la coriandre, le jus de lime et 1 c. à soupe d’huile d’olive, en remuant délicatement pour éviter d’écraser les avocats. (Moi, je mets les avocats seulement avant de servir, ce qui permet de garder les restes beaux plus longtemps.)

Répartir la salade dans 4 assiettes, garnir des patates douces rôties et servir.

Chocolate Chips Scones

I was surprised to find that I don’t have a recipe for chocolate chip scones on here yet. I mean, I made pear and chocolate chip scones and then ginger and chocolate chunk scones, but not plain chocolate chip. So of course I had to remedy that with this recipe! We all loved it, but then again, chocolate chips for breakfast are an easy sell.

2 cups (250 g.) all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick; 115 g.) lactose-free butter, frozen (or very cold)
½ cup lactose-free cream, plus an extra 2 Tbsp. for brushing
½ cup (100 g.) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 heaping cup (180 g.) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
coarse sugar for sprinkling on top before baking (optional)
confectioners' sugar for topping after baking (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Adjust baking rack to the middle-low position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Grate the frozen butter. (You can do this by hand or with a food processor, but as I like using the food processor instead of a bowl and a fork or pastry cutter to mix scone dough, I cut corners and cut the butter into little cubes instead.) Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk ½ cup lactose-free cream, the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract together. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a rubber spatula until everything appears moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can and transfer to a floured surface. Press into a neat 8″ disc and cut into 8 equal wedges with a very sharp knife. Place scones at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush scones with remaining cream, then sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired (it adds some nice crunch!).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Double Chocolate Tart with Black Pepper Ice Cream and Candied Nuts

I got this recipe from Bon Appétit years ago (the online edition says it was published in 2011, which somehow is even more years ago than I thought). It calls for cream, so I waited until I was in Canada to get lactose-free cream; that being said, coconut milk would be a reasonable substitute here. I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate and loved it, so that’s what I’m writing below. Since I couldn’t find skinned hazelnuts and really didn’t want to bother skinning them myself, I used macadamia nuts instead. OH, wow, was this ever wonderful! Everyone loved it. And FYI, leftover ice cream is delicious with warm chocolate syrup!

For the ice cream
2 cups lactose-free cream
2 cups lactose-free whole milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp. kosher salt
9 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the candied nuts
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg white
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¾ cup skinned hazelnuts (see note above)

For the tart
6 ½ oz. chocolate wafer cookies (such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, about 28 cookies), coarsely broken
5 Tbsp. lactose-free butter, melted
15 oz. high-quality semi-sweet chocolate (such as Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, or Lindt), chopped
1 ¼ cups lactose-free cream


For the ice cream
Bring cream, milk, ½ cup sugar, and salt to a boil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar; remove from heat.

Whisk egg yolks and remaining ½ cup sugar in a large bowl to blend; gradually whisk in hot milk mixture and return to saucepan. Stir over low heat until custard thickens and your finger leaves a path on the back of a spoon when drawn across, about 6 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Stir in pepper. Set bowl over a large bowl of ice water; stir until cold.

Process custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a container, cover, and freeze. (The ice cream can be made up to 3 days ahead.)

For the candied nuts
Preheat oven to 250 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk sugar, egg white, and salt in a medium bowl just until bubbles form. Stir in hazelnuts. Spread out on prepared sheet. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until nuts are golden brown and caramelized, about 50 minutes. (The nuts can be made a day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

For the tart
Preheat oven to 325 °F. Coat tart pan with nonstick spray (I used a tart pan with a removable bottom).

Finely grind cookies in a food processor. Drizzle butter over; pulse until blended. Press evenly onto bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate; stir until melted. Pour filling over cooled crust. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days (mine lasted a bit longer and suffered no ill effects).

Remove the tart pan side. Cut tart into wedges, working quickly as tart will become gooey as it sits (this was not actually a big issue for me); place 1 piece on each plate. Serve with a scoop of black pepper ice cream and garnish with candied hazelnuts.

Cornets au fromage ricotta et aux pépites de chocolat

Quand j’étais au Québec cet été, j’ai lu un numéro du magazine 3 fois par jour où il y avait toute une section sur le fromage ricotta, avec une recette de fromage ricotta maison et plein d’autres recettes pour l’utiliser. L’une d’entre elles s’intitulait « Cornets à la crème de ricotta aux pépites de chocolat » et elle m’a fait penser à des cannolis. Et vu que j’aimais tellement les cannolis quand j’étais petite (et que je ne peux plus en manger depuis que je suis intolérante au lactose), j’ai fait des cannolis. Mais en fait, je n’ai pas suivi la recette, je m’en suis plutôt inspirée! J’ai aimé l’idée d’utiliser des cornets au lieu des coquilles de cannolis, qui peuvent être difficiles à trouver, mais j’ai fait ma recette de ricotta et je n’ai pas fait congeler la garniture. (Si vous êtes vraiment, mais vraiment, motivés, vous pouvez même faire les coquilles vous-mêmes avec cette recette-ci.) J’ai aussi utilisé des pépites de chocolat miniatures, que je trouve plus appropriée dans ce cas-ci. Ci-dessous, ma recette de ricotta, puis la garniture inspirée de 3 fois par jour. Nous avons vraiment adoré! Ça me rappelait vraiment les cannolis de mon enfance, en légèrement moins sucré (j’ajoute donc une indication ci-dessous). Le Petit Prince a tellement aimé ça qu’il les a préférés à de la vraie crème glacée! Vraiment, c’est à refaire. Buon appetito!

Pour le fromage ricotta
3 tasses de lait entier sans lactose
1 tasse de crème sans lactose (ou alors 1 autre tasse de lait entier sans lactose)
½ c. à thé de gros sel de mer
3 c. à soupe de jus de citron fraîchement pressé

Verser le lait, la crème et le sel dans une grande casserole et y fixer un thermomètre à bonbons. Faire chauffer le lait jusqu’à 190 °F en le mélangeant de temps à autre pour l’empêcher de brûler au fond de la casserole. Retirer du feu et ajouter le jus de citron, en mélangeant doucement d’un geste ou deux. Laisser reposer le tout pendant 5 minutes.

Tapisser une passoire de quelques épaisseurs d’étamine et la placer au-dessus d’un grand bol (pour recueillir le petit-lait). Verser le contenu de la casserole dans la passoire et laisser le caillé reposer pendant au moins 1 heure; le fromage ricotta sera alors mou et facile à étendre. Après 2 heures, il sera un peu plus ferme, un peu comme du fromage à la crème. Jeter le petit-lait (ou le garder pour cuisiner autre chose, si le cœur vous en dit). Utiliser le fromage ricotta tout de suite ou le transférer dans un contenant hermétique et le réfrigérer jusqu’à une semaine.


Pour les cornets
1 ½ tasse de ricotta sans lactose (voir plus haut)
3 (ou 4) c. à soupe de sucre en poudre
1 c. à thé de vanille
¼ c. à thé de cannelle (facultatif)
½ tasse de pépites de chocolat miniatures
6 cornets gaufrés ou sucrés

Mélanger au robot le fromage ricotta, le sucre en poudre, la vanille et la cannelle jusqu’à homogénéité. Puis, avec une cuillère de bois ou une spatule, incorporer les pépites de chocolat au mélange. En garnir les cornets.