French bakes are the ultimate and I have not yet met anyone who does not enjoy them. Although they usually require more time to prepare and perfect, I am sharing simplified versions of a few classics.

Most of my recipes can be prepared very quickly with minimal fuss and I have also reduced the amount of sugar and added fats when possible. It is not always possible to eliminate them completely as the bulk that processed sugar creates, as well as the sweet rounded taste and velvety texture of butter, is a necessity sometimes to achieve the right consistency.

No yeast Pissaladiere

Photos: Ian Noel PacePhotos: Ian Noel Pace

For the pizza base
500g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate
¼ tsp salt
250ml yoghurt
You will also need a rectangular baking sheet of around 8x5 inches greased with olive oil

For the topping:
Black olives – I like them whole for this dish
A small tin of anchovies – if you want to reduce the intake of salt use half a tin and cut the anchovies into pieces
Lots of onions – I use 500g chopped up and sauteed until they caramelise but not burn
½ tsp Provence herbs

For my quick and easy version of this Southern French version of pizza, here is a recipe that uses no yeast. The secret is just to preheat the oven to the right temperature and place the pizza in the hot oven as soon as it is ready, with absolutely no resting time.

Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Add the other ingredients together and pour in the yoghurt.

With your hand stiff and your fingers spread out like a claw, start mixing the flour into the yoghurt using a circular motion or simply use a spoon until the dough comes together. Keep adding yoghurt until you have a soft dough. Do not knead it but work it very gently to bring it together.

Sit on the oiled baking tray and spread out using the tips of your fingers to cover the tray.

For the topping, place the caramelized onions on the surface of the dough on the baking tray and sprinkle some Provence herbs. Spread the black olives evenly and then criss-cross the anchovies. Pour a few drops of olive oil all over, season with black pepper and bake in a hot oven for about 30 minutes at 200̊C until the Pissaladière is nice and golden.

Banana frangipan tart

For the tart filling or cake (if you are making without a crust):
2 mashed bananas
300g pure ground almonds
A few drops good vanilla extract
3 eggs
150g golden raisins, soaked and ground to a pulp using an electric hand blender
125ml natural yoghurt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsps cornflour
½ tsp grated lemon zest

The frangipan filling of this tart is gluten free and the combination of the banana filling laced with almonds is heavenly. You must try it as it is an all-in-one mixture; there is no need to use an electric mixer and you can also leave the crust out and use a cake tin instead. It holds well and the cake (tart filling) is moist and soft. Use a 23cm cake mould or tart tin.

For the tart use your usual precooked crust.

Mix all the ingredients together, no need for a mixer, just fold in gently and put the tart or cake into the oven immediately at 160̊C for 20 minutes for a tart with a prebaked crust and 35 to 40 minutes for the cake. Do not open the oven for the first 25 minutes of cooking time.

Decorating the top (optional I used dried mango and figs and arranged them on the tart while it was still warm. And I brushed the surface very lightly with warm honey. Allow the tart to cool before serving it.

Mirabelle Clafoutis

350g sweet cherries
4 eggs
100g self-raising flour
A few drops vanilla extract
A few drops good almond extract
Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg (do not over do it, just a hint of flavour)
Stevia, the equivalent of 80g sugar (check the jar for conversion)
300ml skimmed milk

Local greengage (Mirabelle plums) are at the end of their season and their natural sweetness and bright colour makes them ideal to use in desserts. We are so used to seeing cherry clafoutis but local fruit is more economical and this tart is definitely a crowd pleaser. I also make a savoury clafoutis these days using the same basic recipe and swapping the greengage with cherry tomatoes and adding 100g of hard white grated ġbejna to the batter. Do not expect the cake to rise as this is a pancake-type batter, however, I do like to use self-raising flour instead of plain flour as it gives the dish a lightness and the batter is not too dense.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Lightly grease a dish with butter or brush with olive oil.

Cut the greengage in half and remove the stones. Mix the eggs, flour, stevia, milk vanilla and almond extracts and use a hand blender to whisk until you have a smooth batter. I like to leave the batter to rest for an hour before I use it.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and then lay the greengage cut side down in the batter.

Bake the clafoutis for about 35 to 40 minutes until it sets and the surface is golden.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or yoghurt or cut up into squares and served at room temperature with a cup of tea.

The perfect Eclair

250ml (250mg) water
25g butter
120g strong flour (‘00’or bread flour)
3 to 4 eggs

With this recipe you will never have another failed attempt at making eclairs. You will need to follow these instructions exactly as they are. I tried and tested it for a whole year before I released it and I guarantee you will have perfect eclairs always. You need to make sure that your measurements are accurate. I like to weigh my liquids too, so for this recipe you would weigh 250g liquid as opposed to measuring 250 ml. It is also important not to open your oven to ‘check’ for the first 25 minutes of baking, otherwise the eclair will not be hollow and light. The last ‘secret’ is to add your eggs very gradually and as soon as you achieve dropping consistency, do not add any more eggs.

Preheat oven to 220˚C and place a large pan of water at the bottom of the oven so that there is moisture in the oven.

Put the water in a saucepan and add the butter cut into small pieces. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add sieved flour and mix well. I use a wooden spoon.

Return to moderate heat and stir continuously until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Beat the eggs in a separate container and gradually add to the pan. Do not add all the eggs at once and stop when the mixture is at dropping consistency. A good test for this is to check that the mixture flows back when it is stirred in one direction.

Place in piping bag with a nozzle of your choice and pipe on to a baking sheet. Bake at 220˚C for 25 minutes without opening the door. Check and bake further if required. Allow to cool. Cut open and pipe a filling of your choice.

I like to leave my eclairs without a filling and simply dip them into melted chocolate and allow it to set. Use a large chunk of good quality chocolate melted in the microwave and add a few drops of oil for extra gloss.

You can find more of Lea Hogg’s recipes on www.goodfoodeveryday.

You can also follow her recipes every afternoon on TVM2 during Lifestyle & Co.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.