Hello cheese lovers! This week, I have teamed up with Culture Magazine and Goat Cheeses of France to celebrate the magic and wonder of French goat cheese. I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for the fromages de chèvre (which means “goat”) in its many forms. French goat cheese makers are sprinkled throughout the country, especially in Provence, with its dry climate, and the Loire Valley, which has a history of raising goats since about 700 AD. Whenever I go to France, I make a beeline for the farmers markets to gather up as much fresh chèvre as I can, which I can eat by the kilo!
I am bringing you two ways to enjoy French goat cheeses—a savory cake made with the bright, tangy Bucherondin + marinated sun dried tomatoes; and a pear + dried fruit compote to pair with the creamy Le Cornilly!
Savory Cake With Bucherondin + Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes
Savory cakes are one of the culinary delights I have fallen in love with in France, and I wanted to try my hand at making one here. You can serve this as an hors d’oeuvre, at breakfast, snack, or whenever you want!
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 ⅓ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 3.5 oz (or about 1 cup) grated Gruyère, Comté, or Emmantaler cheese
- 6 oz of Bucherondin
- 1 oz of marinated sun-dried tomatoes
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 2 pinches of salt
- Dash of pepper
Process
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the Bucherondin and sun dried tomatoes into small pieces and set them aside (together or separately, it doesn’t matter!).
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are frothy like mousse, then add flour bit by bit, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Incorporate the oil little by little. Heat the milk (either by microwaving gently or by slowly heating it on the stove) to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and gradually incorporate it into the mix.
Mix in the grated Gruyère. Incorporate the tomatoes, Bucherondin pieces, and sprinkling of oregano.
Pour your mixture into an ungreased loaf pan (I lined mine with parchment paper), and bake for 45 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Enjoy!!
For the compote, I deferred to my friend Amy, the mastermind behind Lemonbird Preserves. She’s a huge Francophile like me, and is a French-style preserves master. Here’s the condiment she concocted, which I then paired with the pillowy Le Cornilly. This cheese’s hay notes were rather pronounced when I tasted it on its own, but the compote highlighted the cheese’s milky qualities. It would pair well with other cheeses also! Go ahead, make it and play around with your own pairings!
Pear and Dried Fruit Compote
by Lemon Bird Preserves
Ingredients
- 8 dried figs, diced small
- 2 Tbsp. good quality brandy
- 3 ripe Bartlett pears
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup raisins
- ¼ cup dried apricots, diced small
- 3 Tbsp. local wildflower honey
- 2 tsp. candied ginger, diced fine
- 1 large orange
- ¼ tsp. ground allspice
- ½ cup walnuts
Process
Place the diced figs in a small bowl and cover with brandy. Macerate them for 10-15 minutes.
Peel, halve, and remove core from the pears; cut them into medium (bite) size pieces. Place the pears into a medium-sized, heavy-bottom pan, and cover with sugar while preparing other ingredients.
Measure the raisins, apricots, honey, ginger, allspice, and walnuts. Chop your apricots and ginger into small dice.
Using a vegetable peeler or small knife, remove three large strips of peel from the orange; cut strips lengthwise into thin slices. Juice the orange to measure ¼ cup juice.
Add the macerated figs, raisins, apricots, honey, ginger, allspice, orange zest strips and orange juice to the pan with the pears.
Heat the mixture on low, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium high; bring all the ingredients to boil, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes. The compote may foam. Reduce heat if it goes to a hard boil.
When pears begin to turn translucent, reduce heat to low and simmer 3-5 more minutes, stirring frequently.
Turn off heat when pears are translucent, and stir in 1/2 cup walnuts. Cool for 2-3 minutes without stirring. Serve warm or at room temperature with le Cornilly!
Store your compote in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This recipe wasn’t tested for canning, so I can’t speak to that. However, it’s best to consume it within 90 days.
Sweepstakes
Goat Cheeses of France, Culture Magazine, and I are also bringing you an amazing French cheese sweepstakes this week, until October 1! Goat Cheeses of France is going to send one lucky Miss Cheesemonger reader a basket of 5 cheeses to play with, recipes, temporary tattoos, and other cheesy trinkets. Visit the sweepstakes page to find out more and to enter!
Thank you, Goat Cheeses of France and Culture Magazine for this wonderful opportunity to share the chèvre love! I received some marvelous cheese samples to create this blog post. I also receive payment from purchases made through my Amazon affiliate links. Thank you, Amy of Lemon Bird Preserves, for making your delicious compote with me!
Happy cheese chasing!
Vero
