You know when you have a craving and you can’t stop thinking about it? Well that was me a few days before I left for March Break in France. I couldn’t stop thinking about “Barquette” cookies. Maybe you know the ones?
I LOVE these cookies (they come with jammy centres as well) and will always buy them for road or train trips when I am in France. For whatever reason, I started thinking about them just before I left and one of the first things I bought was a package of these which I snacked on in the train. They were good but I started wondering if I might be able to make them myself (since they are not easy to get hold of here in Canada).
What is a “barquette” cookie?
These lovely little cookies are actually a kind of sponge-y cake that’s a little bit crispy on the outside but spongey and soft on the inside. In the indentation, there’s a splodge of jam or chocolate. SO GOOD!
Issues with homemade “barquette” cookies and some solutions
Turns out there are a couple of hurdles when it comes to making your own “barquettes”, none the least being the fact that the distinctive shape (“barquette” means “little boat”) comes from a mold that I don’t own (and one I’d never seen here in Canada). I figured that in France they might be easier to find so while I was there I did a big search but they aren’t super easy to locate either (I was limited to online shopping for the most part). I DID end up finding them (very expensive version) on the last day there and so too late to ship but in the meantime, I ordered a sweet oval-shaped mold – the kind you would maybe use for a mini savarin.
When I got home I searched and searched online and for whatever reason the right molds were not coming up. TODAY, of course, they are… (here < affiliate link for worldwide and here < Canadian link).
Since I know that many people won’t buy a special mold for one recipe, I figured I’d work with what I had and will make this recipe using the oval molds, mini muffin tins and the proper molds and we’ll see how we like each one.
Working with the oval molds
In any case, my experiments with the oval mold worked pretty well – you have to look twice to see the “real” ones on the tray here…
It took me 5 rounds of the recipe (there are only a handful of ingredients!) to get this one right (or, as right as can be!). They may not be “perfectly” boat-shaped but they work really well!
Barquettes au chocolat ~ Chocolate "boat" cookies
A take on "Lulu la barquette" cookies from France.
Ingredients
for the mold:
- approx. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
for the cookies:
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (20g) all-purpose flour
for the ganache:
- 1/3 cup (66g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Make the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F and lightly grease a 12-cavity "boat" mold or oval mold (capacity approx. 1 tablespoon).
- Beat the egg and sugar together with electric hand beaters on medium speed until thick, pale and creamy (about 4 minutes).
- Add the vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
- Fold the flour into the egg mixture gently, using a rubber spatula until the flour is just incorporated.
- Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to divide the batter between the molds.
- Place the mold on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.
- Remove the mold from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes gently remove the cakes from the molds and allow to cool to nearly room temperature.
Make the ganache:
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl (50-60% power for 1-2 minutes in 30 second bursts). Alternatively, you can place the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pot of boiling water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water) and stir until the chocolate is melted.
- Allow the chocolate to cool slightly (you should be able to stick your finger into it without it being too hot!).
- Use a small spoon or a piping bag (no tip required) to pour chocolate into the centre of each cake. Allow to come to room temperature - the chocolate will firm up but won’t be too hard.
Notes
Store in the fridge in an airtight container and allow to come to room temperature before enjoying!
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In the meantime, these will do very nicely!
UPDATE APRIL 16TH! I made the cookies again using the “proper” mold! Check out the updated recipe here!
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that shape looks great to me, and the little indent is the perfect ganache holder! I have like two of three little random metal barquette molds that came from who knows where.