These bite-sized French cakes will quickly become a family favorite. Keeping them in the freezer to serve when you don't feel like cooking will help eliminate processed food from your family’s table. Bouchées are also ideal for entertaining, school lunches, or picnic dinners at the soccer field.
This version is made with cheese and bacon, but you can add or substitute any ingredients you like, such as roasted red peppers, olives, spinach, or chorizo. See the notes below for more ideas.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder or 1 packet of French baking powder
1 cup of whole milk — grass-fed recommended
2 eggs — farm-fresh are always best
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/4 cup of fresh Comté or Gruyere cheese
3 1/2 oz bacon -- uncured and grass-fed recommended
Optional: 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or other fresh herbs like chives or chervil
1 tsp of sea salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Dice the bacon. Dice or grate the cheese.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, milk, and oil. Add the cheese, (uncooked) bacon, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
4. Grease mini muffin pans. Tip: Save your butter wrappers and use them to butter the muffin pans. You can also use muffin liners instead.
5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin pans.
6. Bake at 350° F for about 20 minutes. Check after fifteen minutes to test if the bouchées are done. You can do this by inserting a toothpick into one of the muffins. When the toothpick comes out clean, they are done.
7. After you take the bouchées from the oven, let them rest for about 10 minutes to cool down and settle before you remove them from the muffin pan.
8. Store your bouchées in the fridge or freezer.
Tip: To save time, you can bake the bouchée batter in a loaf pan. You just need to cook longer. Depending on the size of the pan, it may be about ten minutes longer. Just use the toothpick test to check for doneness.
If you want to freeze some, it is convenient to slice the bread first. Then you can take a slice as needed from the freezer.
Savory bread with sausage and cheddar cheese.
Serve these bite-sized savory cakes for an apéritif, school lunch, picnic, weekend lunch, or entertaining. They are also perfect for an on-the-go dinner for kids between activities. Warm them before you go, or they are fine at room temperature and are a healthy and delicious alternative to chicken nuggets.
Once you have this basic recipe, you can modify the ingredients, such as adding ham, sausage, blue cheese, or goat cheese. In addition, you can make these with leftovers such as roast chicken. The possibilities are endless!
If, by chance, your bread turns out too dry—as this loaf did—just cut the bread into cubes, toss it with some olive oil and bake, and you'll have the most delicious croutons! Store the croutons in the freezer and add them to soups, salads, or even a roast chicken to soak up the fabulous juices.
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avory bread with sausage and cheddar cheese.
Making bouchées can be a family activity. Make a double batch of the batter and then divide and add different ingredients to each portion. Your kids can add what they like, and you can get some help stocking the freezer. This recipe is also easy enough for a young chef to make on their own. Enjoy!
