when Kitty Morse After her mother died, the cookbook author discovered a worn-out suitcase in her closet and, assuming it was filled with boring old papers, put it away on a shelf. But when she decided to take a look inside, she was stunned by what she found: a diary written in French by her great-grandfather, who was an army doctor in World War I.
The diary, written in 1940, details the German advance on Châlons-en-Champagne, a town in northeastern France with a sizable Jewish population, recording daily activities and the German requisitioning of wood and coal during the coldest winter of the time.
Also discovered was a family recipe book handwritten by his wife Blanche and his great-grandmother, the contents of which became a treasure trove for Morse, who used it to write his recipes. Bittersweet: War Diaries and Traditional Recipes from Occupied FranceShe describes it as three books packed with Belle Époque history, a cookbook and her grandfather’s personal experiences.
“Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal & Heirloom Recipes From Occupied France” comes from a time capsule kept by the author’s great-grandparents. Photo courtesy of La Caravane Publishing.
The suitcase, wrapped in wrapping paper, was originally sent anonymously to Morse’s grandfather, who is now married to Prosper and Blanche’s daughter and lived in Morocco after World War II. With no return address or source, Morse called the family doctor to ask for advice on how and when to give the contents to his wife. Morse’s parents, Prosper and Blanche, died in the Holocaust. Three months passed before his grandfather divulged the information, and his grandmother never recovered, Morse said. Morse suspects his mother may have acquired the suitcase in the 1970s.
Morse recognized some of the dishes he ate as a child, such as sauerkraut and bûche de Noël, but had no idea they were his great-grandmother’s Brass recipes. One recipe that is especially meaningful to Morse is Lapin aux Riselings. Last May, Morse traveled to Champagne to retrace his great-grandfather’s footsteps, searching for the house where he lived and the clinic where he worked. Prosper mentions the house in Rosier where his great-grandfather took refuge in a wine tunnel to escape the bombings. Mayor Rosier guided Morse to the house where his great-grandfather hid and where two sisters prepared rabbit stew in wine. Morse sat in the same place where he had eaten that dish 80 years ago.
Kitty Morse managed to track down the family home where her great-grandfather ate something similar to this dish, and recorded the experience in her diary. Photo by Owen Morse.
Because the French don’t like icing, this carrot cake is topped with crème fraîche or crème chantilly. Photo by Owen Morse.
Gateau de Carrot de Blanche
Carrot Pudding Cake
Serve 8
I was under the impression that carrot cake was an American specialty. Then I found a recipe for Gâteau de Carrots that Blanche would have written down in 1939. Blanche’s recipe produces an amazingly moist cake and does not use the overly sweet Philadelphia cream cheese icing that is the icon of the American version. Serve this gateau with crème fraîche or crème chantilly. Almond flour is sometimes incorrectly labeled as almond meal, but they mean the same thing. This cake can be made the day before and left at room temperature overnight to achieve a pudding-like consistency.
material
- 4 eggs (separated)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 5 ounces butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau orange liqueur
- Peel two medium sized carrots and grate them using the large holes in the handrail.
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup toasted and ground almonds or 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Whipped cream or creme fraiche (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and butter in a bowl until the mixture is pale yellow. Add the orange juice, Grand Marnier, and grated carrots and mix.
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Combine the flour, baking powder, and almond flour (or almond meal) in a separate bowl. Gradually add this to the egg mixture.
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Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter. Spoon into a buttered, parchment paper-lined 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cake sit overnight. Serve with whipped cream.
