Recipes by Camille Roux
20 recipes
Quick-Laminated Spinach & Sharp Cheddar Morning Buns
We're not suffering for brunch, but we're also not dedicating three days to laminated dough. This is my café-case staple, built on a grated-butter rough puff that takes fifteen minutes and delivers a shatteringly lacy crumb. The hero is the spinach—squeezed violently dry and packed with aged cheddar. Bake them in a muffin tin for maximum crispy edges and that confident, high-rise wobble.
Crisp Gruyère Choux Ring with Shaved Asparagus & Lemon-Ricotta
A giant, airy cheese gougère baked as a single ring, then split and stuffed sandwich-style. We skip piping individual puffs to save time, getting a massive, shatter-crisp crust to soft-crumb ratio. Filled with lemony whipped ricotta and raw, shaved asparagus slaw, this is café-lunch perfection without the fuss.
Melted Leek & Jammy Egg Breakfast Tart (Blind-Baked Polenta Crust)
A Parisian café classic rebuilt for your kitchen. A shatteringly crisp, blind-baked polenta crust acts as a waterproof shield for slow-melted, jammy leeks and perfectly soft-baked eggs. We're not suffering for brunch, but we absolutely refuse to eat a soggy bottom.
Blood Orange & Olive Oil Gâteau au Yaourt (Crackly Coriander-Sugar Crust)
This is the gâteau au yaourt—the classic yogurt cake—every French kid learns before they can read, rebuilt for a grown-up café case. We use whole milk yogurt for a lacy, tender crumb, swap neutral oil for a grassy, aggressive extra-virgin olive oil, and lean hard into the late-winter bitterness of blood oranges. We finish it with a heavily toasted coriander-sugar crust, because we don't do boring tops.
Brown Butter Celeriac Velouté with Hazelnut-Sage Crunch
Celeriac looks like a medieval weapon, but treat it right and it yields the silkiest, most elegant soup in the winter café canon. We’re building a proper French velouté here—sweating the roots in cultured butter, pureeing until glass-smooth, and finishing with a hazelnut-sage brown butter that crackles on top. High-impact comfort that eats like a Tuesday night but looks like a tasting menu.
Sardine Pan Bagnat Crunch Wrap (Sharp Lemon–Dijon Dressing, Crushed Chips, Desk-Proof)
This is my French café lunch for real life: pan bagnat energy (pressed, juicy, briny) but wrapped and fortified so it stays warm-ish, crisp, and completely desk-friendly. Canned sardines in olive oil bring the richness; a sharp lemon–Dijon dressing cuts it clean, and a sneaky layer of crushed chips protects the wrap from going soggy while adding loud crunch. Butter is not a garnish—but today, olive oil is the backbone.
Butternut Squash–Harissa Tarte Soleil (Quick Rough-Puff) with Lemony Radicchio + Walnut Salad
This is my French café lunch, weeknight edition: a crisp, pull-apart puff pastry sun stuffed with high-heat roasted butternut squash, sharp goat cheese, and a whisper of harissa for heat. You get maximum crust-to-crumb (flake-to-filling, really) plus a bright, bitter salad that cuts straight through the butter. It looks like a show-off; it eats like a sensible lunch.
Rosemary–Pecan Apéro Sablés (Slice-and-Bake) with Black Pepper + Flaky Salt
These are my February apéro answer to “I want something crisp, salty, and a little fancy—without cooking all day.” Think buttery savory shortbread with piney rosemary, deeply toasted pecans, and a black-pepper snap, sliced straight from the fridge and baked to café-level crisp edges. Make the log now, bake a few whenever you need a plate that looks intentional.
Crisp-Edged Leek & Comté Savory Clafoutis (Paris-Café Breakfast Slice) with Little Mustard-Greens Salad
This is my Paris café morning, baked at home: a custardy, clafoutis-style slice with sweet leeks, nutty Comté, and a crisp, bronzed edge you can hear when you cut it. It’s make-ahead friendly, not fussy, and it loves a sharp little salad on top—peppery greens, Dijon, and a quick hit of lemon to keep the richness honest.
Pan-Roasted Cauliflower “Steakhouse” Style (Crispy Edges) with Brown-Butter Caper Pan Sauce + Toasted Rye Crumbs
This is my winter bistro side when I want the room to smell like a good restaurant: cauliflower with hard-seared, crispy edges, finished with a glossy, nutty pan sauce that tastes like you tried harder than you did. The toasted rye crumbs make it feel bakery-adjacent—like the best corner of a gratin, but lighter, louder, and weeknight-fast.
Artichoke–Feta Phyllo “Roulettes” (Lemon Zest, Dill, Aleppo)
These are the savory café-case bites I always want at 4 p.m.: crackly phyllo, a tangy artichoke–feta center, and tight little spirals that shatter when you bite. They’re make-ahead friendly, freezer-happy, and the shaping is clean and confident—no pastry drama. Butter is not a garnish here; it’s the whole point.
Asparagus–Raclette Rough-Puff Slab Tart (Cornichon Crème + Warm Lentil Frisée Salad)
This is my French café winter lunch: a shatter-crisp rough-puff slab tart with asparagus, melty raclette, and a sharp little cornichon crème that keeps it from going heavy. On the side, a warm lentil–frisée salad soaks up the vinaigrette and plays nicely with flaky pastry—salad-friendly, fork-friendly, zero drama. It’s the kind of lunch that tastes like you left the house, even if you didn’t.
Caramelized Onion–Gruyère Choux “Breakfast Éclairs” (Soft-Scramble + Dijon Chive Crème)
These are café-style savory éclairs—crisp choux shells packed with onion-forward caramelized onions, a loose Gruyère béchamel, and a soft-scramble tucked inside like a sunrise. You get crackly edges, a lacy, steamy interior, and big French bistro energy—without laminating dough at 7 a.m. The workflow is make-ahead by design: onions and shells done whenever, fill in minutes, eat like you’re not suffering for brunch.
Butternut Squash–Shallot Café Galette with Dijon Crème Fraîche + Bitter Greens Salad Finish
This is my French-café lunch at home: a fast, flaky free-form galette with jammy roasted squash, sweet shallots, and a salty alpine cheese, then a bright little salad tossed right on top so every bite snaps. It’s crisp, savory, packable, and not-too-rich—until you hit the Dijon crème fraîche, because butter is not a garnish.
Caramelized Endive–Blue Cheese “Cigars” (Rough Puff, Walnut Crunch + Black Pepper Honey)
These are my movie-night, one-hand pastries: tight little rough-puff cigars packed with jammy caramelized endives, salty blue cheese, and toasted walnuts. You get shattery layers outside, plush savory-sweet inside, and a glossy black-pepper honey finish that tastes like a Paris café decided to flirt with your aperitif.
Freezer-Ready Cara Cara Orange–Almond Morning Buns (Overnight Brioche Swirl, Café-Glossy)
These are my Paris café winter-morning buns: plush brioche-style dough, laminated-adjacent swirl without the drama, and a bright hit of cara cara orange—zest in the dough, juicy segments tucked into the spiral. You mix once, let the fridge do the work, then bake from fresh or straight from the freezer with a fast orange glaze that turns glossy and crackly at the edges.
Café Trout “Oeufs Cocotte” Muffins with Herby Crème Fraîche + Lemon Zest (Pan-to-Oven, Make-Ahead Friendly)
This is my before-work French café move: baked eggs with smoked trout, a spoon of tangy herbed crème fraîche, and lemon zest that wakes everything up. You get set whites, a jammy yolk, and that luxe briny-smoky bite—without babysitting a pan. Make the filling the night before, bake in a muffin tin in the morning, and you’re out the door with café energy.
Smoked Trout Gougères with Lemon–Horseradish Crème Fraîche (and Crunchy Capers)
These are café gougères (cheese choux puffs) made weeknight-friendly: one pot, one bowl, no piping bag drama unless you want it. I fill them with a fast smoked trout crème fraîche—bright lemon, a clean hit of horseradish—then finish with crunchy fried capers for that salty pop that makes wine taste better.
Café-Case Mushroom & Gruyère Rough-Puff Twists (Porcini Dust + Peppery Honey)
These are crisp, laminated pastry twists stuffed with a jammy cremini–shallot duxelles and a salty snow of Gruyère. They bake up all edges—maximum shatter, minimal fuss—and they travel like a dream for commutes, hikes, or desk lunches. I finish them with a whisper of porcini “dust” and (optional but excellent) warm black-pepper honey for that café-case glam without the café price tag.
Café Ricotta Hotcakes with Browned Butter–Honey Apples (Pan-Sear + Steam Finish)
These are my weekday answer to a French café breakfast: ricotta hotcakes that sear crisp at the edges, then finish under a lid so the centers stay lacy and tender—not tight like a bad alibi. I do the apples in the same pan with browned butter and honey so you get perfume, gloss, and crunch without another pot. Butter is not a garnish; it’s the sauce.