What’s “Peanut Butter Cups” in French?

October 2, 2009 8:00 AM

How would I write “Peanut Butter Cups” in French?

Help me win the Bake Off at work! It’s the candy bar challenge, where the challenge is to use candy as an ingredient or inspiration. I made my own version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups last night, using ganache. I want to prepare my title card in French. I figure a little marketing can’t hurt.

posted by hydrophonic to food & drink (15 comments total)

Bonbons au chocolat fourrés au beurre de cacahuète.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:01 AM on October 2, 2009

Moules au beurre d'arachides is what Hershey calls the reeses cups here in Canada.
posted by sunshinesky at 8:04 AM on October 2, 2009

Seconding sunshinesky.
posted by rokusan at 8:08 AM on October 2, 2009

I want to prepare my title card in French

Because you want it to sound humorously grandiose? Or because you want to communicate with French-speakers?

If the latter, then what sunshinesky said. If the former, then I like roomthreeseventeen's take, though I would add something like "a la E.T. L'extra-terrestre" for added highfalutin.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:12 AM on October 2, 2009

There's a France-Quebec thing with beurre de cacahuète vs beurre d'arachides. I don't know why but when my kids took French in Canada (CA_fr) they used arachides and their France-french (FR_fr) tutor later on used cacahuète. So it depends on who you're talking to.
posted by GuyZero at 10:25 AM on October 2, 2009

There's a France-Quebec thing with beurre de cacahuète vs beurre d'arachides. I don't know why but when my kids took French in Canada (CA_fr) they used arachides and their France-french (FR_fr) tutor later on used cacahuète. So it depends on who you're talking to.

Just a data point here, French isn't taught the same way across Canada. Strange as this may sound... when I took French in a Canadian University (U of R in Regina, SK as a second language) it was taught by a French woman (as in, from France) who taught us "international" French rather than "Canadian" French.

Somehow I still find Canadian French easier to understand...
posted by Deep Dish at 10:45 AM on October 2, 2009

If the former, then I like roomthreeseventeen's take, though I would add something like "a la E.T. L'extra-terrestre" for added highfalutin.

E.T. ate Reese's Pieces, not the peanut butter cups, alas.
posted by redfoxtail at 10:48 AM on October 2, 2009

who taught us "international" French rather than "Canadian" French.

By which she probably meant "parisian" french, which is no more international than BBC English.

My vote is with "beurre d'arachide"...
posted by bluefrog at 11:02 AM on October 2, 2009

If it's strictly for fancying-up purposes, cacahuète definitely sounds cooler and doesn't remind me of "arachnid".
posted by amethysts at 11:04 AM on October 2, 2009

... cacahuète definitely sounds cooler and doesn't remind me of "arachnid".

Depends on whether hydrophonic's workplace has more arachnophobes or persons prone to poo-humour:

"What's that last word?"

"French for peanuts."

"Yes, but how's it pronounced?"

"... Caca. Wet."

*snigger*
posted by CKmtl at 11:22 AM on October 2, 2009

Thanks! I went with arachides, but I came in 2nd to last. One problem may be that the white chocolate ganache failed to solidify and was all runny and gross, but the winner, who also did peanut butter cups, and designed and printed his own labels. I'm going to have to step it up for next time.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:20 PM on October 2, 2009

Funny that cacahuète is the preferred nomenclature in France- the word itself is of Nahuatl origin.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:34 PM on October 2, 2009

In a complete digression, there are certainly a lot of people who use FR_fr in CA but there are dialects of CA_fr that are even more divergent. In parts of Ontario they'll refer to "le papier" instead of "le journal" as the colloquial term is reverse-literal-translated from saying "the paper" for newspaper in English.

the white chocolate ganache failed to solidify and was all runny and gross

Drag. Did you temper it properly? The easiest way to do that is to reserve some unmelted chocolate and stir that into the melted chocolate once it's cooled a bit. How to temper chocolate. Though maybe you knew that and just got unlucky.
posted by GuyZero at 2:40 PM on October 2, 2009

GuyZero, it wasn't just white chocolate but white chocolate ganache. I missed the part of the recipe that said for white chocolate, use less cream. The result tasted great but looked like particular body fluid that everyone at work was too polite to mention. I've got plenty of peanut butter filling left*, so maybe I'll try again this weekend with straight up chocolate, with tips from your link.

*6 tbs softened butter
1 lb. powdered confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups of "natural" peanut butter

Blend well, until it's easy to press into shape. Add a sprinkle or two of water if needed.
posted by hydrophonic at 3:51 PM on October 2, 2009

I see you already got the answer you needed, but for future use, the following google search will help you: "site:gc.ca peanut butter cups". This will search all the Government of Canada pages, which are all published in French and English. Simply find a page with your target phrase in English, switch to the French mirror, and cut and paste. Voila!
posted by heatherann at 5:45 PM on October 2, 2009