# Potato Gratin With Cream and Cheese

> Potato gratin gives you a split sauce and raw potato for two reasons: **slices that are too thick**, and **cream added cold**. Cut to **3 mm**, and **simmer the slices in the cream for 10 minutes** on the hob before the dish goes into the oven.

**French Cuisine · 80 min · 6 servings · 390 kcal per serving**

Potato gratin is a French classic served alongside meat, and one of the richest and best ways to serve potatoes. Its two most common problems share a single solution.

## Ingredients

- 1.2 kg — potatoes
- 2 cups — cooking cream
- 1 cup — milk
- 4 cloves — garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 cups — Gruyère or mozzarella
- 1/2 cup — Parmesan
- 1/2 tsp — nutmeg
- 2 tbsp — butter
- 2 leaves — bay
- 1 1/2 tsp — salt
- 1/2 tsp — white pepper

## Method

1. **Slice thin** — Peel the potatoes and slice them **3 mm thick on a mandoline or with a sharp knife**. Thick slices will not cook through, and uneven ones cook unevenly.
2. **Do not rinse** — **Do not rinse the slices after cutting.** The surface starch is what thickens the cream and stops it splitting — rinsing washes it away.
3. **Simmer in the cream** — Heat the cream, milk, garlic, bay, salt, pepper and nutmeg, add the potato slices and cook over low heat for **10 minutes**, stirring gently.
4. **Test a slice** — Try one — it should be **tender at the edges with slight resistance in the middle**. It finishes in the oven; fully soft slices will collapse.
5. **Layer** — Butter a dish, spread half the potatoes with their cream, scatter half the cheese, then the rest of the potatoes, and pour the remaining cream over.
6. **Bake covered** — Cover with foil and bake at **170°C for 30 minutes**. The cover lets the steam finish cooking the potato without burning the top.
7. **Brown uncovered** — Remove the foil, scatter the Parmesan and remaining cheese, and give it **20 minutes uncovered** until golden and crusted.
8. **Rest** — Leave it **15 minutes** before cutting. A hot gratin is liquid; resting lets the cream set so it cuts cleanly.

## Tips

- Do not rinse the potato slices — the starch is what thickens the cream.
- Even 3 mm slices; a mandoline saves time and guarantees consistency.
- Covered for 30 minutes then uncovered for 20 — that order gives both tenderness and crust.
- 15 minutes of rest before cutting so the cream can set.

## FAQ

### Why is my potato still raw?
The slices were too thick, or the cream went in cold. Cut them to 3 mm and simmer them in the cream for 10 minutes on the hob first, so they enter the oven half-cooked.

### Why did the cream split?
Either you rinsed the slices and removed the starch, or the heat was too high. Leave the starch on the potato and bake at 170°C only — higher heat splits the fat out of the cream.

### Which potatoes are best?
Starchy potatoes (the sort sold for boiling and mashing), because their starch thickens the cream. Waxy ones hold their shape better but give a thinner sauce — starchy is the traditional French choice.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/french-cuisine/potato-gratin-cream-cheese
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-24