Apricot Pot de Creme Recipe

When Lulu and I attended my older sister's wedding in 2007 in Paris, I recall the most delicious store-bought dairy dessert I discovered at my very dear friend Nathalie’s house. We had a lovely dinner and finished the meal with Bonne Maman brand miniature jars of petits pots de crème. But unlike the ones I usually prepare, these pots de crème had a much heavier, thicker, smooth and creamy texture. Unfortunately, this product has been discontinued; Lulu and I searched for it during our most recent trip to France without success.

This is my attempt to recreate that lovely French dessert. The dessert is made with a lot of white chocolate, a fair amount of heavy cream, butter and eggs. I flavored it with apricots from our garden and amaretto to enhance the apricot flavor.

I served the dessert with a fresh fruit salad and a small scoop of rum raisin ice cream for a little temperature and texture contrast.

Crepe Party

Today (February 2^nd) is a popular French celebration called La Chandeleur (also known as Christian holiday Candlemas). How do you celebrate it, you ask? You eat crêpes, ton of crêpes. 

I prepared 3 large batches of crêpe batter (click the link for the recipe) last night and let the girls toss so they can prepare their own version by laying down multiple filling options on the kitchen counter. Sprinkling crêpes with sugar can be sufficient but is not at all  necessary; the possibilities are truly endless. I've gathered a few ideas for you to try. Bon appétit!

Blueberry Chocolate Mousse Recipe

When done properly, there are few things in life more sensual than chocolate. If your true love happens to love chocolate, you might want to consider it as part of a special romantic dinner this Valentine's Day.

This blueberry chocolate mousse would be perfect for someone who is not very confident in the kitchen. It's made of dark chocolate mousse flavored with fresh blueberries, encased in a cup made of blueberry-yogurt pretzels and topped with chocolate-covered blueberries and yogurt or ice cream.

You won't have to spend all day in the kitchen to prepare this dessert, but it will look like you did. Your sweetie will appreciate the gesture!

Mandarin Chocolate Mousse Filled Crepe Recipe

Last night was our first formal dinner party since the New Year and I wanted to add a little wow factor to the end of the meal. I prepared a mandarin-flavored dark chocolate mousse and enclosed it in the cutest little crêpe purses. 

The decadence didn’t stop there, as I garnished the purses with chocolate puffed rice "hung" up high on a spun sugar stick. A little drizzle of coffee-liqueur chocolate sauce finished off the dessert and guaranteed that it would satisfy even the biggest chocoholic's cravings.

I'm starting to plan out what could amaze my Valentine in a few weeks and I know for sure my husband Lulu would be more than delighted that we end our Valentine's Day romantic dinner feeding each other chocolate! Check back for more ideas.

Banana and Fig Crepe Cake Recipe

Since I'm in Paris, I’ve been spoiling my little 2-year-old nephew Paul and 4-year-old niece Elise with sweets. It’s a great way to bond with them in a short period of time. Crêpes are always fun, so I made a pile for all of us to share, along with various jams, Nutella, honey and powdered sugar. In addition to the individual crêpes, I made mini crêpe cakes, filled with fig and banana jam. To repeat the flavors in the dessert, I topped the cake with freeze-dried banana chips and roasted figs.

The most fun part of the assembly was watching Elise and Paul eating the crêpes as I was making them. Lucky me, I still had enough crêpe batter to finish the dessert. I absolutely adore them!