Author Archives: fancyfrenchfilly

Remember these little gems? They were one of this first recipes I attempted. Not very hard…but I still thought I could improve on the time and effort level. Here’s how they originally looked like in the book, followed by the way they turned out the first time I made them….. Kind of Christmasy all onContinue reading “3rd Adaptation: Raspberry Almond Tea Cakes”

Again.. Blue cheese is not my friend. But if my husband had his way, he would make it a relative if he could ! So as a nod to those who loved these treats…(and want them again for Christmas), I redid this recipe to make it easier and prettier. Remember the way they looked? ….Continue reading “2nd Adaptation: Blue Cheese Truffles”

Sorry it’s been so long guys….hope there’s still some of you hangin’ with me ! We are showing our home to prospective buyers these days, and that means a CLEAN kitchen ! And writing this blog is anything but a clean endeavor ! In the first recipe I decided to tackle , The challenge wasContinue reading “1st Adaptation: Nougatine”

Well friends…this is it! The dessert on the cover of the book, that ultimately lured me into this journey ! My final recipe. It seems so sad. But truthfully, I intend to pick 12 recipes that I can change by making them lighter, easier, and appropriate for Christmas. So let’s get back to the businessContinue reading “41st Recipe: A Moment of Zen”

The traditional Buche de Noel is made to represent a log…remember ? (Recipe # 31) . This one is meant to bring it into the 21st century. This Christmas dessert is a mousse rather than a jelly roll cake. Here’s the picture from the book…. Gorgeous, uh ? There’s a thin chocolate cake on theContinue reading “40th Recipe: Not Your Grandmother’s Buche de Noel”

This one certainly lived up to the “challenging” difficulty level. But oh so pretty !!!! I personally was not impressed with the taste…I’m not a fig and spice cake kinda girl. But my husband and some of my friends loved it. Here’s how it looked in the book…. Stunning, uh? Well, my first challenge wasContinue reading “39th Recipe: Rabelo”

This recipe was a new take on an old classic. Pumpkin pie. The bottom “crust” had a chocolate almond cake, and the side “crust” was an almond cake with pepitas embedded in it. Then there was a layer of caramel, topped with a layer of spiced pecans. The main body of the “pie?” was aContinue reading “38th Recipe: Bye, Bye Pumpkin Pie”

Petanque is a game much like bocce ball. Obviously played in France. To quote the recipe book…”This is the most time-consuming dessert to make in this book.” That certainly turned out to be true!! There are so many components in this dessert. Hazelnut cake, A hand-made chocolate box, hazelnut-almond praline, praline pastry cream, chocolate “gravel”(theContinue reading “37th Recipe: Pe`tanque”

This recipe was all about the Chocolate !!! There was chocolate meringue straws, layers of chocolate ganache, and a trio of chocolate mousse…white, milk and dark chocolate. Here’s the picture…. Another special mold was needed for this. Since the recipe made enough for two of these, I chose not to buy 2 molds, but instead,Continue reading “36th Recipe: Chocolate Pandemonium”

The difficulty in this recipe lies most with getting them to look as beautiful as the picture in the book. Being slightly artistic in nature…I couldn’t wait to try. And I was so disappointed when I fell short. But on a brighter note…they tasted great, and the attempt was fun anyway. Here’s the pic…. TrulyContinue reading “35th Recipe: The Royale”