french chocolate mousse recipe image

French Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Oh, how this French chocolate mousse tested my patience! But I guess that’s what happens when you decide to follow a recipe from a sacred French establishment like Le Cordon Bleu. Recipe failure is also bound to happen when you’re attempting to recreate perfection off a distant memory. When I set out to make this mousse, I wanted to recreate the mousse I had at the corner cafe, steps away from the Sacre Coeur Cathedral in Paris. The mousse was as rich and thick as it was light and fluffy; a contradiction that seems impossible, but yet is magically so. 

Eggnog Waffles made with Brioche

Eggnog Waffles Recipe

I had one of those aha moments earlier this week when I discovered this whole idea of waffled brioche. I was actually doing some online shopping for the holidays, and I was looking at waffle irons for a friend. One of the irons had an accompanying video with famed chef Tyler Florence explaining how he used that particular waffle iron. He demonstrated his use of fluffy brioche bread and how he dipped it in a French toast type of batter before placing it inside the waffle iron. I sat there staring at the screen in amazement. 

canelé mold produces perfect cannéles bordelais

Canelés Recipe (Cannelés Bordelais)

Like I explained in a previous post, I had the opportunity to visit the Bordeaux region during my last trip to France. My best friend’s mother-in-law lives in that area, so we decided to take a weekend trip to visit her. On the way to her house, I asked my friend to stop at a patisserie so that I could pick up something as a gift for the hostess. Instead, my friend encouraged me to stop at this tiny shop that sold some of the best canelés (a Bordeaux specialty) she had ever eaten. I had of course heard of canelés having been to France before, but I had never come across them in Paris. It turns out that canelés were even better than I imagined them to be; they were just as addictive as my friend described them to be!