Cafe Gourmand, the French Mini-Dessert Trend, Hits the U.S

gourmand cafe at sage french cafe in ft. lauderdale (credit: scott vandal)

We’ve all heard that French women don’t get fat, but now, finally, we may be closer to understanding at least one of the reasons why. In recent years, a deliciously sneaky dessert concept called café gourmand has found its way onto menus across France, from bistros to neighborhood brasseries and pastry shops to temples of food. and now it has landed in the united states.

Reading: Cafe gourmand dessert

The idea is simple: Café gourmand combines a coffee drink with three or four mini-desserts, often chosen at the whim of the chef, to replace a single, larger, higher-calorie dessert. it’s quicker to consume than having separate dessert and coffee plates (as you would traditionally do at a serious Parisian meal), and it feels lighter.

“When I opened my first bakery in 2000,” said baker eric kayser, referring to maison kayser, “I had no seating, but my dream was to offer coffee with cakes, so as soon as I was possible, we came up with the idea of making a café gourmand”. While he wasn’t the inventor of café gourmand (that honor apparently goes to pizza pino in lyon, according to this Wall Street Journal article), Kayser was at the forefront of the trend that took off across France, and when he opened a branch in new york last year, brought it. At Maison Kayser in New York, the pretty plateau always includes a mini millefeuille and miniature tart along with, perhaps, a glass parfait or his financial signature.

shortly thereafter, the café gourmand spread to other restaurants and venues. daniel boulud (whom I’m writing a cookbook with) just unveiled his own versions of it: a fluffy brioche donut, a vanilla shortbread, and a scoop of ice cream at db bistro in midtown manhattan ; and a mini flourless chocolate tart or orange cream tartlet with ice cream and butter at dbgb on the bowery. both cost $9.50.

“I love it when diners get their coffee and let the chef decide which desserts they’ll try,” she said. “it’s a delicate and efficient way to end a meal.”

Next month, toni marie cox, pastry chef and co-owner of toni patisserie and café in chicago, will launch a creative “espresso gourmand” that comes with a macaron of the diner’s choice, a pistachio financier and a chocolate chip raspberry meringue topped with fresh raspberries for $8.95. and at café rabelais and brasserie max & julie in houston, owners chris and laurence paul serve a generous café gourmand that includes mini creme brûlée, ladyfinger, fruit coulis, and profiteroles for $11.50.

“this actually works best if you’re too full to order a real dessert,” said chris paul, “but still crave a taste of some deliciousness.”

breaking up a dessert into “some sweets” certainly feels less decadent: “it’s much lighter than a real dessert,” mused catherine berezovski, patron of maison kayser in new york, but according to kayser’s pastry chef nicolas chevrieux, the whole concoction still equals about 450 calories, about the same amount as in a full-size chocolate mi-cuit.

(“Oh no!” Berezovski said when told of the calorie count. “Don’t tell me that!”)

but then there is the difference between how coffee gourmand is consumed in paris and in the united states.

“in france, foodies order café gourmand just for themselves,” said laurent tasic, chef and owner of sage french café in ft. Lauderdale, Florida, who has been offering a $10 gourmand coffee for the past year. (One recent week, it included a mini crÿme brûlée, mini chocolate mousse, sorbet of the day, and either a chocolate truffle or mini cake.) “but in the usa, people ask for it to share.”

and so perhaps we share-eager American diners have discovered an improvement on the French formula: all the sophistication of Paris with a fraction of the calories, and without spending a penny. -sylvie bigar

millefeuille

by nicolas chevrieux, executive pastry chef at maison kayser, nyc

puff pastry

ingredients2 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon salt3/4 cup flour1 teaspoon lemon juice1 3/4 cups unsalted butter

preparation Combine flour, salt, and 1/3 cup butter in a large bowl. work with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse flour.

make a well in the center and pour in the 2/3 cup ice water and the lemon juice. mix until incorporated. if the dough seems too dry, add the remaining water.

wrap the dough when finished mixing, in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Take the dough and the second butter out of the fridge. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and butter in the center of the dough. completely envelop the butter in the dough. fold five times with a break in the fridge for an hour between each.

roll out three squares of dough and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

bake at 360° for 30-40 min. bake slowly and not too high. this is the secret of the perfect puff pastry.

pastry cream

ingredients1 1/2 cups whole milk1 vanilla pod, halved and scraped1 egg1/3 sugar2 tablespoons cornstarch

mixture In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. add the egg yolks and beat vigorously until the mixture is smooth and pale lemon in color.

In a skillet, heat the remaining milk and vanilla scrape to a boil. Slowly pour 1/4 of the hot milk into the yolk mixture and combine.

immediately pour the yolk mixture into the hot milk in the pan. beat over medium heat until the mixture boils.

Remove from heat immediately. cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. cool completely. after that, the pastry cream is ready to use.

assembly

Evenly divide the cooled custard between two strips of puff pastry. spread evenly. place one strip, covered with cream on top of the first, lining it up evenly. top with final strip of puff pastry. sprinkle with icing sugar. chill for 1 hour before serving.

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