A Beautiful French Dessert Platter (aka "La Farandole de Gourmandises")
Yes, you could make some of the delicacies, but do like the French. Count on a local pastry shop to help you bring this home. No such thing in your area? Trader Joe's and Whole Foods can help, too.
I recently posted a story about my discovery of La Farandole de Gourmandises, and I promised to share how to bring one of these lovely platters to your own table. This dessert is a joy to share with friends—set the platter in the center of the table, and let everyone linger over the delicacies, helping themselves a volonté (as much as they wish).
As I mentioned, I do not suggest that you make everything at home. Do what 99% of French people would do: maybe make one thing, then, buy most everything from the best source you can find. If you have a local artisanal pastry shop nearby, go for it! If not, then in the U.S., Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have surprisingly good mini desserts that would work.
Specifically, here’s what was in my Dance of the Delicacies, moving from top center then towards the center:
Sweetened crème fraîche with raspberries
Trader Joe’s salted brownies with whipped cream
Tartlets with homemade pastry cream, raspberries, and apricot jam glaze.*
Crème fraîche with pine nuts and honey
Chocolate and Coffee Opera cake from Trader Joe’s
Raspberry “Macaron aux Framboises” Cake from Trader Joe’s
Caramel & Chocolate Cake from Trader Joe’s
S’mores Bars from Trader Joe’s
*About those tartlets: You can certainly bake your own. I admit to cheating for my photo. I found these mini tartlet shells at World Market. They were very neutral in flavor, as they were designed for sweet or savory fillings. (I wish I could have found sweet shells in this cute little size). These were decent, but homemade sweet tartlet shells would be better.
I made a batch of homemade pastry cream from my Everyday French Cooking cookbook, but honestly, many pastry cream recipes are much the same. This one looks a lot like mine—though cut the recipe in half, unless you’re feeding the whole block! Then, top with fresh fruit. For the glaze, simply microwave some apricot jam briefly until spreadable; cool, and brush it over the tartlets (snip or avoid larger bits of apricots in the jam, if you like.)
Other suggestions for the Farandole:
• Madeleines—either purchased or homemade—generally make diners happy, especially if you’re serving after-dinner coffee.
• Macarons are also fantastic additions, and most cities have an expert baker in town who specializes in them.
• Instead of using pastry cream for the tart shells, use lemon curd, plus any fresh fruit you like. Omit the glaze.
• Little profiteroles are very nice, too. Fill them with ice cream and spoon them with chocolate sauce just before setting them out, and encourage everyone to enjoy those first.
• Little scoops of ice cream or sorbet are fine, too—and locally sourced is grand!
• Add a few fancy chocolates from your favorite local chocolatier.
That should get you started. No doubt, once you get in the farandole frame of mind, you’ll come up with all kinds of great delicacies to put on the platter. (And if you do, share them in the comments section—I’d love to hear more!)
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