I know you’ve been missing us, but the fact is i was too busy eating my subject to talk about it, as i’m a well educated girl who doesn’t speak with her mouth full! So let’s face it, Christmas spirit is all around, perfect time to indulge yourself and try the Monaco fougassette, who has nothing to share with her provençale sister, the orange blossom fougassette we told you about before.
This is a very secret specialty, a round flat piece of “sablée” dough, covered with little anise grains and wedding dragées, a very sugary and guilty pleasure. It comes in different sizes, and one of the main thing about it, is the prettiness and colorfull joy in it. You can find it almost in every other bakery in Monaco, and curiously not in the exclusive pastries shops where one chic lady told me with a bit of contempt “you will find that in the bakeries”. Which i translate into it is a very simple cheap sweetness that was probably at the beginning made with left overs from weddings and baptisms!
Anyway, nowadays Monaco is proud of its “fougassette monegasque”, so if you pass by, go for it!!! This is also a recipe (in french, sorry! Anyone, the recipe in english?) if you want to try it, let us know!
My favourite address to pick it is Helena, an old fashioned, simple bakery also sells delicious cakes like chocolate or coffee éclairs, fruit tarts or millefeuilles. And also you have to know about this fantastic thing, in Monaco where most shops are closed on lunch time and on weird days like wednesday afternoon (but why for god sake????), some bakeries are open every day, including sundays and holidays, that’s my Helena!
Helena, 2 boulevard d’Italie, 98000 Monaco, +377 93 50 68 77, open most of the time, most of the days including sundays and holidays.