French regional desserts
In France, each region has its own special delicacies and the Vendée is no exception. Those who have a sweet tooth will not be disappointed. From traditional egg flans, wedding tarts, small fried doughnuts there is something for everyone. Oh, and not forgetting France’s best sweets les Minmins! You are all in for a treat.
Le fion or flan maraîchin – a French easter pastry
The FionaÏe (name in patois) or Flan maraîchin, was traditionally served as a dinner dessert at Easter, communions, christenings throughout Vendée. This surprisingly named dessert is a flavoured egg flan surrounded by a “crust”of pastry. Even today, some families still keep this tradition alive. (The word patois corresponds to a local dialect).
Les caillebotes – a curdled milk regional dessert
Les caillebottes are a dessert made from curdled milk and rennet. It was not only eaten on a daily basis, but also on special occasions. It was simply sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon was added to give it a bit more flavour.
Les minmins, little fondant prune sweets, Yeu..mmy!
“Minmins” are little sweets from the L’Ile d’Yeu. They are made with caramel fondant, prunes, and salted butter. They are so good that they have already been voted the best sweets in France!
La Tarte aux pruneaux, a traditional wedding prune tart
La Tarte aux pruneaux is another speciality from L’ Ile d’ Yeu and was once known as the "wedding tart" or "bride and groom tart"! Today, the tradition continues and is sometimes offered to loved ones who were unable to attend the happy event. But don't worry, if you would like to taste it, you don't need to be invited to a wedding, very good pastry chefs offer it all year round!
Le millet, a French regional dessert - long lasting cereal!
Millet is a cereal that is cooked in milk, seasoned with sugar and cinnamon to make a dessert. This cereal almost disappeared, but thanks to a few die-hard Vendeans, it is still growing in our fields!
French Easter pastries and Shrove Tuesday specialties – tradition dictates!
For Easter, tradition dictates that certain pastries are baked. The authentic "fouasse" or "fouace", is a cake which comes from the Vendean countryside. It has a fairly dense texture and is flavoured with l’eau de vie (a strong alcohol) and / or orange blossom water. We also enjoy the tasty and famous Brioche Vendéenne !
And for Mardi-Gras, we cook foutimassons (bottereaux, wonders or even tourtisseaux) which are small fried doughnuts.