Maddie Salters visits the Bonne Maman team and celebrity chef Eric Lanlard for sweet inspiration.
Little angular jars of Bonne Maman jams, jellies, and compotes have sat on breakfast tables across the UK for decades, so imagine my surprise and delight to find that its brother branch, the brand’s lineup of fine cakes, biscuits, and tartlets, work as a great accompaniment to old favourites or as a tasty stand-alone treat.
If you don’t know about Bonne Maman’s dessert line yet, my prediction is that you’ll be a fan. The literal sibling to the lauded jam brand, two real brothers own the branches of the company, and oversee the excellence its name implies: old-school recipes, natural ingredients, indulgent freshness.
I joined the Bonne Maman team in the kitchen for their cooking demonstration with celebrity chef Eric Lanlard to learn how their dessert line, helmed by the famous Madeline cake, can be enjoyed on its own or used as inspiration to enliven new recipes.
In the kitchen, Eric is equally a natural: he slices through fresh fruit with daring precision, jokes with an ease that loosens up the crowd, and carefully straddles the UK-French rivalry by denying to answer which country was responsible for the founding of the Charlotte cake he is whipping up for us. The bold interpretation of the Charlotte uses Bonne Maman Madeleine cakes to line the sides and base, creating layers for the decadent strawberry mousse, fruits, mint, and syrup to sit on, soaking in all the flavour while holding shape. It’s fun to see how the cakes, which are light enough not to overtake a delicate balance of fruit notes while adding form and substance, can be incorporated into other recipes.
Eric also gives some excellent cooking tips. Only add vanilla extract to recipes once they’re cooled, as heat kills the flavour. Whisk sugar and eggs quickly, so that the sugar doesn’t begin to cooking the eggs. If you’re making a Bonne Maman mousse cake in the summer, add a bit of sparkling rosé to the blend, or mulled wine in the winter for a holiday treat– provided your young guests will not be digging in! Cheekily, he adds that you should try your fruit in the market before you buy it. While I’m not sure that would fly at my local grocer, he passes this off with a wave of the hand and the assurance, “I’m French.” Better to be bold than end up with watery fruits, is the implication.
The folks at Bonne Maman feel the same way.
Once the Charlotte cake is done, it was time to test their lineup of desserts individually – a pleasant task.
The newcomers to the line, the tartlets and the coconut chocolate cakes, hold up to their elders. The lemon tartlet is especially tangy, while the chocolate caramel version has a nostalgic taste to it, all the elements of childhood wrapped up into a confectionary no bigger than three bites.
My personal pick, however, is the chocolate Madeline. I took to the cookie bar to decorate it in icing and fondant roses, delighted by the result. Both because of its decadent taste, and by thought of whipping up these tiny decorated cakes as dinner party finger-food. Served alongside a nice muscat, it’s a quick, no-fuss ending to a meal, in perfect portions– a host’s dream.
Since the demonstration, I have been munching on Bonne Maman salted caramel cookies and the chocolate Madeleines, sometimes in parcel to a sweet brunch, and sometimes as an after-dinner treat. The best feature of the desserts is that they come individually wrapped for freshness and longevity, which meant they don’t go stale once the box it open. The fact that the Bonne Maman team also posts frequent recipes for which their desserts can be incorporated means that the lineup isn’t a one-hit wonder. I look forward to enjoying Granny’s recipes at meals to come! Bon appétit.
To learn more, check out Bonne Maman’s webpage at bonnemaman.co.uk/our-products.
