The café gourmand started in France and has been widely popularized across Europe. For the uninitiated, a café gourmand is an espresso and a selection of Mignardises (also known as petits fours) served together. Mignardises are small sweets, typically bite-sized, which you eat along with your coffee. In France, they have a long tradition of the rich food in small portions — often incorporating chocolate or cream — and Mignardises are no exception
Café Gourmand is a French dessert that’s served in a coffee cup. It’s made up of bite-sized desserts and served with a small cup of espresso.
A delicious dessert, but also an ideal solution for the sweet tooth that cannot choose! The Café Gourmand is served on a tray and includes:
- a cup of coffee (or tea if you prefer)
- a small cake or pastry
- one or more miniatures of other desserts and/or a macaroon
The Café Gourmand is particularly popular in France, but also all over the world. It’s so popular because it solves the problem of never being able to decide on just one dessert after your meal.
It's a French tradition that you can replicate at home. In France, the Café Gourmand is a popular after-dinner dessert. A small coffee cup is served with a variety of miniature desserts, like tiny cookies, chocolates, and fruit tarts. Usually served on a tray, each one is meant to be sampled between sips of coffee.
The idea behind Cafe Gourmand is simple: after a big meal, you might not want to eat much — but it feels rude to simply get up and leave! The petit servings are just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth without making you feel stuffed
It's an easy way to treat yourself when you're eating out — or to make yourself feel fancy at home. You can always buy the individual components from your local bakery or grocery store, but if you're feeling adventurous.
Café gourmand in France
A café gourmand is a coffee accompanied by a selection of small desserts. The coffee is usually served with a glass of water and the desserts are served on a tray. It's the perfect way to enjoy an afternoon break in France or to end your meal.
The term "café gourmand" was coined in France in the 1990s. The dessert selection varies from restaurant to restaurant, but typically includes five bite-sized desserts, such as macarons (French macaroons), chocolates, madeleines (small sponge cakes), and mini-desserts.
It’s a little-known French tradition, but one that you should know about. A café gourmand is a dessert offering that is common in bistros and brasseries across France. It consists of a coffee or tea served with small portions of several desserts ranging from macarons to mousse au chocolate to tarts. The exact combination varies from place to place, but the main idea behind it is that you can sample a few different desserts at once for just a few euros and this way you can have your cake and eat it too (several times over).
Café gourmands are a selection of small desserts, consisting of four portions, served with a coffee or tea. The desserts included in each café gourmand can vary from café to café and may include a mixture of the following:
- Fruit sorbets
- Cream-filled pastries (éclairs, chocolate mousse)
- Petits fours (small cakes)
- Tartlets (fruit tarts)
- Chocolate truffles
A gourmand dessert
A gourmand dessert is a dessert that is rich in flavor, such as those with caramel. Desserts differ from other food courses because they are the last course served. The purpose of a dessert is to complete the meal and to provide a sweet finish. Desserts may be shaped into various forms, such as pies, cakes, tarts, cookies, ice creams, pastries, and candies. There are different types of desserts. Some are variations of basic cookies and cakes while others are unique creations such as special flavors of ice cream.
Gourmand, or gourmet, is a term used to describe a person who has an adventurous palate or refined taste. When applied to desserts, the term usually refers to rich and decadent desserts made with high-quality ingredients that are offered at gourmet restaurants.
Gourmand desserts are generally very rich and sweet. The best ingredients are used and the foods are often decorated in such a way as to make them look almost too beautiful to eat.
Examples of Gourmand Desserts
Gourmand desserts may include any of the following:
- Lavish cakes layered with cream and fruit preserves
- Decadent chocolate desserts made from the best chocolate available
- Desserts combining savory flavors (like cheese) with sweet ones (like berries)
How do you eat café gourmand?
Café gourmand is an informal term for a specific type of food, typically French. The "gourmand" part refers to the fact that it's made with fancy, expensive ingredients that you'd usually find at a gourmet restaurant — dessert-quality chocolate, for example.
The other main ingredient is cream, which can be added in the form of a sauce or a whipped topping. It's something of a paradox — you're eating something sweet without actually consuming all that much sugar. The name comes from the way French people eat it: They'll dip the sweet thing into their espresso and take tiny bites (a "café"), sipping it as they go. The idea is to create a sort of medley of flavors with each bite.
Why would someone want to eat something like this? It has two main functions: First, it's an indulgent, luxurious treat; second, it can be the perfect vessel for transporting some of your favorite flavors and textures to your mouth.
What do French cafes have?
The French have a way of making even the simplest thing seem romantic. And “café gourmand” (or “gourmet coffee”) is no exception. According to French culture, you should never rush your way through a meal. You should also never eat alone.
That’s where café gourmand comes in. It’s a fairly new addition to the French dining scene, appearing in restaurants and cafés in the 1990s — and it’s the perfect accompaniment to a leisurely meal or conversation with a friend.
Café gourmand is exactly what it sounds like: gourmet coffee served with tiny desserts. Sometimes, miniature desserts are served on top of the coffee in an attractive display, but most often you’ll receive several small treats on a plate alongside your beverage. No matter how it’s served, this specialty drink is a delightful way to experience authentic French cuisine.
Café gourmand is a dessert that is served in French cafés and bistros. It is a plate of assorted petits fours, which may include miniature desserts, cookies, or pieces of cake. It generally also includes coffee. In France, dessert has become popular since around the year 2000.
Served after a meal, like a platter of desserts, the name comes from its offering of several different kinds of sweets along with an espresso. The tradition started when cafés and restaurants wanted to offer their customers a quick and easy way to order coffee with a sweet treat on the side. Usually served on one or several plates (depending on how many desserts are ordered), it is usually made up of three to five mini desserts ranging from crème brûlée to fruit tarts.
It's available at all times of day, not just after dinner, so if you have a sweet tooth but you don't have time for proper pudding, this is your go-to choice.
What is in a café gourmand?
A café gourmand is a small selection of desserts and sweets served alongside a cup of coffee. It's the perfect conclusion to a meal, packing all the sweet flavors and textures you could want into one tiny plate. And for those who like to try a little bit of everything, it's perfect.
But what is in a café gourmand? There are no set rules, but we can give you a few tips on what to expect.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept, the café gourmand is a French version of the dessert. The idea is that after your main course and cheese plate, you get a cup of coffee served with a bunch of petit fours—little bites of different desserts. And we’re talking tiny portions here: maybe 3 or 4 small bites of dessert.
So what exactly is in a café gourmand? Well, it may vary from restaurant to restaurant but typically it consists of mini versions of a few different desserts. There’s almost always an éclair (the chocolate one is my favorite) and often there are macarons, crème brûlée, and possibly other small pastries like choux or madeleines.
Why are cafés so important in France?
Cafés are the most important part of French society and culture. No other country has such a long history of café culture and no other country values its cafés so highly.
Cafés have been with us for a few centuries now and they show no signs at all of the disappearing. They seem to have become an integral part of our lives, somewhere we can relax, have a drink or a meal, meet friends, read the newspaper, gather our thoughts, solve problems, make business deals – in short, do all the things that make us human beings.
Cafés are the lifeblood of Paris. They are not just places to sit and have a drink, they are a place to observe the world going by and to be observed while you do so. They are part of the very fabric of French society, something that even non-Parisians know about. The famous poster of the little black dress by artist Sempé is based on an old ad for Lanvin and shows a woman sitting in a café with her back to us.
There is no need for an occasion or an excuse to go to a Paris café. It is one of the best places for people-watching, whether you want to see the latest fashions on display or see friends meeting each other for drinks. Cafés have been an integral part of Paris's social life ever since they were first introduced in 1686 by Café Procope (which still exists). It became a popular meeting place for artists and writers including Voltaire, Rousseau, Balzac, and Hugo who liked to meet there.
Today most cafés offer food as well as drinks – many serve meals as well as light snacks – but it can take some time before your order is taken, let alone delivered if you go at busy times (such as lunchtime). And
Café gourmand ideas
The café gourmand: a selection of small desserts, served in a mini dessert glass or on a miniature dessert plate.
- Café-gourmand mini desserts are made of several small pastries (miniature eclairs, macarons, and small chocolate moelleux.) and are often accompanied by fruit-based desserts: mini tiramisu, verrines, and raspberry jelly with cream.
- The café gourmand is the perfect way to finish off a meal on a high note. Easy to make at home with family or friends, it is also offered by many restaurants as an alternative to the classic gourmet coffee.
- Café gourmand is a French tradition of ending a meal with a small-portioned, sweet and savory buffet. It allows people to share different desserts, which is perfect for when you want to try everything.
The best thing about it is that it is easy to create at home.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Coconut macaroon: These are easy to prepare and take less than an hour to bake. You can also add chocolate or nuts to the recipe.
Meringues: These delicate cookies are made with just egg whites and sugar, so they've got a light texture and delicious flavor. Add some jam for extra taste and color.
Madeleines: Madeleines are light cakes with a spongy texture. They're baked in special shell-shaped pans and can be flavored with lemon zest, orange blossom water, or vanilla extract.
Fruit tarts: Tarts are a classic French dessert that you can make using puff pastry or flaky pastry dough bases and filling them with custard or whipped cream and fresh fruit on top. You can either prepare mini tarts for these gourmand desserts.
There are no rules on what you can include in your café gourmand, so have fun and experiment with different flavors!
