Week 21 - Déjeuner - Belgium

COUGNOU and CHOCOLAT CHAUD

For our sweet Christmas morning breakfast we head to Belgium.  Now contrary to popular belief, Belgian Waffles are not the breakfast of choice in Belgium  (disappointing I know.)  Actually most people start their day with some bread with  jam or cheese.  And for Christmas, they indulge in Bread of Jesus or Cougnou, a special sweet bread formed in the shape of the infant Jesus.

Cougnou, like so many other regional foods, can be spelled many ways - Coquille, Cougnolle, Queniolle, Volaeren.   It just depends on what part of Belgium and France you're in.  It's popular with children and is most often served with Hot Chocolate.  No Nesquik Hot Chocolate mind you, real Belgian Hot Chocolate.  Mmmmm....

The Cougnou weren't difficult to make, just time consuming.  To have these ready to eat at a reasonable hour required an early 6 am wake up call.  But for a special Christmas treat it was worth it.  The bread was rich and when spread with some butter a delicious simple sweet treat.  (Warning:  raisin haters, watch out!  This breakfast is chock full of them.)

The star ingredient, which isn't all the familiar to North American bakers, was Pearl Sugar.  Also called Nib Sugar, Pearl Sugar is used across Northern Europe.  It looks like you might imagine (like little white pearls) and gives your baking a sweet crunch as it doesn't melt in the oven.  Even in Toronto it was a bit tricky to locate.

Making Belgian Hot Chocolate has definitely changed the way I think about this winter classic.  I used a recipe gleaned straight from Belgium and it contained per one litre of milk - twelve ounces of quality chocolate, with dashes of cinnamon and salt.  That's a high chocolate to milk ratio!  No wonder the kids love it....

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:

Sunday morning at 6 am is not an hour I enjoy seeing....

For Degree of Separation:

For Guestability:

For Sustainability:

I don't expect a lot out of bread in this category, but the Cougnou were surprisingly filling.

For Overall Appeal:

Although delicious, this breakfast is going into the "special occasion with guests" file for me.  It was way too time consuming to happen more than once or twice a year.

Next week we see how they do breakfast in Egypt.  But first I'd like to wish all my Ukrainian family and readers a Merry Christmas - Веселого Різдва і з Новим Роком!