15 Apr Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Pogne de Romans

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of eating and drinking my way around France. The breads, the cheeses, the meats, the wines, the pastries…..the good food and drink was endless. It is really hard to pick one thing as a stand-out for the week. But, during lunch one day, it was not the cheese table that I was drawn to, but rather the dessert table. Sitting on the table were delicious looking pastries that looked like they could be doughnuts or cronuts. What were they? Chocolate covered pogne de Romans. So delicious and so memorable, it had to be the Please The Palate “pick of the week.” Pogne de Romans is a type of brioche that was traditionally prepared for Easter but is now available year round. It comes from the south-east of France, from the city of Romans-sur-Isère in the Rhone Valley. It is made with flour, eggs, sugar, butter and scented with orange blossom water. It is dense but delicate and sweet, but too sweet.  While it is typically eaten plain, it can also be cut open, like a bagel, and stuffed with a whipped cream, or chocolate mousse. A pogne de Roman is a decadent treat that I will continue to dream about!