"I love you like a fat kid love cake." -50 Cent

We don't have an oven in our little Brussels bungalow. It was almost a deal-breaker for me; I'd done plenty of teeny tiny kitchens in my day, but teeny tiny kitchen with no oven?! I carefully weighed my favorite baked goods against 15 foot ceilings and a balcony; in the end, the ceilings and balcony won, so I told myself that a toaster oven wouldn't be that bad (though it would take up most of the counter space) and prepared to sign the lease.

I took a walk around my neighborhood to get a feel for the place and realized that baked goods would be no issue. On every corner there was a chocolatier, on every street a bakery. Godiva, Pierre Marcolini, Cote D'or, Neuhaus, and Leonidas, all a stone's throw away. Visions of toaster ovens were overcome by visions of macaroons, chocolate eclairs, and pralines. It was on this walk that I discovered Wittamer's, the patisserie of the royal family, and home to some of the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen. Indeed, their marketing line is "come taste the chocolate of kings." When Matt finally arrived in Brussels, Wittamer's Cafe was one of our first stops, and it was then that we had the most amazing/ terrible idea ever: we would taste all of Wittamer's delights and determine which one was the best. 

Since then, we've made it a tradition to pick up one or two desserts on the weekend. Here are a couple of our first attempts: 

 

"Coup de Foudre"

Layman's description: Coffee biscuit, creme, caramel mousse

Letter grade: B+

Very good, especially with the salted caramel touch, but needed some texture contrast (i.e. mushy)

"Mont Blanc"

Layman's description: chestnut cream and meringue

Letter grade: B+ 

Good, but an utterly strange dessert.