Les Poissonchats

Back in 2018, on a whim, I started Les Poissonchats Wondrous Advent Calendar on my Instagram account. The idea was to recreate, in digital form, the much-cherished Advent Calendars* of my childhood: something whimsical, ephemeral, and delightfully old-fashioned.

Over the years I’ve chosen different themes and built each calendar around them, and I think many of you have enjoyed the journey – especially those who follow my ventures and ramblings on Instagram, where everything feels a little more intimate and engaging. I, for my part, have loved creating it every single time.

So – welcome to Les Poissonchats Wondrous Advent Calendar!

This year, I’ll take you on a journey into the world of fairytales: one tale each day on Instagram, with the food- and recipe-related stories published here on the blog. This year’s theme, A Fairytale Christmas, is especially dear to me, as it lets me share some of my all-time favourite stories with you.

I truly hope you’ll drop by and enjoy these little windows of old-fashioned wonder.

We start this season with the Bee Queen. Three sleeping princesses lie before you, and your task is to discover who is the youngest and kindest of them all. Now, if you have been good to all creatures, great and small, like our fairytale hero, a bee will come and settle on the lips of the youngest and kindest. For she, naturally, as all the youngest and fairest do, has a fondness for honey, and the honeybee loves her most. With that, the spell is broken and you shall be king.

What you’ll need

• 150g honey
• 50g sugar
• 200g butter
• A pinch of fleur de sel
• A little grated nutmeg
• Half a deciliter of milk
• Four egg
• 100g white flour
• 100g crushed almonds
• 100g rye flour
• 10g baking powder
• Almonds for decorating

How you bake it

Heat honey, sugar, butter and milk on low temperature on the stove, grate a little nutmeg over the mix and add the fleur de sel, heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Take off the heat and add the eggs, whisk until the mass is light. Fold in nuts and flour with the baking powder and transfer to a baking mould. I used a 26cm spring form but this cake will work in any mould. Decorate with almonds, placing them so they’ll look like honey bees. Bake for 40 minutes.

How you eat it

Summer’s honey in a winter cake, perfect with a glass of hot spicy wine.

*This is Les Poissonchats Wondrous Advent Calendar! Advent calendars are a big tradition where I come from: every day until Christmas Day you prepare a small gift for a loved one, fourandtwenty little surprises. Advent calendars come in beautifully old fashioned prints on cardboard, extra glitter and glory, and each day there’s a little perforated window waiting for you be opened. Others are more elaborate, pretty baskets filled with twenty four numbered parcels, red velvet ribbons and sprigs of fir. The one I’m making for you this season is a different one altogether, it comes in digital form. Unless specially marked, all content is hand-stitched by myself, lovingly compiled and written for your amusement.