Quick, if you had to choose between Chocolate Pavé and French interior decor, which would it be?

I'm not sure which I would choose, but lucky for us all, we can have our cake and eat it too, in the château of our dreams.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Decadent Desserts, Recipes from Château Vaux-le-Vicomte by Countess Cristina de Vogüé, with photographs by Thomas Dhellemmes is due out this fall from Flammarion (distributed by Rizzoli through Random House), and we can hardly wait.

Exquisite desserts are photographed amidst the atmospheric interiors and shaded gardens of the French château where Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette was filmed.


Full page, lush photos feature details of hand-woven heirloom linens, antique crystal, silver and opulent fabrics, in the setting of the architectural masterpiece that was the inspiration for Versailles, and is now home to the renowned hostess, Countess Cristina de Vogüé and her husband, Patrice, heir to the Château.

Is it a cookbook or a coffee-table book?
There are 63 recipes personally selected by de Vogüe; from family recipes, the château's archives, those passed along by close friends, or from her own creations inspired by international travels.

If the desserts are as appetizing as their names, you can expect some tasty confections ... Raspberry Iced Souffle, Omelet from Paradise, Floating Island with Pink Pralines and Green Tea Custard, Pink Grapefruit Tart, Blackberry Buss, Genevieve's Iced Gateau, Lady Cawdor's Orange Souffle ... they range from the simple to the sublime. Yummm.

Above photos © Thomas Dhellemmes, Decadent Desserts: Recipes from Château Vaux-le-Vicomte by Countess Cristina de Vogüé, Flammarion, 2008. Distributed by Rizzoli through Random House.

To give you a further visual 'taste' of what to expect from Decadent Desserts, here are a few of Dhellemmes' luscious images from The Seven Sins of Chocolate, which won the 2004 Gourmand Cookbook Award.




Above images from Thomas Dhellemmes.

The Château Vaux-le-Vicomte was constructed in 1656-1661 by Nicolas Fouquet, who collaborated with the architect Le Vau, the painter-decorator Le Brun and the landscape gardener Le Nôtre. Fouquet became a great patron of literature and the arts, attracting to his circle, among others: the poet La Fontaine; the playwright and actor, Molière; and Madame de Sévigné, a French aristocrat known for the letters she wrote to her daughter over a period of 30 years.






Above images from vaux-le-vicomte.com

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Decadent Desserts, Recipes from Château Vaux-le-Vicomte can be pre-ordered now, through the Topsy Turvy Amazon shop (click on the icon over in the right column and browse through our selections). We think books are always a great choice for gifts, and this one looks to be a visual feast for design fanatics, dessert lovers and francophiles alike!
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