I swear — I thought he was leaving the whole thing with me.

I had something similar the first time I visited New Zealand. I stopped into a coffee shop, told them I’d like ‘the daily special’. The waiter put this huuge tray of pastries on my table. I wasn’t sure what to do — apparently I had ordered, and will have to pay for, all these pastries. (hey, in the US if food goes on your table, they can’t re-serve it). I was on a motorcycle, and taking all that ‘to go’ would have been problematic. So… I started in. When the waiter stopped by, he explained I was supposed to pick one. I got a bit flustered, but when he heard my accent, he asked me how long I’d been in NZ. “A day” was my reply. I was immediately forgiven my apparent gluttony.

Thanks for the recipe! Having gone to school in Normandy, about all I can add is that I saw copper mixing bowls used for whipping egg whites — and the “cheap/easy student version” is to mix cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and creme fraiche together. Not the same but pretty OK.