Lettres farcies, Liège (Belgium)

Lettres farcies. Note the puff pastry, marzipan and citrus layers.

While gazing at the beautiful blocks of massepain at the Traiteur Jean-Marie at the Passage Lemonnier in Liège, I noticed something odd: a customer approached the counter, asked for something in a hushed voice, and the shopkeeper scuttled off to the oven to scoop out a small bundle, placing it furtively in a paper bag. My curiosity was piqued: why was she being so secretive? Always curious to sample new things, especially baked goods, I thus had the temerity to ask her what was in the oven. She asked me if I had ever tried lettres farcies. I quickly replied to the contrary, and she let out a ‘dis, hein!’, perhaps the most oft-uttered pair of words in Wallonia.

Quickly explaining to me what lettres farcies were, she also told me to wait a few minutes as a freshly prepared batch were almost ready to come out of the oven, piping hot. And then they arrived, and she presented me with a number of S-shaped mini-pastries. Upon trying one, I was hooked, and purchased them all….. So what are these lettres farcies? Well, the English translation for them is ‘stuffed letters,’ which I’ll admit doesn’t sound very appetizing. Oh, but don’t be fooled by the name! The term lettres farcies, while perhaps not very toothsome to the ear, is extremely literal: these small objects are in fact puff pastry in the shape of alphabetical letters, and stuffed with a mixture of marzipan and candied fruits. The combination is dynamite: my teeth sank into the light, airiness of the puff pastry, only to meet a denser middle layer composed of the smooth ooze of marzipan and titillating juiciness of the candied citrus, in this case grapefruit. I’m told that the most common fruit used in their production is generally cherry.

Lettres farcies, just out of the oven. *Drool*

‘Tis a pity that these delectable morsels are generally available around the holiday season:  I would be thrilled to gobble them up at ANY time.

Lettres farcies: a scrumptious snack on the train.