MONT BLANC, A TRUE SHOWSTOPPER

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Early December, 2025. The husband sends me a text with a link and the words: we should make this. I agreed we definitely should. And so “we” did. Let me just add that this was quite likely one of the best desserts “we” ever made. I don’t say this lightly.

MONT BLANC
(from The New York Times)

for the meringue discs:
4 large egg whites (122 grams)
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 + ⅓ cups (240 grams) granulated sugar

For the mocha cremeux:
4½ ounces milk chocolate, chopped into ½-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
4 egg yolks (63 grams)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons instant coffee
¾ cup whole milk

for the chestnut topping:
⅓ cup (60 grams) brown sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt
1⅓ cups (200 grams) chopped canned or vacuum-packed chestnuts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

for the whipped cream:
1 cup (233 grams) heavy cream
½ cup (112 grams) mascarpone cheese, softened
¼ cup (30 grams) powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Make the meringues: Heat the oven to 225 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. On one sheet of parchment, trace a 7-inch-wide circle and a 6-inch-wide circle. On the other sheet of parchment, trace a 4-inch-wide circle and a 2½-inch-wide circle. Flip the parchment papers upside down so the marks are underneath.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until frothy, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the cream of tartar, then, with the mixer on medium-high, gradually add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until glossy and stiff peaks form, scraping down the bowl once or twice, 10 to 15 minutes. Spoon about 1 ½ cups (175 grams) of meringue into the 7-inch circle and, using circular movements with the back of a large spoon, shape a 1-inch-deep divot in the middle. Use the remaining meringue to fill the smaller circles, spreading about ½ cup (70 grams) into the 6-inch circle, ¼ cup (30 grams) into the 4-inch circle, and about 2 tablespoons (10 to 15 grams) into the 2½-inch circle. These three remaining meringues should be about ½ inch thick and fairly flat for neat stacking once baked.

Bake meringues for 1½ hours, until crisp and dry to the touch. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside with the door slightly ajar until completely cool, at least 2 to 3 hours but overnight if possible.

Meanwhile, make the mocha crémeux: Combine the milk chocolate and salt in a small bowl and set alongside the stove, along with an empty medium heatproof bowl. Whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch and instant coffee in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk. Take care to make sure it’s well combined, giving extra attention to the edges of the pan as you whisk.

Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil and thickens to a pudding-like consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and whisk rapidly as the mixture gently simmers for 30 seconds longer. Immediately turn off the heat and whisk in the milk chocolate and salt until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is glossy. Immediately pour the crémeux into the heatproof bowl and cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Once cool to the touch, transfer to the fridge to chill completely and set, about 2 hours minimum.

Make the chestnut topping: Combine the brown sugar, salt and ½ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
When the sugar syrup has cooled, blitz the cooked chestnuts in the food processor for about 30 seconds, until finely ground, then slowly pour in the cooled sugar syrup while the motor is running. Blend until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the food processor bowl as necessary. Add the butter and blend until incorporated. The purée needs to be smooth and soft enough to pipe easily without breaking. If the chestnut mixture doesn’t seem smooth, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside until ready to use.

When you are ready to assemble, make the whipped cream: In a large bowl, whip the cream, mascarpone, powdered sugar and vanilla until very stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. To build the dessert, place the 7-inch meringue onto a serving plate. Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of whipped cream (½ cup) across the base, pushing it up and over the sides of the meringue so it slightly overhangs the sides. Give the mocha crémeux a quick stir, then dollop it into the hollow (it should fill it completely), smoothing it level with the cream.

Place the 6-inch meringue disk on top, pressing gently. Spread a thick layer of whipped cream over the meringue and top with the 4-inch disk. Repeat with another generous layer of whipped cream, then add the smallest disk. Finish with a final helping of the remaining whipped cream, shaping it into a conical peak with an offset spatula. Chill the Mont Blanc in the fridge for about 1 hour, until the cream has firmed up enough to support the chestnut strands you’ll add on top (be sure to give it a wide berth in the fridge).

When the Mont Blanc has finished chilling, transfer chestnut cream to a piping bag fitted with a 2-millimeter-wide round tip. Starting from just above the overhang of cream at the base of the Mont Blanc, pipe the chestnut strands horizontally around the Mont Blanc, gradually working your way upward to cover the “mountain” completely with several layers of chestnut strands to create the look of a craggy mountain.

Store the Mont Blanc in the fridge until ready to serve: 2 to 4 hours is best, but up to 24 hours.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was a complete, total labor of love, but I am so glad Phil suggested this recipe for our Christmas meal. I must tell you that the recipe is perfectly written, instructions were flawless and everything worked exactly as it should have. The baker was in Nirvana.

The photo above makes the dessert look huge, in fact it is 7 inches in diameter at the bottom, largest dimension. We had it on Christmas and also next day and loved each bite. Truly spectacular, the layers of meringue turn into one entity with the whipped cream, the chestnut cream is absolutely perfect and matches well with the chocolate coffee cremeaux at the bottom. Super rich, I won’t lie. But for a special occasion, you cannot ask for a better option.

I would love to re-visit this dessert turning it into a small, individual portion, make maybe 4 for a dinner party. That would be perfect. Speaking of perfection….

Final thoughts: Make the meringue discs the day before. Make the chocolate cremeux the day before. Then on the day of serving this beauty, just whip the cream and make the chestnut topping. I tried to use the special grass piping tip to make the ribbons, but it worked much better with a simple round open tip, about 2mm wide. Having my little turntable was a huge help. You can see it in action in this post from my past.

ONE YEAR AGO: Cheddar and Jalapeño Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: La Buche de Noel

THREE YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Apple Carpaccio

FOUR YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Cherry Miroir Cake, A Vegan Showstopper

FIVE YEARS AGO: Bee Happy Honey Macarons

SIX YEARS AGO: Episode 7 of Great American Baking Show, Canapes, Opera Cake and Running out of Gas

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Raspberry Ganache Macarons

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TWELVE YEARS AGO: Fennel and Cheddar Cheese Crackers

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: A Festive Pomegranate Dessert

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: My First Award!

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: A Message from WordPress

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Turkish Chicken Kebabs

23Apr2014

CHESTNUT FLOUR SOURDOUGH BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

On the last In My Kitchen post, I promised to come back to talk about a bread made with chestnut flour brought all the way from France. The Bread Baking Queen Farine was the one who got me into this bread adventure, and advised me to search for this exotic flour in Paris. When I sent her a photo of the bag I bought she was super excited because it turns out chestnut flour from Corsica is considered the best in the world! Amazing that it was exactly the type available near our hotel. Pure luck. With the stars so beautifully aligned, I was sure this would turn out as a wonderful baking project! Was I right? Well, let’s say that troubles were brewing faster than the wild yeast in my sourdough starter.

CHESTNUT SOURDOUGH BREAD
(from Farine’s blog)

(makes 4 small loaves)

For the pre-fermented dough
175 g mature white starter
494 g unbleached all-purpose flour
258 g water
26 g raw wheat germ (I used toasted)
12 g salt

For the final dough
750 g unbleached all-purpose flour
400 g chestnut flour
700 g water
450 g fermented white dough
5 g instant dry yeast
25 g salt
200 g whole, peeled cooked chestnuts, crumbled into chunks

For the fermented dough
Mix flour, water and white starter until the flour is well hydrated, cover with a cloth and let rest 20 minutes. Add salt and mix until you get a gluten window (when you stretch some of the dough really thin, you see strands of gluten and almost-see through spots). Put in an oiled bowl and cover tightly.

Let rise at room temperature for about two hours, then put in the fridge for up to 48 hours

Remove from the fridge at least two hours before using

For the final dough
Combine the flours in the bowl of the mixer, add the water and mix well. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 30 minutes

Add the fermented dough and yeast and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic. Sprinkle the salt over it and mix some more.

Very lightly flour your work surface. Place your dough on it, rough-side up, and flatten it out with your fingers. Spread the chestnut pieces over the top and press them well into the dough. Fold a few times so that all the chestnuts are incorporated into the dough. Form the dough into a ball, put it into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let it rest for 40 minutes.

Lightly flour your work surface again, and turn the dough out on it. Fold the dough (on all four sides), then put back into your bowl, cover with baking cloth and let it rest for another 20 minutes. Lightly flour your work surface again, turn out the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Shape as desired.

Place on a semolina dusted parchment paper over a sheet pan. Let rise, covered with baking cloths, for 1 ½ hour or until just doubled in volume.

Meanwhile turn on the oven to 500ºF/250ºC with a baking stone in it and an empty cast iron (or metal) pan on the bottom shelf. When ready to bake, score the breads the way you like, pour 1 cup of water in the cast iron (or metal) pan and slide the breads (still on their parchment paper) onto the baking stone, spray some water into the oven and close the door quickly.

After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 440ºF/220ºC and bake for another 20 minutes. Check to see if the loaves need to be turned around or if they need to switch places, then bake for another 10 minutes as needed

Let cool on a rack.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: When you buy 500g of chestnut flour several thousand miles away from home, you become very protective of it A recipe that calls for 400g (in other words, 80% of my treasure) prompted me to launch a quick email to Farine, asking her thoughts on halving the recipe. She is far more experienced in sourdough baking than me, so when she speaks, I listen. Once she gave me the ok to go for it, I felt empowered, on top of the world. Yes, I will be able to bake this bread and have a lot of chestnut flour leftover to play with. How cool is that? So, being the super smart person I like to think I am, I made a nice table in which all amounts were cut in half, and went to work.

The catastrophic event was completely neglecting to look back at the table when mixing starter with the other components of the dough. I would have noticed that only HALF of the fermented dough should be added. So, that beautiful photo you see above, with a stretched out dough and the chestnuts waiting to be incorporated, was taken right before the piercing cry, the calling myself names, and the scared dogs running after Phil as he dashed out of the kitchen. It is shocking and appalling to realize how little sympathy I get from those who live with me.

It is not easy to think rationally under duress, but I figured that the only way out of my self-inflicted misery was to discard half of that dough (ouch, it hurt!) and add more of all other components to the other half, except (obviously) the starter. Two problems with this strategy: I would not have time to let the flours go through autolyse before mixing, and I would have to use more of my precious chestnut flour. With a heavy heart, that’s what I did.

I was absolutely sure the abused bread would turn out to be a complete failure, but the Gods of Bread are a lot kinder than the Gods of Golf, so all had a miraculous happy ending. Maybe the crumb turned out a little too tight, but I can tell you this bread tastes amazing! If you can find chestnut flour where you live, or if you can order it online, try this bread. And, I echo Farine with one piece of advice she gave me: it is ok to scale down the recipe, but do not substitute walnuts or other nuts. Chestnuts are essential…

MC, thanks for the constant inspiration, and sorry I messed up the recipe. There’s always next time, as long as I find a good source for chestnut flour here in the US. Amazon.com to the rescue? 😉

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting…

ONE YEAR AGO: Kinpira Gobo and Japanese Home Cooking

TWO YEARS AGO: Walnut Sourdough

THREE YEARS AGO: Thai Chicken Curry

FOUR YEARS AGO: Zen and the art of risotto

18Aug2011

CHOCOLATE AND CHESTNUT TERRINE

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

This delicacy deserves THE spotlight on the Hall of Fame of Desserts, perfect for closing with a golden key a very special dinner. It is classy, looks absolutely gorgeous, and according to Claudio, our dear friend who prepared it, it’s not too complicated to make. Granted, Claudio is a fantastic cook, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect until he showed me the recipe. In this case, I must agree with him: if you have access to canned pureed chestnuts, this will be one of the simplest desserts you’ll ever make, but even if you don’t, making the puree is worth the effort, so you can taste this masterpiece and swoon with each bite.

TERRINE OF CHOCOLATE AND CHESTNUT PUREE
(from Le Cordon Bleu – Receitas Caseiras)

185 g (6.5 oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped
90 g (3.2 oz) butter, at room temperature
90 g (3.2 oz) granulated sugar
400 g (14 oz) canned chestnuts puree
¼ tsp instant coffee, diluted in 1 tsp warm water
¼ tsp vanilla
30 ml (1/8 cup) rum
shaved semisweet chocolate
fresh fruits of your choice (strawberries, blueberries, aguaymantos)

Lightly grease a loaf type pan with oil, cover the bottom with parchment paper, and oil the paper.

Melt the chopped chocolate in a bowl over simmering water (without letting the water touch the bottom of the bowl), stirring often. Once it is completely melted and smooth, allow it to cool for 5 minutes.

Beat the butter with the sugar in a KitchenAid type mixer until creamy. Incorporate the chestnut puree, and the melted chocolate. When the mixture is very smooth, add the vanilla, coffee, and rum. Pour into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the surface with the back of a spoon or a small icing spatula, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

To unmold, carefully run a spatula around the edges, invert the terrine on a serving platter, and decorate with fresh fruits of your choice, shaving chocolate all over.

Cut in slices, and serve. Count the seconds until the first compliment! 😉

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe is from a Brazilian edition of a Le Cordon Bleu publication from many years ago. I could not find a link to the specific book, but if you click here, you’ll be directed to the huge LCB collection available at amazon.com.

Both Phil and I were blown away by this dessert! It is creamy, rich, and even though I was firm on my intention of having a very small slice after the great dinner they had served us, I was powerless, unable to resist a second (bigger) slice. It melts in your mouth, with the fresh fruits balancing the intense chocolate flavor. The aguaymantos (fisalias in Portuguese) were a terrific touch, with their slightly tart taste and exotic look, they added extra pizazz to the dessert.
That’s what their garden looks like at winter time… a tropical paradise indeed!