Today's recipe is a special one, inspired by Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the most imposing and important figures in the history of gastronomy. Nicknamed the “Chef of Kings and King of Chefs,” Carême left an indelible mark on the world of flavors at a time when it was just beginning to write its story. Through his innovative spirit and unique vision, he earned his place among the great personalities to be admired by generations to come. From a time when he wasn’t yet a chef in the grandest royal houses of the world, but merely a pastry chef who had just opened his own shop on a small street in Paris, comes today the story of his famous chestnut-flavored biscuits, sold directly on Rue de la Paix! A recipe as simple as it is rich in history: chestnut-flavored biscuits.
INGREDIENTS (as I deciphered and translated them from Carême’s old recipe):
170g peeled and roasted chestnuts
110g butter
115g flour
85g powdered sugar
1 egg
A pinch of salt
PREPARATION:
If you happen to find a jar of peeled and roasted chestnuts, consider yourself lucky (as I did), and start with those. If not, you’ll have to roast them yourself.
In a small food processor, blend the chestnuts with half the amount of butter (55g) until everything turns into a paste.
In a bowl, mix 115g of flour with 85g of powdered sugar, and make a well in the center. Into this well, add the remaining butter (55g), the chestnut paste, one egg, and a pinch of salt.
Mix everything together with your hands until you get a fairly sticky dough. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes, then take it out and, using a teaspoon or an ice cream scoop, form small balls and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush them with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven until they start to turn golden brown.
PLANS FOR NEXT TIME:
The simplicity of the flavors and ingredients used gives us the opportunity, when trying Carême’s chestnut-flavored biscuit recipe, to gift little pieces of history in a festive package to those around us. But it also allows us to be inspired by the great pastry chef’s creativity and to put our personal stamp on them—to take his recipe as a starting point, then venture into the realm of imagination and make it our own. Which is exactly what I plan to do next time, with the help of a plump vanilla pod and a teaspoon of high-quality cocoa, just enough to give the biscuits a touch of aroma and bring them, through color, closer to the chestnuts from which they are made. Perhaps even a teaspoon of cognac or Armagnac wouldn’t hurt.
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