Remembrance of Things Paris
Page 11
La Maison du Chocolat, 225, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, hit Paris in 1981, and it didn’t take long to become an institution. Something like three weeks. Faces staring into the windows are studies in anticipation. The chocolates are made below the shop in what used to be a wine cellar. Owner Robert Linxe is less interested in chew than in flavor and melt. Marriages made in heaven are his forte: chocolate and coffee, chocolate and rum, chocolate and orange. An occasional flirtation with kirsch is permissible. For the more indissoluble union of chocolate with the well-defined personality of coffee, Linxe frequently has his coffee and cocoa beans ground together.
“Good chocolate won’t make you sick,” he said as he urged us to taste a Romeo, a Bohème, and a Rigoletto. “It won’t even make you fat. Look at me, and I eat it all day long.” True, he was as svelte and active as a live wire and as persuasive as a faith healer.
“Bitter chocolate is full of potassium and magnesium.”
Convinced that it was so good for me, I could hardly refuse a Bacchus.
“Extraordinary subtlety, this,” said Linxe. “It contains Smyrna raisins that have been macerated in rum and flambéed before going into the chocolate.”
La Maison du Chocolat is located near the Salle Pleyel. An enormous amount of energy is expended in the making of good music, which makes it quite right that upper notes of the range, with names like Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, and Barbara Hendricks, should get together as serious clients of La Maison’s chocolat amer.
“I always know when Zubin Mehta is expected, because I get so many orders to be sent to his hotel. Mehta goes through a kilo of my chocolate in a day and a half,” said Linxe proudly.
“Opéra,” a flat cake, square or rectangular in shape, with alternate fillings of chocolate and coffee and a satin-smooth chocolate icing, seemed to be a popular number in quite a few restaurants and pastry shops. Some pâtissiers aver that it was a favorite at the court of Louis XV. Others assume it was invented to coincide with the opening of the present Paris Opéra in 1874.
Such confusion over the confection’s origin is an indication of its settled position in society; it is a modern classic. In January 1986, Dalloyau—the celebrated pâtisserie at 99, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré—held a huge fête for the thirtieth birthday of its version of this famous creation. A neat twist: a party given for a cake instead of a cake produced for a party. The Dalloyau rendition of “Opéra” is flecked with twenty-four-karat gold supplied by one of the last two artisans in France still working the precious gold leaf. It can be bought in almost any size, from petits fours to a reception piece good for forty generous portions.
“We do not give out the recipe. We are often imitated, but the copies are never quite the same,” says Madame Andrée Galavin, Présidente Directrice Générale of this temple to gastronomic temptations that has been flourishing at the same address for eighty-five years and even offers table service for those in chocolate crisis with time to linger. “This is pâtisserie as I respect it. Rich and with butter. I am antimousse,” she adds, dismissing the current vogue for cakes that pretend to be lighter than air because of mousse fillings.
The original Dalloyau opened his catering establishment in 1802, about the time Paris began to recover its brilliance after the Revolution.
Foreign visitors and émigrés were returning. Parties were given again. Monsieur and Madame Bonaparte, the First Consul and his wife, were holding court at the Palais des Tuileries. The year saw new lighting in the Place Vendôme; the Temple of Mars was transformed into Saint-Louis des Invalides; and the lycée system of secondary education was established.
And Monsieur Grimod de la Reynière, the first gastronomic chronicler, with his Almanach des Gourmands, praised the confectioner Berthellemot for using as mottoes on his bonbons citations from the works of the most celebrated poets of the “New France.”
Questing chocolate in Paris can become a fun foray into social history. The Spanish princess Anne d’Autriche, who married Louis XIII,made chocolate fashionable in France. The Spanish in turn had first encountered the cocoa bean when the conquistadores brought it back from the New World in their curio bags. According to Alexandre Dumas, who recounted the hegira with his usual gusto, Spain—particularly the women and the monks—went mad for the new cocoa drink. The señoras even carried it to church with them, mollifying their reproachful confessors with a proffered cup from time to time. Both sides were absolved from sin by the Reverend Father Escobar, who with metaphysical subtlety formally declared that drinking chocolate prepared with water was not to be considered as breaking a fast.
The monks of Spain and France were a sharing community. During the fifteenth century they busily exchanged the sage theories that helped Columbus make his first trip west. Later the Spanish monks sent samples of chocolate as presents to their brethren north of the border.
If the Spanish made chocolate known, the French made it luxurious, packaging it in gift containers of hand-painted silk and delicate porcelain. La Maison du Chocolat’s cardboard boxes are as chic as those of Hermès. With good reason, as both come from the same supplier.
One of the first references to chocolate in French literature was made by Madame de Sévigné, whose name now graces fine chocolate shops at 21, place de la Madeleine and 1, place Victor Hugo. In February 1671 she recommended it to her daughter, Françoise, as a cure for insomnia. The ever-anxious-to-be-modish woman of letters probably overdid the chocolate, however, because she soon complained that the stuff caused dizziness, palpitations, and a burning sensation. Still, she apparently couldn’t keep away from it for long, because in October of the same year she wrote Françoise that she’d tried some as a digestive and “it acted as it was supposed to.”
Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826), the erudite lawyer-gastronome from Belley, took up the torch from Madame de Sévigné and touted chocolate as a stimulant and restorative for night workers, intellectuals suffering from mental blocks, and any other soul in torment. His personal recipe for combating old-age lassitude was a cup of strong chocolate well dosed with ambergris (a waxy substance from the sperm whale) and prepared according to the precepts of Madame d’Arestrel, Mother Superior of Belley’s Convent of the Visitation. A good chocolate drink should, she counseled, be made the day before in an earthenware coffeepot. “The overnight rest provides a velvety concentration that makes it all the better. The Good Lord can’t be offended by this little supplement, for He Himself is ‘all excellence.’” No doubt it was in deference to the good gourmand sisters of France, led by the likes of Madame d’Arestrel, that the pâtissiers of Paris created an éclair in the form of a brioche and baptized it “Une Religieuse.”
Early in the nineteenth century a clever Parisian pharmacist, Sulpice Debauve, allied himself with a confectioner named Gallais to produce a line of “agreeable medicaments.” Chocolate with an additive of iron salts became the recommended tonic for those whose pallor indicated circulation problems. “Chocolat des Dames,” bonbons injected with orange-blossom water, promised relief from migraines and shocks to the morale. Chocolate incorporating almond milk was prescribed for sore throats, gastritis, and indispositions resulting from overheated temperaments.
The following recipes use fine-quality unsweetened, bittersweet, and white chocolate, which are available in domestic and imported brands. (Bittersweet chocolate has a more pronounced chocolate flavor than chocolate labeled semisweet because there is less sugar added; unsweetened has no sugar whatsoever.)
POTS NOIRS SONIA RYKIEL HÔTEL DE CRILLON
(Chocolate Custards)
2 cups milk
3½ oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 oz fine-quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
5 large egg yolks
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
fine-quality bittersweet and white chocolate at room temperature (about 72°F), shaved with a vegetable peeler into curls and chilled, covered loosely, for garnish
In a heavy s
aucepan combine the milk, the chopped bittersweet chocolate, and the unsweetened chocolate and heat the mixture over moderately high heat, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture just comes to a boil. In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until the mixture is combined well, add the chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking, and strain the mixture through a very fine sieve into a heatproof bowl or measuring cup. Divide the mixture among six ½-cup ramekins and cover each ramekin with foil. Put the ramekins in a baking pan, add enough hot water to the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins, and bake the custards in the middle of a preheated 400°F oven for 25 minutes. Transfer the ramekins to a rack, let the custards cool, and chill them, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Top the custards with the chocolate curls. Serves 6.
LE JOUR ET LA NUIT HÔTEL DE CRILLON
(White and Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake)
9 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
14 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 cups well-chilled heavy cream
14 oz fine-quality white chocolate, chopped
For garnish
6 oz fine-quality white chocolate at room temperature (about 72°F)
4 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate at room temperature (about 72°F)
In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until the mixture is combined well, add the cornstarch, sifted, and whisk the mixture until it is just combined. Whisk in the milk, scalded, in a slow stream, transfer the mixture to a heavy saucepan, and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil the pastry cream, whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it is very thick and smooth; strain it through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl and stir in the vanilla. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the pastry cream and chill the pastry cream for 1 to 2 hours, or until it is cooled completely.
In the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the bittersweet chocolate, stirring occasionally, and let it cool until it is lukewarm. Transfer half the pastry cream to a large bowl, whisk in the chocolate, and whisk the mixture until it is combined well. In a chilled bowl with an electric mixer beat 2 cups of the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks, stir one fourth of it into the chocolate mixture, and fold in the remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly. Pour the dark chocolate mousse into a lightly oiled 10-inch springform pan, at least 2½ inches deep, spread it evenly, and chill it while making the white chocolate mousse.
In the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the white chocolate, stirring occasionally, let it cool for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it is lukewarm, and whisk it into the remaining pastry cream until the mixture is combined well. In a chilled bowl with an electric mixer beat the remaining 2 cups heavy cream until it holds soft peaks, stir one fourth of it into the white chocolate mixture, and fold in the remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly. Pour the white chocolate mousse over the chilled dark chocolate mousse, spread it evenly, and chill the cake, covered loosely with parchment or wax paper, overnight.
Prepare the garnish: Grate fine 2 ounces of the white chocolate and reserve it. Working over a foil-lined baking sheet or tray, shave curls from the remaining 4 ounces white chocolate and from the bittersweet chocolate with a vegetable peeler, keeping the white and dark curls separate, and chill them, covered loosely, for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake, remove the side of the pan, and smooth the side of the cake with a spatula. Put the cake on a rack set in a shallow baking pan, press the grated white chocolate onto the side, gathering the excess in the pan and reapplying it until the side is coated evenly, and transfer the cake to a platter. Mound the white chocolate curls carefully on half the cake and the dark chocolate curls on the other half and chill the cake, if desired, for up to 4 hours. Serves 14 to 16.
BOIS MORTS AU CHOCOLAT THE RITZ
(Chocolate Cake Layered with Chocolate Mousse)
For the cake
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
For the syrup
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup crème de cacao
For the mousse
¾ lb fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups well-chilled heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate at room temperature (about 72°F), shaved with a vegetable peeler into curls and chilled, covered loosely, for garnish
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting the cake
Make the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Into the bowl sift the flour with the baking powder and stir the mixture until it is just combined. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured 8½-inch springform pan and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and remove the side of the pan. Invert the cake onto the rack, remove the bottom of the pan, and let the cake cool completely.
Make the syrup: In a small saucepan combine ½ cup water and the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer the syrup for 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool and stir in the crème de cacao.
Halve the cake horizontally with a serrated knife, arrange the 2 layers cut side up on racks set in a jelly-roll pan, and brush them with the syrup.
Make the mousse: In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. In a chilled large bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk the egg yolks all at once into the warm chocolate, whisk in half the whipped cream, and fold the mixture into the remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly.
Put 1 of the cake layers cut side up on a plate, spread it with half the mousse, and top it with the other cake layer. Spread the side of the cake with the remaining mousse and top the cake with the chocolate curls. Chill the cake for 4 hours and sift the cocoa powder over it. Serves 8 to 10.
ENTREMET VENDÔME HÔTEL MEURICE
(Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake)
1 lb 10 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 cups well-chilled heavy cream
14 large egg whites at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
⅓ cup Grand Marnier
For the ganache
¼ cup heavy cream
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting the cake
In the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over barely simmering water melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, and let it cool. In a chilled large bowl beat the cream until it holds soft peaks. In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites until they are frothy, add the sugar, a little at a time, beating constantly, and beat the whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat in the chocolate, beating until the mixture is combined well, stir in the Grand Marnier, and fold in the whipped cream. Spoon the mixture into an 11-inch springform pan, at least 2½ inches deep, smoothing the top, and freeze it, covered with plastic wrap, for 4 hours.
Make the ganache: In a small saucepan bring the cream to a boil and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the chocolate and stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Remove the side of the pan from the cake and set the cake on a platter. Spread the ganache quickly over the cake and freeze it, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 24. Sift the cocoa powder over the cake just before serving. Serves about 20.
MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT EN TASSE DE THÉ LE PETIT BEDON
(Chocolate Mousse in a Teacup)
½ lb fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar
2⅓ cups well-chilled heavy cream
For garnish
2 cups well-chilled heavy cream
fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, grated coarse and chilled, covered loosely
sliced almonds, pistachios, and lightly toasted hazelnuts julienne strips of candied orange rind*
candied violets*
*available at specialty foods shops
In a saucepan combine the chocolate and the milk and heat the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the butter until it is melted and whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, sifted, and ? cup of the cream. Let the mixture cool and chill it, covered, for 1 hour. In a chilled large bowl beat the remaining 2 cups cream until it just holds stiff peaks; whisk half the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture and fold the mixture into the remaining whipped cream. Divide the mousse among ten 1-cup teacups and chill it, covered, for 1 hour.
Prepare the garnish: In a chilled bowl beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks, transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, and pipe a tall swirl of it on top of each mousse. Sprinkle the cream with the grated chocolate, the nuts, the candied rind, and the candied violets. Serves 10.
FONDANT AU CHOCOLAT CHIBERTA(Chocolate Mousse on Sweet Pastry Rounds with Coffee Custard Sauce)
For the custard sauce
3 cups milk
½ cup dark-roast ground coffee beans
9 large egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
For the pastry rounds
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon chopped blanched almonds, ground fine in an electric spice or coffee grinder