A Mont Blanc (or Mont-Blanc aux marrons) is a dessert of sweetened chestnut purée in the form of vermicelli, topped with whipped cream. It was created in Paris in the nineteenth-century. The name comes from its resemblance to Mont Blanc.
Summary
Mont Blanc has been an autumn and winter favorite at Parisian pâtisseries, notably the Parisian tea shop Angelina. For a long time considered old-fashioned and heavy, it became popular in the 2010s in a lighter form at trendy shops like Pierre Hermé, with many variations.
History A dessert with three distinctive characteristics of typical Mont Blanc (sweet, made of chestnut purée in the form of vermicelli served as a mount or a ring, and heaped with whipped cream) existed by the mid-19th century.
Chestnut purées
Chestnut purées have a long history in Europe as a soup, porridge, or side dish for meats, especially in regions where chestnuts are a staple food.Gillian Riley, The Oxford Companion to Italian Food, 2007, , s.v., p. 118Giacomo Castelvetro, Gillian Riley, translator, The Fruit, Herbs, & Vegetables of Italy, 1989, , p. 125"Potage à la purée de marrons", recipe in André Viard, Le cuisinier impérial, Paris, 1806, p. 14"Rump with Chestnuts", recipe in "A Lady", Domestic economy, and cookery, for rich and poor, London, 1827, p. 323 However, these dishes are not desserts, and are not served with whipped cream.
Sweet puréed chestnuts Libro de arte coquinaria, a cookbook from authored by Martino da Como, has a recipe for chestnut pie (later called ). It is a pastry filled with a blend of chestnut puree, cheeses, fats, eggs, with optional spices and sugar.Manuscript. folio 33r (Torta di farro): "Etta molto bene il farre"... folio 33v (Torta di castagne): "Arai cocere le castagne"... Notes not in the book: The recipe titles for torta di farro and torta di castagne are invisible in the original manuscript. These titles are interpolated in a later transcription.Transcription with missing letters interpolated: "Based on: Arte della cucina. Libri di ricette, testi sopra lo scalco, i trinciante e i vini. Dal XIV al XIX secolo. A cura di Emilio Faccioli. Vol. 1. Milano 1966, 115-204." De honesta voluptate et valetudine a cookbook published by Bartolomeo Platina , contains the same recipe under the title .Printed book. folio 69r Torta ex farre folio 69v Torta ex castaneis A similar recipe appears in Bartolomeo Scappi's cookbook Opera dell'arte del cucinare in 1570, as . folio 53r Per far minestra di bianco magnare. Cap.CLXII folio 58v Per far minestra di farina di castagne. Cap.CLXXXVII folio 306v Per fare torta di castagne fresche & secche. Cap.CXXEnglish translation:
162. To prepare a thick soup of whitedish. 187. To prepare a thick soup of chestnut flour. 120. To prepare a tourte of fresh or dried chestnuts. Sugar is a standard ingredient in this version. Another similar recipe is titled in the 1747 English cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Opera dell'arte del cucinare (1570) also contains another dish of chestnuts: , translated as "thick soup" of chestnut flour, but stiff enough to be sliced and fried. This dish too can be seasoned either savory or sweet.
Some consider the recipes from 1475 and 1570 are Mont-Blanc, but these are not served with whipped cream, and the pie differs from typical Mont-Blanc that it has more ingredients, is covered, and baked.
It is stated that a baker in Chamonix, France, said he invented Mont-Blanc in 1620, or that Mont-Blanc arrived in France from Italy in 1620,Katia Fache-Cadoret, "L'histoire du Mont-Blanc, la pâtisserie hivernale par excellence", Marie-Claire, October 16, 2019 but no evidence is given for these.
By the 18th century there was chestnut ice cream. An elaborate form of chestnut-based ice cream is the Nesselrode pudding, which was in vogue in the 19th century. recipe:
Vermicelli of sweet puréed chestnuts A sweet dessert of puréed chestnuts passed through a sieve to make vermicelli shapes—but without the characteristic whipped cream of the Mont Blanc—is referred to as (compote de) marrons en vermicelle in various French cookbooks starting in 1842.A. Chevrier, Nouveau manuel complet du maître-d'hôtel, 1842, p. 17M. Étienne, Traité de l'office, 1845, p. 101
Sweet puréed chestnuts with whipped cream A dish called entremets du Mont-Blanc or simply montblanc, is said to have been invented by the Dessat(s) pastry shop in Paris by 1847.Comtesse E. de Ch[ambord], "Modes", La Sylphide : journal de modes, de littérature, de théâtres et de musique II:5, January 3, 1847, p. 35 Advertorials describe it as a sweet combination of chestnut purée and snow-like cream, but does not mention whether it had the vermicelli form.
An unambiguous reference to the Mont Blanc as vermicelli of sweet puréed chestnuts with whipped cream is documented in 1863, called (literally: "nest of chestnuts"). Here, the vermicelli are formed into a ring, and whipped cream is mounted in the center.（pdf）
Recipes of similar dishes appeared by numerous names. However, dishes sharing the same name may differ in forms: vermicelli versus bulk, or the layout. Urbain Dubois called the dish chestnut pureé with cream in 1871, and in 1876. Other names include (1885), p221: Montblanc ou nid de marrons p221: Vermicellerie de marrons au sirop , which was considered an Alsatian dish (1885,Jean de Paris, "Un conseil par jour", Le Figaro, December 15, 1885, p. 3 1892"Coin des ménagères", La Femme 14:5, March 1, 1892, p. 37 Explains that torche aux marrons is the Alsatian name for what is called Mont Blanc in southern France.), and (1889,Jenny Touzin, François-Victor Foveau de Courmelles, La sauce, la cuisine chez soi, 1889, p. 411 1901).
An essay in 1889 recalls the trends on desserts of the past 60 years. It tells that once there was a patissier in Paris who created cakes called , made of chestnut purée and whipped cream; it came into fashion, but the fad soon went away.
Mont Blanc made on a meringue base is described in an 1892 Swiss cookbook , as a kind of cake. The base of vacherins is made of almond paste with egg whites, formed into a cup and baked. is filled with chestnut vermicelli alternating with whipped cream; another version uses a baked meringue as the base. p. 384: 785. Vacherin aux amandes, à la crème. p. 385: Remarque. On fait le vacherin aux marrons...
in Escoffier's Guide Culinaire in 1903 is a typical -styled recipe, with the advice to pile the whipped cream up irregularly to imitate a rugged mountain.A. Escoffier, Le Guide Culinaire, 1903, p. 726
Mont Blanc's Italian name "" as a dessert (not the mountain), is a loan translation from the French term "". The term was in use as early as 1900.
The Swiss German word "" (de), a loanword from French, refers to a dessert of chestnut puree. Terms ""Example: and ""Example: referring to Mont Blanc were in use by the mid-20th century. There are earlier instances of the word from 1868 for some kind of confection,Example: but lack definition.
Rumpelmayer and Angelina Angelina, a tea house at 226 rue de Rivoli of Paris, originally named "Rumpelmeyer" (), opened in 1903. Rumpelmayer's salons had already been established in Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo and Aix-les-Bains, and subsequently in London by 1907.
In 1931, another salon named "Rumpelmayer" opened in Paris at rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, by owners different from the rue de Rivoli's. Eventually, the rue de Rivoli shop renamed itself "Angelina" in 1948.
An early record of Mont-Blanc sold by Rumpelmayer can be found in a 1915 magazine article about their London branch.
For the rue de Rivoli branch (the future Angelina), an early record, a magazine review in 1903, does not mention Mont Blanc among their specialties. There are several Japanese accounts praising their Mont-Blanc since the 1920s, and then an English advertisement in 1936. In the 2010s, Angelina said they had been marketing Mont Blanc since 1903,Homepage archived on 2014: but later reworded it to "recipe was created at the beginning of the 20th century."Homepage archived on 2020:
Other Rumpelmayers known to have been selling Mont Blancs are the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré salon, mentioned in a 1958 travelogue, rough translation: "So we went to a confectionery named Ryunperumeie, at a street Faubourg Saint-Honoré. They sell many chic foods and drinks, but their specialty is what is called Mont-Blanc. Hiroko told me 'Daddy, this is like a Japanese sweets.'" and the Rumpelmayer's restaurant in New York, on their 1972 menu. (bibliography)
At least by 1980, and , Angelina's Mont Blanc consists of whipped cream on meringue base, then covered with layers of vermicelli of chestnut puree, and dusted with powdered sugar. p13: Photograph of the facade: "MAISON DE L'AFRIQUE SALONS ANGELINA"; "ANCIENNE MAISO..."; "RENE RU..."; "FONDEE EN 1903" pp19-20: Explanation of preparation process of Mont-Blanc: meringue base, lay whipped cream, covered with layers of vermicelli of chestnut puree, and dust with powdered sugar. p18: Photographs of the process p19: Photographs of the end product Publié le 08/08/2008 à 15:00, Mis à jour le 15/09/2020 à 07:38 Clicking "Voir le diaporama" will display a photogallery of the manufacturing process of mont-blancs.
An identical product was also sold by a confectonery in Japan since 1956, Color page (p1): photograph; rough translation: "Authentic chic French confections by Mr. Hasebe, who had recently returned to Japan from Paris." p126: 4.MONT-BLANC: Bake meringue, place whipped cream. Sieve cooked chestnuts and add sugar, kirsch, egg yolk and vanilla. Squeeze it in thin strings to form layers. Dust with powdered sugar. leaving an early photograph of Rumpelmayer-style Mont Blanc. Their chef studied at the Rumpelmayer at rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré from 1952 and returned to Japan in 1955. p162: Hasebe, a son of the owner of Azabu Izumiya studied in several locations in Europe during 1952–1955, including the Rumpelmayer at rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. After returning to Japan, he operated the brand "Rumpelmayer Izumiya", adopted from the Rumpelmayer in Paris. It later spun off from Izumiya as Ranperumaie (Rumpelmayer). p162: Hasebe visited Europe in 1952–1955, 1978, 1979 and 1981. p164: Hasebe's Mont Blanc consist of meringue, un-sugared whipped cream, and imported chestnuts. The difference with "Rumpelmayer in France" (branch not specified) is that the latter adds sugar to their whipped cream. p164: For any confectioner in Japan, Mont Blanc is their third or fourth most important item, but in Paris, Hasebe could find only two shops offering it: Angelina, and Carette in Trocadéro. He also managed to find another shop in Rome selling it. p165: Hasebe had been trained at Rumpelmayer at rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. As of 1981, it is defunct. The ownership of "Angelina's Rumpelmayer" had changed hand sometime after the 1950s, now owned by monsieur Gauthier, a hotel owner. The Baden-Baden branch now has no connection with the Paris branch.
History in Japan A typical Japanese-style Mont Blanc in the mid-20th century was a small individual cake, composed of a sponge cake covered with spiraling vermicelli of yellow chestnut puree, and topped with a yellow preserved chestnut.
Records from the 1930s prove that shops were offering similar cakes by 1934, p48: author: 鹽澤芳郎 (Shiozawa / Shiosawa, Yoshirō / Yoshio) from confectionery Beniya in Hongō, Tokyo p48: item Chrysanthe-flavor – Baked biscuit dough, stuffed with chopped pineapples and currants. Strings of marron cream in a circular manner, piling them high. Topped with a piece of mandarin orange, dots of buttercream and a fragment of candied cherry. and cakes named Mont Blanc by 1935.「銀座の喫茶店コロンバンで西洋菓子を漁ると、日本の蕎麦をグルグル捲いたやうなものを出した。味は蕎麦とは異なつて、寧ろ栗の味であつた。聞けば瑞西の菓子で、名も同所の名山モン、ブランと云うて、その山容を形どつたものらしい、」