08.28.07
Cécilia’s Cake
My friend Cécilia is one of those bakers that knows just when to add a touch of this or that. She had me over for tea last week and made a gorgeous gâteau aux pralines from her own recipe.
The term “praline” means so many different things: chocolate in Belgium, pecans in Georgia, and in this case, candied almonds. The small town of Roanne, France, has a pastry shop that is nationally known for the founder’s version of a brioche with candied almonds: the original “Praluline” – a play on the chef’s name, Auguste Pralus, and the word “praline.” The concoction became an instant hit, winning Pralus the national “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” (best artisan in France) award in 1955. Many Roannais pastry shops have imitated it, but the “true” recipe remains a secret to this day.
Cécilia’s praline cake was also based on a brioche recipe, but was moist (preferable to the Praluline, in my opinion) and not too sweet, which really brought out the flavor of the almonds. In her experience, it is better to let the dough rise at least 12 hours, but even though this one only rose for a few hours, I thought it was perfect.
Cécilia has hinted at creating her own blog to share her recipes and beautiful travel photos. I hope she will!
Tonya R said,
August 29, 2007 at 5:36 pm
mmm yummy. I hope your friend does start her own blog. They are marvelous ways to communicate. Of course if she’s writing it in French I’ll be in trouble.