Monday, December 20, 2010

Les Calissons, homemade






A few years ago a French girlfriend gave me some Calissons for Xmas. It was love at first bite, and I always wanted to make them myself.


I looked around on the net, as you do, but I didn’t find a recipe I liked, or a recipe that made me think of that taste… one blog had a recipe with apricot jam among the ingredients, but I was sure I didn’t taste apricot jam in those Calissons from Aix en Provence!



So I got out my copy of the Laorusse Gastronomique, a good French tome, not very precise when it comes to describe Italian food, but for French food… well, it is my best reference. There was not a recipe, only indications that they are made with 40% blanched almonds, and 60% crystallized fruit (melon with a little orange), mixed with sugar syrup and a little orange flower water.




I blanched some almonds, like for the marzipan, and used my usual mixture of candied melon/papaya. I had some orange blossom water, very strong, so I decided not to add candied citrus peel.



I used 80 g of almonds for 120 g of fruit. I didn’t want to add more sugar to the mixture, so I heated the fruit with 50 ml of water until the water was almost all evaporated and the fruit was soft. I blended the fruit with the almonds and then added the orange blossom water. The mixture wasn’t very fine, I suppose it was too little to mix properly in the food processors, but I also liked the texture I got.




I spread it over a rice paper sheet, and covered it with some baking paper to roll it evenly with a rolling pin.





Then I made the icing, traditionally this is made with egg white and icing sugar, but Vegans can use water. This need so much sugar! About 8 tbsp for an egg white, depending on its size.




I spread the icing over the Calissons, and then I waited for one hour and made some incisions with a knife. I did this because I feared that if I were to cut the Calissons when the icing was set it would crack. Also note that I do not have a Calisson mould, I had to invent my own method!



I left the Calissons to rest overnight, and then I cut through the incisions.





Very pretty, very tasty, and guess what my French girlfriend is getting this year for Xmas from me!


Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


17 comments:

  1. Calissons are the best treat ! As you said so pretty and tasty. I like the idea of adding candied papaya too.

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  2. Thanks Vanilla, and here in NZ it is difficult to find candied melon. The papaya has a very similar taste.

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  3. molto belli questi dolcetti.
    non li conoscevo.

    ma ho capito bene? si fanno senza cuocerli?

    perdonami ma il mio macaroni english leaves the times it finds ;-)

    auguri se non ci si risente (bellina il nuovo avatar)

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  4. Oh how cool, I love the texture and color. I would love to try this.

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  5. Si' Gaia, niente cottura, anche se io ho 'cotto' i canditi in un po' d'acqua per farli piu' teneri e sciropposi.

    E poi le mandorle, le ho sbollentate per pelarle.

    Niente glutine :-)

    Buone feste!

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  6. Cara Alessandra questi dolci sono davvero molto buoni e golosi e fatti davvero bene!!! Colgo l'occasione per farti i miei piu' sinceri auguri di un sereno Natale!!!

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  7. oooh, c'est bon, c'est beau! magnifique!

    :P

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  8. Ma che fantastica ricetta! A presto

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  9. Wow! Che bella ricetta, Alessandra! Non li avevo mai visti... ma quante cose sai? Mi sorprendi sempre...
    Che gola, questi dolcetti, ne vorrei uno adesso...

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  10. They turned out beautifully. I've never seen candied melon. I'll have to search it out. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  11. What an impressive treat! They are really beautiful and full of delicious flavors. I'll definitely try to find candied melon!

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  12. Wow! Great step-by-step pictures! I never heard of calissons, it sure looks good!

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  13. Ma che belli e che buoni devono essere! Particolarissimi senza cottura
    Un abbraccio

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  14. agree they are just too pretty to eat :)

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  15. Lovely and super informative. Thanks for the details and pics.

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