Corn, sweet sunshine for the taste buds
Corn offers many pleasures, both in the kitchen and in patisserie. Here's the proof, with five sweet addresses that have put their faith in the yellow kernel.
In flour, cream or even puffed form, corn is a versatile ingredient that can be used to make both savory and sweet dishes. When ground, it adds a slightly grainy, crumbly texture to preparations, while its sweetness is perfect for desserts.
Cornbread in the United States, arepas and tamalitos in Latin America or even Caribbean cakes, flour is also used in France in a wide range of preparations: far aux prunes, crêpes, gluten-free cakes. But it's above all for its taste that pastry chefs use it.
Matthieu Carlin's caramel popcorn cookie
After the madeleines cart experience, Matthieu Carlin launches the three-cookie cart, to be enjoyed with steaming chocolate. The unexpected corn, caramel and popcorn cookie is an experience in itself. Made with farine des Gaudes, a roasted corn flour, almonds and chocolate chips, it is topped with salted butter caramel and a few kernels of popcorn. " I find the crunchy, salty corn interesting, as it adds pizzazz to the tasting experience and marries perfectly with the roundness of the cookie and the caramel. "A snack like no other!
- 10 place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris
- www.rosewoodhotels.com
Victor Bellot
The Jardin Maya macaron by Pierre Hermé
In his " Les Adorables " collection of Christmas macaroons, Pierre Hermé gives corn pride of place in a macaroon that invites you to take a trip to Mexico. Inspired by the first chocolate drinks of the Incas, the macaroon recipe is made with Pure Origine Belize dark chocolate, spiced up with honey, before roasted and salted corn kernels complete the tasting experience. A mouthful of indulgence!
► www.pierreherme.com
Stéphane de Bourgies
The chocolate bonbon from La Maison du Chocolat
For Christmas 2023, Nicolas Cloiseau has imagined a corn praline that fits perfectly into a milk chocolate bonbon. " In 2018, for the MOF Chocolatiers competition, I asked candidates to make a praline without oilseeds, which isn't easy. The proposals were varied, flax, wheat, oats, but the praliné that stood out was the one with corn. I wanted to take up the idea again for the festive season. "A very corn attack with caramelized corn and crushed grilled corn chips, spiked with fleur de sel for a tasting of sweetness.
► www.lamaisonduchocolat.com
©Stéphane de Bourgies
Edwart Chocolatier's praline popcorn bar
We melt for this totally addictive bar of 70% cocoa Grand Cru dark chocolate from Venezuela topped with a hazelnut and popcorn praline. In addition to the unexpectedly rounded visual of the chocolate squares, we love the contrast between the round, fruity notes of the chocolate and the sweetness of the corn, as well as the texture of the popcorn, which adds an ultra-addictive crunch. We want more!
- Boutiques in Paris
- www.edwart.fr
©emilieFranzo
Brandon Dehan's corn-flavored chocolate bonbon
Brandon Dehan imagines a praline chocolate bonbon in which corn recalls the crunchiness of popcorn. " Corn is quite unexpected in chocolate, and we can work with it in a variety of forms, from toasted to puffed."On a hazelnut praline base, the corn is used puffed, but also toasted to enhance its taste. The dark chocolate coating contrasts with the sweet, smooth notes of the praline, which the pastry chef enhances with a touch of fleur de sel to bring out the flavors.
- 500 route de Baumanière, 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence
- www.baumaniereboutique.com/chocolaterie/
©VirginieOvessianPhotographe
These news might interest you
Le Saint-Honoré
If there's a French pastry heritage, it's the saint-honoré, or "saint-ho" to its friends! Crunchy and creamy at the same time, it's a gourmet favorite in many hearts. Gault&Millau begins a series of sweet portraits with one that curiously doesn't honor the patron saint of pastry chefs, but rather that of bakers.
Rhubarb emerges from the shadows
The queen of rustic pies and crumbles, rhubarb is best enjoyed as a fruit, whereas it is a vegetable. This original plant leaves behind its old-fashioned trappings to spice up the most creative dishes and awaken both sweet and savory palates. One of the first spring vegetables, but the most recent to hit our plates, it's making a name for itself time and time again.
The grater shows its teeth
Rubbing, reducing, seasoning, zesting, spicing... It does it all! But where does this utensil come from, that Gruyère cheese couldn't do without? Flat or bell-shaped, giant or miniature, this spiky accessory is capable of reducing to calibrated crumbs whatever you put in front of it.
Our partners
Food products, kitchen equipment, tableware, service solutions...
See the full list of partners who place their trust in Gault&Millau
All our partners
