I-ATE Food Term of the Week: Gâteau Saint-Honoré

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The gâteau Saint-Honoré is one of the most famous French pastry and for sure one of the most classic cake to eat on birthdays!

Its name comes from the French patron saint of bakers called Saint-Honoré. He was a French bishop in Amiens and lived in the sixth century. He is considered the saint of bakers because of miracles that would have happened when he became a bishop. The cake has been created in Paris in 1847 at the famous Chiboust bakery, located in the rue saint-Honoré, still famous today. 

The Saint-Honoré cake is composed of a round puff pastry with “petits choux” on the border of the cake. The base is also made of “pâte à choux” and a delicious cream on top. Cream puffs are coated with caramelized sugar and you most of the time, whipped cream is added to this beautiful set.

Saint-Honoré Side Picture

Even though the recipe seems very easy, it is quite hard to succeed in making this delicious cake. However, if you are brave enough to try you will need the following ingredients:

-puff pastry

-sugar

-flour

-eggs

-milk

-vanilla extract

-gelatin

You can find it in the best pastries in France and it is the perfect dessert if you have guests at home. You can enjoy it as a dessert or as a snack with some tea, and in winter as well as in summer. It is usually compared to the Paris-Brest pastry but the Saint-Honoré is richer because it has a pastry base. The appearance of the cake is also very important and it’s how you can recognize a good Saint-Honoré cake. Really impressive, there is not doubt that you will be highly tempted to taste it. If you come to France, do not miss the occasion to treat yourself with a slice of gâteau Saint Honoré! 


References:

Beeta @ Mon Petit Four. 2022. Gateau St. Honore with Salted Caramel – Mon Petit Four®. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.monpetitfour.com/gateau-st-honore/. [Accessed 12 September 2022].

Janine Marsh. 2022. Great cakes of France – Saint Honore cake. [ONLINE] Available at: https://thegoodlifefrance.com/great-cakes-france-saint-honore-cake/. [Accessed 12 September 2022].

Origins of a French Pastry: the Saint-Honoré – Sortiraparis.com. 2022. Origins of a French Pastry: the Saint-Honoré – Sortiraparis.com. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/histoire-patrimoine/articles/260318-origins-of-a-french-pastry-the-saint-honore/lang/en. [Accessed 12 September 2022].


Written by Cécile Mayeres

She holds a Master’s degree in Translation and Cross-Cultural Communication with a specialization in European mobility. She now does a traineeship in Communication at the Terminology Coordination Unit.