Concorde Cake (Gateau Concorde)

If you look for a chocolate meringue cake, this Concorde cake (gâteau Concorde in French) will surely please your guests. It is a chocoholic's dream made with crisp meringue layers sandwiched with luscious chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate shavings.

Cake Concorde has an interesting history. It was created in honor of the mythical French aircraft Concorde in the early 1970s, while Gaston Lenôtre was a chef of the catering on the lines Air France.

Concorde cake also has different spelling as Concord cake. It is translated as gâteau Concorde in French.

Concorde cake

Gaston Lenôtre was a French chef who invented the Concorde cake. Later, it was recreated by many chefs around the world.

Israeli Chef Gadi Peleg, an owner of Breads Bakery in Manhattan, was inspired by his favorite cake sold in now-closed Soutine Bakery and created his own Concord cake version.

He simplified the decoration of the cake, covering it entirely with meringue sticks. 

So, if you feel uncomfortable with tempering chocolate, this type of Concord cake assembling is for you.

Madam Mercotte slightly modified the Concorde cake recipe and offered it as a technical test for five amateur pastry chefs during Le Meilleur Pâtissier Saison 6 émission 7, Douce France.

I adapted her recipe and left the cake's decoration with chocolate shavings/chips on top.

It is probably the most challenging part of making the cake.

How to decorate Concorde cake

French gâteau Concorde, meaning Concord(e) cake in English, is decorated with the tempered chocolate shavings on top of the cake, arranged in a swirl's shape.

If you have a cooking thermometer, trust me that you can master this technique, even at the first attempt.

Follow the water bath method to temper chocolate, and you will succeed!

In the worst scenario, make chocolate shavings out of a chocolate bar, using a knife or a vegetable peeler, and decorate the top of the cake.

It is the same technique used to make Meringue Cake Merveilleux.

Another way to decorate Concorde cake is to make meringue sticks using Ateco plain pastry tip 806 instead of Ateco plain pastry tip 809 used in the recipe below.

You will end up with smaller and neat meringue sticks to cover the cake entirely. Arrange them so that they are poking up in different directions.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This deliciously decadent cake is perfect for any special event: serve it for Christmas, birthday party, Easter, or a family barbeque party.
2. It is a chocolate meringue cake to satisfy your sweet tooth.
3. Concord cake recipe has a make-ahead option: make meringue disks and sticks and prepare chocolate shavings in advance and save time on the day of assembling the dessert.
4. The cake is gluten-free; so, no worries about serving the cake for a crowd.
5. Decorating the cake is very forgiving: cover the cake with meringue sticks completely instead of using tempered chocolate shaving.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Egg whites: the recipe calls for large egg whites. Separate egg whites from the yolks while eggs are chilled. Use an egg separator to facilitate this step.

Sugar: for the best results, use caster sugar or superfine baker's sugar. You can make superfine sugar yourself by processing granulated sugar in a food processor bowl for a few seconds.

Icing sugar: make it yourself by using a coffee grinder or use a store-bought powdered sugar.

Cocoa powder: use unsweetened cocoa powder to make the cake.

Whipping cream: use whipping cream with at least 35% or more milk fat.

Dark chocolate: to make this chocolate cake, use high-quality dark chocolate such as Scharffen Berger dark chocolate or Valrhona dark chocolate.

The authentic recipe for Concorde cake calls for Valrhona dark chocolate Caraibe.

How to make Concorde cake

To make the chocolate meringue, preheat the oven to 240 F/115 C.

Using a flour sifter, sift icing (powdered) sugar and cocoa powder, and set aside.

Place egg whites in a stand mixer recipient and beat until stiff. Gradually add granulated (caster) sugar and whisk until glossy (photo 1).

Add the dry mixture of icing sugar with cocoa powder and gently mix with a rubber spatula (photo 2).

Prepare two parchment paper sheets and draw three discs with a diameter of 6 ½-inch/17 cm. Flip paper sheets so that the drawn circles will be facing down.

Transfer the chocolate meringue to a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 809 and pipe three meringue disks in a spiral within the pencil marks (photo 3).

Also, push a few rows of long meringue sticks around disks, using the same pastry tip.

Dip a knife in melted butter and cut meringue "sausages" into segments of 25/32-inch (almost 1 inch)/2 cm (photo 4).

Bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let the meringue cool down. Break the meringue sticks (photo 5).

To make the chocolate mousse, melt dark chocolate using a bain-marie/water bath or a microwave (mix chocolate every 30 seconds).

Bring ⅔ cup + 1 tablespoons (170 g) whipping cream to a boil and pour cream in 3 times over chocolate, mixing well with the spatula (photo 6). Keep the mixture at 113 F/45 C (maximum).

In a separate bowl, whisk 1 ½ cups (340 g) whipping cream to get a softly whipped cream.

Add whipped cream to the chocolate preparation (photo 7), mix, and use immediately. Do not refrigerate!

To make dark chocolate shavings, temper chocolate. Pour the tempered chocolate on a worktop surface (better marble or granite) and spread it up to 1/10-inch/2 mm thick.

When the chocolate is just starting to crystallize, push it quickly with a triangle, a chocolate spatula, or a large knife.

Repeat the operation several times to obtain chocolate shavings, ideally with a length of about 1 ½-inch/4 cm. Let completely crystallize before you use it (photo 8).

To assemble the Concorde cake, place the first meringue disk on a serving plate or a cake board, with the flat surface facing down.

Cover it regularly with 6.4 oz. (180 g) chocolate mousse (photo 9). Place the second meringue disc smooth side up this time.

Spread 6.4 oz. (180 g) mousse again. Cover with the last disc with the flat side on the top (photo 10).

Cover the top and sides with the remaining chocolate mousse and smooth them with a spatula.

Decorate the cake's sides horizontally, placing the meringue sticks on two levels (photo 11).

Decorate the top of the cake with chocolate shavings (photo 12). Sprinkle with the icing (powdered) sugar. Refrigerate the cake for at least 6 hours, better overnight.

Expert tips

1. Read on the main tips for the perfect meringue.
2. Read on how to temper dark chocolate.
3. Make-ahead tip: make meringue disks in advance and store them for up to 15 days in a dry place, being well packed. You can also make chocolate shavings ahead of time and keep them in a cold, dry place.
4. Keep the finished Concorde cake for up to 48 hours in the fridge.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from https://www.mercotte.fr/. It was originally published on October 08, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos.All posted pictures are mine.