Print

Mont Blanc Cake (French Chestnut Cream Cake)

Mont Blanc cake covered with chestnut vermicelli with a cup, a candle, glasses on a table.
Print Recipe
Save Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 6 reviews

Mont Blanc cake (French chestnut cream cake) is a signature French dessert made with crunchy meringue, whipped cream, and piped chestnut vermicelli. This gluten-free meringue cake is a treat in every bite.

Ingredients

Scale

For French meringue:

  • 100 g egg whites (see note #1)
  • 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons (100 g) caster sugar (see note #2)
  • 2/3 cup  + 2 tablespoons (100 g) icing (powdered) sugar

For chestnut cream:

  • 7 oz. (200 g) unsweetened chestnut puree
  • 3.5 oz. (100 g) chestnut cream
  • 2/3 teaspoon dark rum

For the whipped cream:

  • 2 cups (460 g) whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup (40 g) icing sugar

*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!

** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 185°F (85°C). Use a pencil and draw five circles (6-inch/16 cm, 5-inch/13 cm, 4-inch/10 cm, 3-inch/7 cm, and 2-inch/5 cm in diameter) on two sheets of parchment paper. Turn them over and place them on two baking sheets.
  2. To make the meringue, whisk the egg whites with an electric or stand mixer until stiff. Gradually add the caster sugar, beating until glossy. Finally, add icing (powdered) sugar and gently mix with a rubber spatula.
  3. Place the meringue in a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 806. Pipe 4 meringue dots in the corners of a baking sheet and place parchment on top to hold them in place. Pipe five disks as spirals over the drawn circles on parchment paper. Bake for 2 hours and then let cool.
  4. To make whipped cream, whisk whipping cream with icing (powdered) sugar until firm. Place 2/3 of the cream in a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 806.
  5. To assemble the cake, place the largest cooled meringue disk on a cake board or a serving plate. Push whipped cream into a spiral using a pastry bag with a 10 mm tip. Place the second disk (5-inch/13 cm in diameter), and garnish it with whipped cream. Repeat for the last three disks.
  6. Use the rubber spatula and cover the cake with the remaining whipped cream. With a bent spatula, smooth the cream from bottom to top.
  7. To make chestnut cream, mix chestnut puree, chestnut cream, and dark rum in a mixer until homogeneous. Pass the cream through a fine-mesh sieve. Transfer the cream to a pastry bag fitted with a vermicelli or bird's-nest pastry tip.  
  8. Pipe the chestnut vermicelli in overlapping circles to cover the entire surface of the cake. Decorate with gold sugar pearls. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Right before serving, sprinkle the cake with icing (powdered) sugar.

Notes

  1. 100 g egg whites, approximately equal to 3 raw fresh egg whites from large-sized chicken eggs.
  2. Replace caster sugar with superfine sugar. Process granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds to make it superfine.
  3. Pipe meringue kisses with the remaining meringue, placing them around the meringue disks.
  4. Use Wilton tip 3, Alteco tip 2, or larger Alteco piping tips (4 to 8) instead of the vermicelli tip if you cannot find that special tip. Ideally, use a 2- to 3-mm plain round tip.
  5. Do not over-pipe the cake with chestnut cream (you might not use all the cream) to prevent vermicelli from sliding down.
  6. Decorate the top of the Mont Blanc cake with a candied chestnut if desired.
  7. The Mont Blanc dessert is best served within a few hours, as the chestnut cream tends to dry out on top of the cake.
  8. Serve the cake with sweet wines, such as French Rivesaltes or Banyuls.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/mont-blanc-by-sebastien-gaudard/