Recipe: Mont Blanc pastries inspired by snow-capped mountains

This traditional French pâtisserie item is a favourite in Japan, probably due to the popularity of chestnuts in that part of the world. 

It gets its name because of the resemblance to a snow-capped mountain. 

Using a traditional sablé Breton (French butter cookie) recipe for the base adds a real touch of indulgence.

Ingredients 

MAKES 6 MONT BLANC

SABLÉ BRETON BASE

• 3 egg yolks
• 80g maple sugar (or use Demerara sugar if not available)
• 80g butter
• 110g plus 1.5 tablespoons plain flour
• ¾ tablespoon baking powder

MONT BLANC FILLING

• 100g whipping cream
• 100g mascarpone cheese
• seeds from 2 vanilla pods
• 100 g icing sugar

CHESTNUT PASTE

• 200 g sweet chestnut cream
• 200 g chestnut purée
• 3½ tablespoons dark rum

TO DECORATE

• marrons glacés (candied chestnuts)
• gold leaf (optional)
• icing sugar

Utensils

• stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachments
• 6 individual 8cm tart pans
• 6 demi-sphere moulds
• piping bags with a plain nozzle and a Mont Blanc nozzle

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) Gas 3.

2. To make the sablé Breton base, put the egg yolks and maple sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and beat together until light and fluffy. Change to the paddle attachment and beat in the butter followed by the flour and baking powder until well incorporated and the mixture comes together to form a smooth dough.

3. Press the dough straight into the six individual tart pans using your fingers, making sure that there are no gaps and the thickness is even. Bake the sablé Breton in the preheated oven for around 10–12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans before turning out and setting aside until needed.

4. To make the Mont Blanc filling, beat all the ingredients together using a balloon whisk until semi-whipped. Transfer to the piping bag with the plain nozzle and pipe into the six demi-sphere moulds to fill. Scrape level and freeze the fillings for around 2 hours or until completely frozen solid.

5. To make the chestnut paste, mix all the ingredients together until well combined and transfer to the piping bag fitted with the Mont Blanc nozzle. Set aside ready for constructing the desserts.

6. To construct the desserts, arrange the sablé Breton bases on serving plates and remove the frozen Mont Blanc fillings from their demi-sphere moulds. Put a Mont Blanc filling on each of the sablé Breton bases.

7. Starting at the base of the dessert, pipe the chestnut paste around the Mont Blanc in a circular motion, winding up and around to gradually cover all the filling and finish in a point at the top. Repeat for each dessert. Crown the desserts with marrons glacés (candied chestnuts), add a little gold leaf if you like and finally dust with icing sugar to finish.

Japanese Patisserie by James Campbell, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£22)

Photography by Mowie Kay © Ryland Peters & Small

See also: Choux pastry recipe