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| Type | pastry |
|---|---|
| Course | dessert |
| Region or state | Malmedy (Belium) |
| Created by | Rodolphe Wiertz |
| Serving temperature | cold |
| Main ingredients | meringues: - powdered almonds -eggs -powdered sugar -flour buttercream (alternatively whipped cream or ice cream): -butter -eggs -sugar -vanilla extract -water |
| Variations | macarons |
The baiser is a Belgian pastry originally from Malmedy in Wallonia (Belgium). Variations exist in Ciney, Dinant, Marche-en-Famenne, Mons, Namur, Gembloux, Neufchâteau and Rochefort.
Introduction
[edit]Each baiser is formed of two pieces of meringue pastry stuck together with buttercream, whipped cream or ice cream.[1]
History
[edit]The baiser seems to have been invented in the middle of the 19th century by Rodolphe Wiertz, a pastry cook from Hellenthal working at the International Hotel of Spa, who later took over the pastry bakery of his father-in-law, Oswald Villers, in Malmedy. It is said to have been first marketed under the name of blankès meringues ("white meringue").[2] However, in the 1930's, it was changed to the word "baiser" by analogy: the way the two pieces of meringue are joined resembles two pairs of lips exchanging a kiss.
Recipe
[edit]- For the meringues:
- Whisk the egg whites with a bit of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Mix the powdered sugar, powdered almonds and flour.
- Fold the mixture into the stiff egg whites.
- Pipe small heaps of dough with a pastry bag and sprinkle the almonds on top.
- Bake in the oven at 160°C for 40 minutes.
- For the buttercream:
- At 120°C, pour a bit of water into a saucepan and mix it with sugar to obtain syrup.
- In a bowl, whisk eggs and incorporate the syrup while whipping the mixture.
- Whip until cool.
- Whisk softened butter, add some drops of vanilla extract, and add the cooled mixture.
- Glue one piece of meringue to another using a pastry bag filled with the buttercream.[3]
Versions
[edit]After the appearance of the pastry in Malmedy, many Walloon cities created their own variations on the original baiser.
Hence, in Marche-en-Famenne, macarons are used instead of meringues and in Namur and Gembloux a different a dome-shaped pastry called a "coque farineuse" is used.
Also, ice cream or whipped cream can substitute the traditional buttercream to stick the meringues together.
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ Montagné Prosper, Larousse gastronomique, Larousse, Paris, 1938
- ^ Histoire des baisers de Malmedy, sur le site de la boulangerie du Gonesse.
- ^ Les baisers, sur le site gastronomie-wallonne.be
See also
[edit]Catégorie:Pâtisserie belge Catégorie:Gastronomie wallonne Catégorie:Spécialité régionale belge