100. The Concorde cake inspired by the airplane and childhood nostalgia
This is my 100th post on Substack. I have been mulling over what to post in honour of ‘Just really good recipes’’ first milestone on this platform. I decided to bake cake, throw caution to the wind and tackle my childhood favourite, the Concorde cake.
I am delighted with the recipe and flavours in this cake. My assembly of the cake is certainly not as glamorous or skilled but, I wanted this 100th post to be a stretch and to be delicious. I can confidently say that I am done with stretching for a bit and, I am humbled. My family was delighted with the cake. They did have a chuckle as, toiled away redoing the aesthetic part of the construction. The result I am sharing is my best version of this cake … for this round! I am happy to return to my lane for the 101st post!
As a very happy and well versed home cook, I know when I am stepping out of my lane. This recipe is just that, an awkward two footed jump from slick modern interpretive dance to the unforgiving exact precision of ballet.
When I was growing up, every birthday in our family was marked by a trip to the same restaurant (no longer serving this cake I might add), for a piece of the most decadent, heavenly, divine chocolatey moussey/meringuey cake. The cake was only listed on the menu as the restaurant’s signature cake. Never thinking to ask what or how this cake came to be, I just enjoyed the indulgence, until I didn’t.
Life went by, I wasn’t much for desserts in general other than an occasional slice of my beloved key lime pie or something along a citrusy vein. I hadn’t thought of the birthday traditions of my youth as I now had my own family, and, they were obsessed with superhero or dinosaur cakes for their special occasions (which I wisely bought from a local bakery).
In the early 2000’s I tasted two cakes in close succession, a chocolate meringue and a mousse together, then shortly thereafter a rich chocolate ganache and mousse combo and, made the connection… I wondered… Is this it? Could it be? Perhaps? This was the lightbulb moment like the old Reese’s peanut butter cup commercials when the chocolate bar slams into a jar of peanut butter. Eureka! I soon forgot about the nostalgia of my youth and carried on with children, pets and raising my family.
Another 20 years went by before I thought about the chocolate mousse/ganache and meringue again. This was last week, I needed to find a special recipe that meant something for my 100th post, and this cake popped into my head. There it was, this was the recipe I needed to share for the 100th post of ‘Just really good recipes’.
I never even knew the actual name of this cake, a few searches on the internet and, I found that my childhood birthday cake had an actual name, the Concorde cake. I looked for several days to find the right recipe, one that I felt matched the criteria and, felt closest to the memory I had of birthdays from my childhood. I finally decided on a recipe that was closest. I decided to go to the source, the creator of the Concorde cake; famous French pastry chef Gaston Lenotre. This recipe is my adaption and interpretation of the original recipe from Gaston Lenotre.
The Concorde cake was created to honour the launch of the Concorde plane in 1969. The Concorde was hailed as a marvel in both engineering and luxury. I think the cake should be hailed on its own merits as a marvel straight from the heavens.
I knew I was stepping out of my lane when I chose to bake this particular cake. I adore cooking and, I love to cook everyday delicious food where the rules exist but, are open to creative license and some degree of flexibility. I cook recipes from cultures and countries all over the world. I have zero apprehension or concerns when I try something new. I usually have good results with new recipes, I understand flavour (and I know where or what I need to tweak to make recipes work).
French pastry is not open to interpretation or educated guessing. It is an exact science of precision, masterful art and elegance that is all executed to create the perfect bite. Pastry is not flexible. I do think I managed to do this recipe proud. And though I would prefer that Gaston Lenotre made it for me, I am pleased to present this cake to you as the 100th post. I used Chef Lenotre’s recipe, I can say unequivocally that his Concorde cake had a much more glamorous presentation!
I think it is rather fitting or, just plain lucky that the Concorde cake is open to interpretation for presentation and, suits a rustic look. I do know that my presentation needs some finesse. The recipe is however, divine.
This is Concorde cake is my interpretation of Gaston Lenotre’s recipe; this is what I am sharing now. I haven’t seen this cake in any bakery and, I wonder now if this recipe has been retired like the plane it honoured.
I assembled the cake and I realized I should have made more logs and, the logs could have been more uniform in size and perhaps thinner.
If you are a pastry chef reading this recipe I am in awe of your skills and defer to your knowledge for all things pastry related with great reverence.
Before proceeding my fellow home cooks -CAUTION-
What could possibly go wrong?
From experience (or lack thereof) here is a small sample list of what could go wrong … Mostly from first hand experience.
Don’t cheat and used boxed egg whites it won’t work.
Be sure the egg whites are room temperature, cold egg whites won’t yield the lofty, airy volume of meringue you want.
Use the bain-marie method to melt your chocolate, don’t wing it and try to melt the chocolate otherwise, just don’t!
Do not assemble the cake if it is not all at room temperature or all cooled, it will melt into a (delicious) pile of goop.
Take your time adding the sugar and cocoa powder to the meringue, try a couple tablespoons at a time. Whipping dry powder creates a big mess.
For the mousse, it is fussy to measure the temperature of the syrup and, then to do the egg/syrup additions but, it is worth the extra attention as the finished product is nothing short of ethereal.
Please note, I mentioned inspired and adapted multiple times. This is my signalling that I am boldly venturing without brakes, into the formidable pastry lane. This is an inspired version of the Concorde cake! I have written this recipe with details that I think a novice baker would appreciate, for those well versed in pastry and cakes, bear with us. I think it turned out beautifully and, my fond childhood memories were very satisfied. I am very proud to share this as the 100th post of ‘Just really good recipes’.
The Recipe
Concorde cake
3 discs of chocolate meringue and pieces of piped meringue for decorating
Chocolate mousse
Cocoa powder
Candy thermometer (optional - See step 3 of the mousse recipe)
Chocolate Meringue Recipe
8 large egg whites
1 1/4 cup extra-fine granulated sugar - regular granulated sugar is fine but if you have good stuff, use it
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Chocolate mousse
2 cups dark chocolate (I used 70%)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp water
2 cups whipping cream
Method for the Meringue
Preheat oven to 250 F.
Whisk or whip the egg whites on med-high until gentle soft peaks form. Add the sugar slowly and continue whipping until soft but firm glossy peaks form.
Add the cocoa powder by sifting into the meringue. Mix gently and, mix well until all combined.
Put the mixture into a pastry bag or ziploc bag (and cut off the corner so that you have a 1/4 inch pipe).
Line the baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe three 6 inch round discs.
With the leftover meringue pipe as many logs of meringue as the leftovers will allow. These logs will later be broken and used to decorate the cake.
Bake at 250 F for about 1 hour or until crisp - there should be no browning. The centres will still be soft but the meringue should feel like crisp shells.
Cool to room temperature. Do not attempt to assemble warm.
Method for the Mousse
(This mousse portion of the recipe was adapted from the San Francisco Cooking School)
Melt the chocolate with salt in a large bowl over a bain marie. Stir gently as the chocolate begins to melt.
(To make a bain marie, find a large saucepan where the bowl will sit comfortably. It should not touch the water. Bring the water to a low simmer — you want to see steam but the water should not be bubbling).
Meanwhile, in a bowl using an electric mixer, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk until very frothy.
In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water to 248 F - you don’t want the sugar to brown nor do you want the water too hot so that it scrambles the eggs. Pour one third of the syrup (liquid sugar) into the eggs and mix using the electric mixer on medium-high for about 30 seconds. Repeat two more times, stopping to add the sugar syrup each time. Once all the additions of water to eggs have been done, increase the speed on the mixer to high until the eggs are light and airy and fluffy, about 5 minutes.Â
NOTE: You can just add the syrup (of water and dissolved sugar) to the eggs without heating the syrup. However, if you have a thermometer, I do recommend the extra step.
Remove the bowl of chocolate from the bain marie. Fold the egg mixture into melted chocolate.
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Allow to cool.
Assembly
Set aside enough mousse to cover the sides and top (see photo above). The mousse will serve as a glue for the decorative meringue logs. With remaining mousse, divide in half and assemble layers of meringue and mousse into a 3-layer cake. Chill to firm. Spread remaining mousse over top and sides of cake.Â
Press meringue sticks along the side of the cake. Create the aesthetic that please your taste here - this is time to exercise that creative license.
Cut the remaining meringue sticks randomly and fill in the top of the cake.Â
Chill the cake before serving for at least 1 hour, and finish with a dusting of powdered sugar before serving if you’d like.
Use a serrated knife to cut the cake.
The cake can be served immediately and you will have a beautiful contrast of texture, crunchy meringue and soft mousse. If the cake sits overnight in the fridge the cake will be delicious but, takes on a new chewy and creamy texture. I love it either way!
Serve and enjoy!