Food - Drink
The Complex French Puff Pastry Treat Named For Baking's Patron Saint
By JESSIE MOLLOY
All puff pastry desserts are challenging to make from scratch, but the French St. Honoré cake is one of the most difficult. This cake includes puff and choux pastry, caramel, Chantilly cream, and crème Chiboust, and since you'll need the patience of a saint to get all these parts just right, it makes sense that the dessert is named after a real saint.
This cake's origin story dates back to sixth century Paris, when Saint Honoré himself was appointed as bishop of Amiens, a very prestigious position. According to legend, St. Honoré's former nursemaid refused to believe the news unless her baker's peel (a board used to take bread in and out of the oven) miraculously turned into a tree.
To everyone's surprise, the baker's peel turned into a mulberry tree when the nursemaid set it down, and this legendary event is part of the reason why St. Honoré became the patron saint of bakers, confectioners, and pastry chefs. In the 19th century, Fauvel Chiboust created St. Honoré cake in honor of pastry's patron saint.