The French Confection Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nougat

Confections known as nougat can be found all around the world. Recipes have been recorded from as long ago as the 10th century in the Middle East, so it would be reasonable to assume that unrecorded nougat existed before that time.

Classic French nougat contains sugar or honey, whipped egg whites, and nuts (commonly almonds) which have been lightly roasted. The place name most associated with French nougat is Montélimar, in the south of France, and you can often find a "Montelimar" in selection boxes of chocolates.

Apparently, the confection began to be nationally known in France in the early 18th century after the Dukes of Burgundy and Berry stopped off in Montélimar on the way home from Spain: the citizens presented them with a large quantity of nougat which, presumably, they shared around their noble friends. But the real boost for sales came in the late 19th century when Emile Loubet, the former mayor of Montélimar, was elected to the French Presidency: in an astute marketing move to benefit his home town he offered nougat to visiting heads of state and the crowned heads of Europe - et voilà!

My favourite type of nougat is made to the classic French recipe, with added almonds, pistachios and pieces of glacé cherry, wrapped in the thinnest rice paper.

Answer: Vichy Pastilles

The octagonal-shaped Vichy Pastilles were invented in the spa town of Vichy in 1825, and sold as an aid to digestion. Originally made from bicarbonate of soda, they then progressed to a composition including the minerals remaining when Vichy water was evaporated. Modern Vichy Pastilles contain sugar and are available in mint, lemon or aniseed flavours.

The Vichy Government (1940-44) was based in the town of the same name and has been historically linked with collaboration with the occupying German forces. This, along with the government's practice of making the pastilles freely available outside of rationing, led to a somewhat negative impression of the confection in the postwar years.

My personal preference for an aid to digestion is ginger tea, but I have tried the mint flavour Vichy Pastilles and found them palatable.

Answer: Anis de Flavigny

The little sweets known as Anis de Flavigny were first made centuries ago by the Benedictine monks based in the Burgundian town of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. The method used was the same as that for making the sweets known as "comfits" in medieval England: gradually building up layers around an aniseed by rolling it in flavoured sugar syrup, allowing it to dry between each layer. This is called the dragee method and can take up to 15 days to complete.

Various flavours are now available, including jasmine, liquorice, mint, orange, rose, and violet - but they are all still called "anis".

Personally, I've never been a big fan of aniseed as a flavour, but my grandmother used to like the violet-flavoured ones as an alternative to Parma Violet sweets.

Answer: Financiers

Financiers date back to the Visitandine order of nuns in the 17th century, and were originally called "Visitandines". They are small rectangular cakes made from butter, powdered sugar, flour, nut flour (usually almond and/or hazelnut) and egg whites. The butter is in the form of "beurre noisette" or brown butter - butter that has been cooked to a brown colour - and adds to the nutty flavour of the finished confection.

How they came to be called Financiers is unclear. One theory is that the traditional shape looks like a tiny bar of gold; another is that their firmish, crisp exterior allowed them to be carried around in pockets without much damage, thus making them a popular snack in the busy financial district of Paris.

Modern financiers have many variations and can be different shapes - my personal preference is for those with a dob of cherry jam in the centre.

Answer: Macaron

The macaron, or French macaroon (not to be confused with the politician Emmanuel Macron) is a popular, expensive, and delectable confection made from egg white, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, ground almonds and food colouring. It looks like two small flattish meringues sandwiched together with a filling - this is usually buttercream, ganache, or jam, but there are many regional and national variations, both sweet and savoury.

"Larousse Gastronomique" (the bible of French cuisine) places the origin of French macarons in the monasteries of the 8th century; other sources lean towards their introduction in the 16th century with Catherine de Medici, who married Henry II of France and brought her own Italian chef to the French court. Early macarons did not have the fillings we see today, which became popular in the 1930s.

It is a great skill to get the texture of the meringue exactly right, which perhaps explains why handmade macarons are expensive - although the "designer" hype surrounding them as a fashionable confection probably also contributes.

I've only ever tried one macaron - it was chocolate strawberry cheesecake flavour - but am saving my pennies to buy another (drool, drool).

Answer: Poires belle Helene

Poached pears served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce form the basis of the classic Poires belle Hélène, named for Offenbach's 1864 operetta "La belle Hélène". Many variations exist of this popular confection, and a very quick and simple version may be made using microwaved canned pears and bought chocolate sauce: one of the features of the dish should be the contrast between the warm pears and the cold ice cream.

I like to add a sweet wine when poaching the pears, and sprinkle the dish with flaked nuts before serving.

As far as I know, there isn't a confection called "Framboises à la Valkyrie" - would it contain raspberries, pfefferkuchen and kirsch, perhaps? Go create!

Answer: Mendiant

Mendiants are small rounds of chocolate with almonds, raisins, dried figs and hazelnuts on the top. They look similar to a small Florentine biscuit and, although originally only a Christmas treat, are now available year-round and with other ingredients such as seeds and other dried fruits.

The almonds represent the Dominican monastic order, the raisins represent the Augustinians, the dried figs represent the Franciscans, and the hazelnuts represent the Carmelites (note, not Caramelites!). "Mendiant" or "mendicant" (in English) refers to the traditional monastic vow of poverty.

Although dried figs aren't my favourite fruit, I could sit and nibble Mendiants until matins.

Answer: Joconde

Gâteau Opéra is a divine confection of layers of coffee-soaked Joconde sponge, dark chocolate ganache, coffee butter cream, and topped with a chocolate glaze piped with the word "Opéra". A bit like, and yet totally unlike, tiramisu, its origins are the subject of controversy, with some sources claiming that it was invented in the mid-20th century, while others maintain that it dates back to the late 19th. Whichever it is, it was named after the Paris Opéra.

Joconde sponge (or biscuit Joconde) is a light, airy, almond-based sponge which doesn't dry out very easily (unlike a plain sponge recipe) and is useful for making both small decorative, and elaborate, confections. "La Joconde" is the French name for the Mona Lisa, and translates roughly as "the smiling lady". Perhaps the sponge has the same name because it makes people smile...

In some patisseries, variations of Gâteau Opéra exist that bear only a passing resemblance to the original, but the idea of layers of joconde sponge should be the basis for all of them.

Gâteau Opéra is still on my bucket list - not that I could manage a whole bucketful!

Answer: Paris-Brest

A circle of choux pastry filled with praline paste, and garnished with flaked almonds and icing sugar, are the main components of the wheel-shaped confection known as Paris-Brest. The praline paste may be made from hazelnuts, or a mixture of almonds and hazelnuts, although I have eaten variations that also included chestnuts.

In the late 19th century, newspapers in Paris frequently used sporting events to boost circulation, and the journalist Pierre Giffard instigated quite a few including the Paris-Brest-Paris cycle race in 1891. At his request, the pâtissier Louis Durand created the Paris-Brest which soon became popular with the riders owing to its high calorific value.

Although I have never qualified for a cycle race, having consumed quite a few Paris-Brest over the years I feel qualified to observe that I prefer the almond/hazelnut version of praline.

Answer: Calisson

The origins of Calisson go back to 13th century Italy, and possibly earlier, but the French confection would seem to have become established in the 15th-16th century after almonds began to be grown as a major crop in Provence.

Calissons are oval-shaped and are made from almond paste with added fruit paste (primarily melon and orange), with a topping of thin royal icing. They are about 2 inches long and are marketed in a diamond-shaped tin containing four pieces.

Because the French Union of Calisson Makers could not agree on a fixed recipe, Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) could not be granted, and this left the way open for copycat products. The Chinese were already producing their own version (Kalisong), and the French Union started proceedings in 2016 resulting in a legal victory the following year.

I've never tried a Calisson, but my friends in Provence assure me that they are delicious.