The ''Puits d'amour'' () is a French pastry with a hollow center. The center is usually stuffed with redcurrant jelly or raspberry jam; a later variation replaced the jam with vanilla pastry cream. The surface of the cake is sprinkled with
confectioners' sugar
Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, ...
or covered with
caramel.
Etymology
''Puits d'amour'' is a French expression carrying erotic connotations; it literally translates to 'well of love'.
History
The first mention of the recipe appeared in
Vincent De La Chapelles 1735
recipe book
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.
Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cou ...
''Le cuisinier moderne'' (the modern cook). La Chapelle presented two recipes for a ''gâteau de puits d’amour'' (''puits d'amour'' cake) consisting of a large
puff pastry
Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...
vol-au-vent
A ''vol-au-vent'' (pronounced , French for "windblown", to describe its lightness) is a small hollow case of puff pastry. It was formerly also called a patty case. .
A ''vol-au-vent'' is typically made by cutting two circles in rolled out ...
topped with a pastry handle and stuffed with
redcurrant jelly, the ensemble was meant to resemble the bucket of a well. The other recipe is for the ''petits puits d’amour'' (small ''puits d'amour''), a
bouchée sized variant of the cake.
In the eighteenth century, the ''puits d'amour'' caused scandal because of its name and presentation which alludes to the female genitalia; nevertheless it was very successful in the court of
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
's intimate dinners.
Nicolas Stohrer, one of the exiled
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
king
Stanislas pâtissiers preferred to stuff the dessert with vanilla pastry cream and glazed the top with a thick layer of caramel, removing the scandalous connotation of the red fruits jam filling.
Preparation
A ''puits d'amour'' is made up of layers of staggered rings of puff pastry placed on top of a pastry circle. An egg yolk can be used to help the dough rings to stick together. The finished pastry "wells" are baked until puffed and golden-brown and set to cool. They are then sprinkled with powdered sugar, raspberry jam or redcurrant jelly which is carefully spooned in the hollow center.
In a later variation, the top is glazed with caramel icing and pastry cream is used as filling.
See also
*
List of pastries
This is a list of pastries, which are small buns made using a stiff dough enriched with fat. Some dishes, such as pies, are made of a pastry casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients.
There are fi ...
*
List of stuffed dishes
This is a list of stuffed dishes, comprising dishes and foods that are prepared with various fillings and stuffings. Some dishes are not actually stuffed; the added ingredients are simply spread atop the base food, as one cannot truly stuff an oy ...
*
Éclair (pastry)
An éclair (, ; ) is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it ...
References
{{pastries
French pastries
Stuffed desserts
Custard desserts
Foods with jam