Chef Juliette
Riz au Blanc (for Fowls and Eggs)
Riz au Blanc proves that plain rice is a technique, not an absence: parboil it in abundant salted water, drain it dry, then let butter and low oven heat separate every tender grain.
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Truffes sous la Cendre
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2275, Truffes sous la Cendre, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Whole black truffles receive only salt, pepper, and Cognac before pâte à pâté seals them tight, turning the pastry into an aromatic lid and the first crack at table into the celebration.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Special Occasion
Celebration
Dinner Party
45 min
Active Time
30 min cook•1 hr 50 min total
Yield4 appetizer servings (1 truffle each)
Truffes sous la Cendre (truffles beneath the ashes) teaches one severe, splendid principle: trap the perfume before heat can carry it away. Its cuisson en croûte (cooking inside pastry) uses pâte à pâté, the sturdy pastry made for pâtés, as a lid, not decoration. When the case is opened at the table, the truffle should announce itself before the knife reaches it.
The source entry assumed some large truffles, a pastry bench with pâte ready by the kilo, and cooks who knew the oven by instinct. It asked for no saucier, stockpot, or salamander, so none should be invented. Here, four truffles get a small all-butter batch and a lined sheet pan. Brigade bulk was scaffolding and goes; the salt, pepper, drops of brandy, complete enclosure, and 25 to 30 minute bake are the dish and stay. What changed is scale and equipment, because one cook should not make a service batch to feed four people. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Expect a butter-gold shell and, inside, a whole black truffle warmed through, earthy, dark, and barely touched by Cognac. The one step that matters is the seal: roll the pastry evenly, close it without a pinhole, and keep a scrap for repairs. If it tears, ça se rattrape, but it must be patched before the scent escapes.
Truffes sous la cendre belongs to the truffle country of Périgord, where whole black truffles were protected from a hearth's cinders by a close wrapping so they could warm without surrendering their scent. Grand kitchens carried that enclosed method into the oven and made the protection edible with pâte à pâté, turning a hearth preparation into an individual case for the table. The title does not mean ash is a seasoning in this version: cendre remembers the original heat, while pastry performs its work.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh black Périgord truffles (Tuber melanosporum)
Quantity
4 large, about 1 to 1¼ ounces (30 to 35 g) each
whole and unpeeled
fine sea salt for the truffles
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.75 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.3 g)
Cognac or another fine liqueur brandy
Quantity
Scant 1/4 teaspoon (about 1 ml / 1 g), about 4 to 5 drops per truffle
all-purpose flour
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 250 g)
fine sea salt for the pâte à pâté
Quantity
3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g)
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 113 g)
cut into small cubes
large egg
Quantity
1
ice-cold water
Quantity
2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml / 30 to 45 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh black Périgord truffles (Tuber melanosporum)whole and unpeeled | 4 large, about 1 to 1¼ ounces (30 to 35 g) each |
| fine sea salt for the truffles | 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.75 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.3 g) |
| Cognac or another fine liqueur brandy | Scant 1/4 teaspoon (about 1 ml / 1 g), about 4 to 5 drops per truffle |
| all-purpose flour | 2 cups (480 ml / 250 g) |
| fine sea salt for the pâte à pâté | 3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercut into small cubes | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 113 g) |
| large egg | 1 |
| ice-cold water | 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml / 30 to 45 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Stiff truffle or mushroom brush
- •Rolling pin
- •Bench scraper or sharp paring knife
- •Rimmed baking sheet, about 13 by 18 inches (33 by 46 cm), lined with parchment
Instructions
- 1
Make the pâte
Whisk the flour with the pastry salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture holds broad, flat flakes among finer crumbs; those flakes give the case tenderness without making it too fragile to seal. Beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of the ice-cold water, work it into the flour, and add the remaining water a teaspoon at a time only if dry flour remains. Press the dough together without kneading, flatten it into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 400°F (200°C) during the final 15 minutes.
The dough should bend without sticking and hold a pinched seam without crumbling. If it cracks, work in a few drops of cold water; if it feels tacky, chill it rather than burying it in extra flour. - 2
Clean the truffles
Brush each truffle thoroughly under a thin thread of cold water, working carefully into every hollow of its rough skin. Never soak them, and do not peel them. Dry them at once with a clean towel, then leave them uncovered for a few minutes until no surface moisture remains. Grit trapped inside the case cannot be corrected at the table.
- 3
Season with restraint
Combine the truffle salt and pepper, then season each truffle lightly on every side. Place them on a plate and let 4 to 5 drops of Cognac fall over each one, rolling once to distribute it. Wrap them immediately. The Cognac is seasoning, not a marinade; enough to sharpen the perfume, never enough to wet the pastry or disguise the truffle.
- 4
Seal each case
Divide the pâte à pâté into 4 equal pieces, keeping the trimmings for repairs. Roll each piece about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick and large enough to surround one truffle. Set the truffle in the centre, draw the pastry snugly around it, trim away bulky overlaps, and moisten the meeting edges with a barely damp fingertip. Pinch the seam firmly closed and set the case seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Inspect every curve before baking. If the pastry tears or a seam looks doubtful, press on a thin patch of reserved dough and feather its edges flat. Ça se rattrape. A patch is honest; a leaking case is not.
Keep the pastry close to the truffle without stretching it tight. A stretched skin splits as the butter melts, while an evenly rolled case expands without opening. - 5
Bake the cases
Bake the enclosed truffles for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cases are evenly butter-gold, firm at the sides, and dry underneath. Do not extend the cooking merely to chase a darker crust; the pastry must cook, but the truffle's perfume is more valuable than deep browning. If the tops colour too quickly before 25 minutes, shield them loosely with foil and finish the full cooking time.
- 6
Open at table
Rest the cases for 5 minutes, just long enough for the pastry to settle, then serve each truffle in its case on a warm plate. Let each guest cut around the upper third with a small knife and lift the lid at the table, where the first release of scent belongs. Break the buttery pastry into pieces and eat it with the truffle. À table!
Chef Tips
- •This dish truly needs fresh, fully ripe black winter truffles. Preserved truffles have already surrendered too much perfume to their jar, and summer truffles lack the force to fill a sealed case. Out of season, make champignons en croûte instead; it is a cousin, not a counterfeit.
- •Choose firm truffles of similar size so all four cook together. Their skin should be dry and deeply pebbled, and their scent should reach you before your nose touches them. A truffle with little aroma before cooking will not discover one in the oven.
- •Brush, don't peel. The black outer skin carries flavour and gives the whole truffle its proper texture; only soil must come away.
- •Count the Cognac in drops. More is not more here. Too much alcohol overwhelms the first scent when the case opens and can soften the pastry against the truffle.
- •Serve the cases promptly with a mature white Burgundy or a restrained red from the same region. Put a small sharp knife at each place and add no garnish. The opening of the pastry is the presentation.
Advance Preparation
- •The pâte à pâté can be made one day ahead, wrapped tightly, and kept cold. Let it stand for about 10 minutes before rolling if it has become too firm to bend.
- •The truffles may be brushed and dried several hours ahead, but season them only when the pastry is ready. The enclosed cases can wait, lightly covered in the cold, for up to 2 hours; bake them directly from the cold and allow the full 30 minutes.
- •Do not bake the cases early for reheating. Holding and reheating soften the pastry while driving away the perfume the seal was built to preserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 130g)
Calories
455 calories
Total Fat
25 g
Saturated Fat
15 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
540 mg
Total Carbohydrates
48 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
9 g
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