Chef Juliette
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Culinary Explorer
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Timbale de Truffes
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2279, Timbale de Truffes, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A sealed pastry timbale packed with whole black truffles, unsmoked bacon, Madeira, and pale glaze, baked until burnished, then opened at the table where its captured perfume finally has somewhere to go.
Main Dishes
French
Special Occasion
Celebration
Holiday
50 min
Active Time
50 min cook•2 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Timbale de Truffes (truffle timbale) teaches the discipline of enclosure. The pastry is not decoration; it is an aromatic chamber, holding the truffles, bacon, Madeira, and glaze together while the oven draws their perfumes into one another. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is simple: if the seal leaks, the soul of the dish leaves with it.
The original formula assumed a pastry bench producing ordinary patty paste, whole boxes of winter truffles, and a saucier drawing pale glaze from stock never off the fire. Here the honest home equivalent is a 1 litre mould, one compact batch of pâte à foncer, and a measured spoonful of true pale chicken or veal glaze. Only the brigade abundance has been reduced. The bacon lining, Madeira, glaze, fifty-minute hot bake, and unvented pastry lid are the dish, and every one remains. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When the timbale is right, the gilded crust arrives deep gold and intact, then releases whole black truffles wrapped in tender bacon with a little glossy Madeira glaze gathering at the cut. Before the mould meets the oven, give your full attention to the final seal. Clean pastry, beaten egg, firm pressure, no vent.
Timbales belong to the grand Parisian table, where cooks used deep, drum-shaped moulds to carry pastry cases and rich fillings intact from kitchen to dining room. The name comes from the timbale, a small kettledrum, and describes the moulded form rather than any single filling, which is why other timbales may contain rice, macaroni, or forcemeat. This version turns winter black truffles from Périgord or Vaucluse into the whole filling, bound by bacon, Madeira, and glaze rather than scattered as a garnish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
all-purpose flour
Quantity
2 1/2 cups (600 ml / 300 g)
for the ordinary patty paste
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
for the pastry
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
2/3 cup (160 ml / 150 g)
cubed
large egg
Quantity
1
for the pastry
ice water
Quantity
1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g)
as needed
softened unsalted butter
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g)
for the mould
thin-cut unsmoked streaky bacon
Quantity
12 slices (225 g)
fresh black winter truffles
Quantity
about 3 cups (710 ml / 450 g)
scrubbed, peeled, and left whole
fine sea salt
Quantity
3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g)
for seasoning the truffles
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
dry or medium-dry Madeira
Quantity
1/3 cup (80 ml / 80 g)
pale chicken or veal glaze
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 40 g)
gently warmed until spoonable
large egg and water
Quantity
1 large egg plus 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) water
beaten together for sealing and gilding
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flourfor the ordinary patty paste | 2 1/2 cups (600 ml / 300 g) |
| fine sea saltfor the pastry | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercubed | 2/3 cup (160 ml / 150 g) |
| large eggfor the pastry | 1 |
| ice wateras needed | 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
| softened unsalted butterfor the mould | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g) |
| thin-cut unsmoked streaky bacon | 12 slices (225 g) |
| fresh black winter trufflesscrubbed, peeled, and left whole | about 3 cups (710 ml / 450 g) |
| fine sea saltfor seasoning the truffles | 3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| dry or medium-dry Madeira | 1/3 cup (80 ml / 80 g) |
| pale chicken or veal glazegently warmed until spoonable | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 40 g) |
| large egg and waterbeaten together for sealing and gilding | 1 large egg plus 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) water |
Equipment Needed
- •1 litre metal timbale or Charlotte mould, about 6 inches (15 cm) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) deep
- •Heavy rimmed baking sheet
- •Rolling pin
- •Parchment paper
- •Pastry brush
- •Small sharp knife
- •Serrated carving knife
- •Oval serving platter and clean white napkin
Instructions
- 1
Make the patty paste
Mix the flour and pastry salt, then rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few small, flattened pieces of butter remaining. Beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of the ice water and work it into the flour with a fork. Add the remaining water a teaspoon at a time only if dry flour remains. Press the dough together without kneading it smooth, divide it into one two-thirds portion and one one-third portion, flatten both, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
The pâte à foncer should bend without crumbling but remain firm enough to hold the liquid filling. If it cracks when pressed, add a teaspoon of water. If it feels sticky, chill it rather than burying it in more flour. - 2
Prepare the mould
Set a heavy baking sheet in the oven and heat it to 425°F (220°C conventional / 200°C fan). Butter the inside of a seamless 1 litre timbale or Charlotte mould thoroughly, reaching into every corner. Keep the peeled truffles whole and covered while you work so their perfume stays where it belongs.
- 3
Line with pastry
Roll the larger piece of dough between sheets of parchment to an even 1/8 inch (3 mm) thickness. Ease it into the buttered mould without stretching, pressing it against the bottom and sides and leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the rim. If the pastry tears, brush a thin scrap with beaten egg and press it over the hole from inside until the join disappears. Ça se rattrape. Chill the lined mould while you roll the smaller dough portion into a lid slightly wider than the opening.
Use one continuous sheet for the lining. Seams down the side create easy paths for the Madeira to escape. - 4
Pack the truffles
Line the pastry-covered bottom and sides with overlapping bacon, reserving enough to cover the top in one complete layer. Pack in half the raw, peeled truffles and season them with half the salt and pepper. Add the remaining truffles, keeping them snug but whole, then season again. Pour the Madeira down the side and spoon the warm pale chicken or veal glaze over the truffles. Cover completely with the reserved bacon.
- 5
Seal and gild
Blot the exposed pastry rim if any Madeira or bacon fat has touched it, because a greasy edge will not seal. Brush the rim with beaten egg, lay on the pastry lid, and press firmly around the full circumference. Fold the overhanging lining inward over the lid, trim neatly, then reinforce the join with a narrow strip of spare pastry brushed underneath with egg. Gild the lid with beaten egg, keeping excess egg from running between pastry and mould. Do not cut a vent. If a crack or weak join appears, dry it, cover it with a thin egg-brushed patch, and press until seamless before baking.
The reinforced collar is not decoration. It is the lock on the aromatic chamber, so inspect it from every side before the mould enters the oven. - 6
Bake for fifty minutes
Place the sealed mould on the preheated baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for the full 50 minutes. The lid should become deep butter-gold, glossy from the gilding, and firm beneath a light touch. If it reaches dark bronze before 35 minutes, lay a loose cap of foil over the top without pressing against the seam. Keep the oven hot; the foil protects the colour while the enclosed filling finishes cooking.
- 7
Turn out and serve
Rest the timbale in its mould for 10 minutes, just long enough for the pastry to settle without surrendering the truffles' fragrance. Place a platter lined with a clean, unscented white napkin over the mould, invert both together, and lift the mould straight upward. If it clings, return it upright and wrap the outside briefly with a warm towel, then try again. Cut at the table with a serrated knife; the truffles should remain whole, the bacon tender, and the Madeira glaze should glisten at the cut without flooding the platter. À table!
Chef Tips
- •This dish truly needs its season. Use fragrant fresh black winter truffles, not preserved truffles or truffle oil; when good fresh truffles cannot be found, make a tourte aux champignons instead and save the timbale for the right market.
- •Peel the truffles as thinly as your knife allows. The source requires peeled truffles, but the peelings are far too valuable to discard; seal them with eggs, butter, or uncooked rice in a covered container and use them in another dish.
- •The glaze must be pale, gelatinous, and lightly salted. A dark, heavily seasoned demi-glace overwhelms the truffles and turns their delicate juices muddy; choose a true blond chicken or veal glaze and warm it only enough to flow.
- •Use thin, mild, unsmoked bacon. Smoke becomes aggressive during the enclosed bake, while thick bacon remains heavy and prevents the pastry case from cutting cleanly.
- •No timbale mould is required if you have a seamless 6 inch (15 cm) cake tin at least 4 inches (10 cm) deep. Avoid a springform pan, whose join offers the Madeira a ready escape.
- •Serve with a mature red Burgundy and little else beyond a sharply dressed bitter-leaf salad. The timbale is already generous, and cooking well is not cooking fancy.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them the following day, cold or gently rewarmed. The pastry remains good, though the truffle perfume is finest at the first cutting.
Advance Preparation
- •The ordinary patty paste can be made one day ahead, wrapped closely, and refrigerated. Let it stand just until flexible before rolling; it must remain cool.
- •The pale chicken or veal glaze can be prepared or purchased several days ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm only the measured portion when filling the timbale.
- •The mould may be lined with pastry and bacon up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Peel, season, and enclose the truffles shortly before baking.
- •Do not bake the finished timbale ahead. Its great pleasure is the perfume released when the intact pastry case is first cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 315g)
Calories
930 calories
Total Fat
59 g
Saturated Fat
29 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
220 mg
Sodium
1700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
70 g
Dietary Fiber
8 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
27 g
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