• The first eclairs were created by the famous chef Marie Antoine Carême, at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, in Paris, but at that time the dessert was called "Pain à la duchesse" or "Petit duchesse"
On June 22nd we celebrate Chocolate Eclair Day, a tribute brought for the first time in the USA, and then in other countries, to this dessert of French origin that for more than 160 years has kept its place on the podium of the most appreciated, refined and tasty cakes in world.
Why "Éclair"?
Gastronomic historians have established that the first eclairs were created by the famous chef Marie Antoine Careme, at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, in Paris. The spectacular dessert, which used elongated choux shells as a base and filled with cream, was originally called "Pain à la duchesse" or "Petit duchesse".
Only 20 years after the death of the famous confectioner, this dessert was rechristened éclair. And that's because the delicate chocolate or fondant glaze that covered this dessert made it shine in the light, but mostly because the creamy cake was devoured at lightning speed. This is how it earned its name "Éclair", which means lightning in French.
The first eclair recipe was published in 1884
In fact, a famous British dictionary published a definition for eclair that sounded something like this: "cake long in shape but short in duration", referring with humor to the rapid disappearance of the eclair from the plate. The name éclair (éclair) appears for the first time in 1850, in Lyon, the second largest city after Paris in France and an important center of French pastry.
The eclair also gained international fame thanks to King Edward VII of England, who was a big fan of the famous cake invented in France. The name of the eclair is attested in both English and French in 1860. The first known recipe for the dessert is published in the Cookbook of the School of Gastronomy in Boston, United States of America, by DA Lincoln. It was happening in 1884.
A cake that has always been reinvented
Due to its elegance, beauty and, of course, its wonderful taste, the eclair was greatly influenced by the chefs of the royal courts, who competed to decorate it as spectacularly as possible and to constantly improve it. Even today, the confectioners of the world continue to invent the most sophisticated or unusual creams, glazes and flavors for the classic and elegant éclair.
The story of Carême, "Le Roi des Chefs et le Chef des Rois"
Marie-Antonin Carême is said to have been "Le Roi des Chefs et le Chef des Rois" ("The King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings"). His life story is as romantic and adventurous as Paris.
Carême was born in 1784 in Paris, in a poor and large family. It is said that the Carême couple had 15 or even 25 children. At the age of 8 or 10, little Antonin was driven away from home by hunger. Wandering the streets of Paris, he finally arrives at the tavern "Fricassée de Lapin" whose owner took the boy under his wing as an apprentice for the next six years. At the age of 16, luck smiled on him again.
Antonin becomes the apprentice of a famous pastry chef, Sylvain Bailly, who reveals to him the secrets of the finest desserts.
"The Art of French Cuisine"
Fortunately for him, Master Bailly encouraged him to learn to read and write. He does it alone, an autodidact. Then he studied a lot in libraries, and years later Carême would write several cookbooks himself, culminating in "The Art of French Cuisine in the 1804th Century." In XNUMX he also left the Gendron patisserie, and his last master.
With the accumulated savings, and a growing fame, he was able to open his own patisserie located in Rue du Paix. Then, he would become famous in France, but also in other countries, creating true culinary masterpieces for nobles, diplomats, emperors and kings. Carême died in the heat of the moment, in his home in Paris, in 1833, at only 48 years old, succumbing to a condition caused by the toxicity of gas inhaled from the stoves where he cooked.
Delicious desserts for world leaders
For 12 years, Carême, who is also the inventor of Profiterole, was the personal chef of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, one of the most famous French diplomats of the time.
One of the biggest challenges for Carême came from this politician himself, who asked Marie Antonin Carême to prepare, for a year, complete daily menus, without repetition and using only seasonal products.
Carême passed the test with flying colours. Carême is, by the way, the one who made the cake for Emperor Napoleon's wedding. He was also the personal chef to King George IV of the United Kingdom. After a short visit to Saint Petersburg, at the court of Tsar Alexander I, Carême would return to France, to Paris, as the personal chef of the famous banker James Mayer Rothschild.
Read more about chocolate on the Arta Albă website in: World Chocolate Day – 7 July
