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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Nonnettes de Dijon

I grew up with nonnettes although I don't recall that we ever had the "real" thing: my mom had four kids to feed and every single one of us loved nonnettes, so she bought the less expensive oblong ones that came in brightly colored cardboard boxes (to this day, I remember the glistening marmalade heart of the half-eaten one pictured on the lid). But even those were more money that our usual after-school snack of bread and chocolate (I know, we French kids had it rough!), so they were a rare treat.
As it happens, I forgot all about them for decades but last year, while in France, we stopped at an organic grocery store to buy some bread and as I was browsing the aisles leading to the bakery, I saw on a shelf a package of handcrafted-looking nonnettes that looked particularly appealing. I bought it and, believe me when I say this - as a person who famously doesn't really like sweets - I had a moment that was better than Proustian.
While Proust's Narrator recognizes the exact taste of the tea-dunked madeleine he knew in his childhood and embarks on a quest for Time lost, these nonnettes were so much more than the ones I knew growing up that I felt no longing for an elusive past, just a fierce determination not to part with the treat again. Since I couldn't very well go back to Biocoop and buy a truckload to ship home, I resolved to do the next best thing, which is find a recipe and make them myself.
But first I should probably explain that nonnettes (literally "little nuns") are small gingerbread cakes that nuns used to make in the Middle Ages. Although the better-known ones come from Dijon in Burgundy (the nonnettes have nothing to do with mustard, by the way), I believe they are to be found in other regions of France as well. The oblong ones I knew were domed and lightly glazed and the best part of eating them was sinking your teeth into the glaze and feeling the dome collapse over the marmalade heart. I am telling you, there is no way Proust topped that with his (most likely soggy) madeleine.
If you google "nonnettes de Dijon images," you'll see several different variations. The little cakes are indeed often glazed and some are domed. The ones I bought last year were thick, round, flat and unglazed. I personally like the domed ones although I can do flat too and I prefer unglazed. They keep better.
Apparently I can also do hollow, albeit certainly not on purpose!
I asked baker and pastry chef Leslie Mackie, owner of Macrina Bakery in Seattle, why I was getting collapsed centers. She thought it had to do with the leavening and suggested I try using half baking powder half baking soda instead of all baking soda. She also recommended enclosing the marmalade inside the batter instead of putting it on top. So that's what I did and it worked! Thank you, Leslie!
But before I even attempted to bake nonnettes, I browsed through the many recipes online. My favorite one is this one, by blogger Edda Onorato. Edda's blog, Un déjeuner de soleil, is a feast for the eyes and I have known it to do a number on my tastebuds too. So I tend to trust her and I wasn't disappointed. Her recipe is solid.
I did adapt it a bit:
  • By changing the leavening (as explained above). Edda says that in the very old days, nonnettes were made with levain (which might have been the only leavening agent readily available to the nuns). The little cakes must have had a very different texture then and a different bite. I am not sure I would like them that way but I might give it a shot one day out of curiosity because after all, these nuns knew a thing or two
  • By using all whole-grain flours. I don't know much about the history of the nonnettes but, if I were the gambling kind, I'd be willing to bet that, in the Middle Ages, the nuns didn't go for white flour. Taste and texture are spot on with the whole-grain and then there is the satisfaction of knowing that the cakes are more nutritious. I have only used white whole wheat so far but next time I'll use some of the Sonora wheat I bought from Nan Kohler in Los Angeles. That flour is so aromatic that it will probably bring a whole new dimension to the cake
  • By lowering the amount of sugar a bit.
Edda recommends using a blend of cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, anise and ginger. I use Penzey's Baking Spice (Ceylon cinnamon, Spanish anise, Grenadian mace and Guatemalan cardamom) which I like a lot,  probably because it is easy on the cinnamon. I could try with just anise, the only spice I ever use in pain d'épices or go for a touch of cardamom and pair it with some of that caramelized pear jam I made last year or try pairing nutmeg and blackberry jelly or... The possibilities are endless. Which goes to show that, for me, nonnettes are really not about nostalgia. Move over, madeleines, and make way. The future has arrived!

Ingredients
Yields 24 mini-muffin-sized and 16 regular-muffin-sized nonnettes (baked in mini-brioches paper molds)*


For those of you who are using BreadStorm (including the free version), please click on this link to import the formula.  For more on BreadStorm, you may want to read this post.

Method
  1. Turn on the oven to 320°F/160°C
  2. Scale flours, baking soda, baking powder and spices in a large bowl. Whisk until thoroughly blended
  3. Scale honey, sugar, butter and water in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer while stirring with a wooden spoon and turn off the heat
  4. Let the wet mixture cool for a few minutes while you grease (lightly) the mini-muffin pan and prepare 16 muffin-sized paper molds*
  5. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients until blended (do not over mix)
  6. Pour a dollop of batter in each muffin hole (it shouldn't be more than one third full), place a small spoonful of orange marmalade on top and top with the rest of the batter (the muffin hole shouldn't be more than half full when you are done)
  7. Bake for 15 minutes
  8. Let cool on a rack for a few minutes, then unmold
  9. Enjoy!
Nonnettes keep extremely well in an airtight container. We took two dozens on a very long car trip this winter and the ones that remained were just as fresh and tasty when we arrived at destination as they were when we left. 


* After several batches, we decided that mini-muffin size is really best: perfect for a snack and easy to pack. I am buying another pan. The recipe should then yield 48 nonnettes.

17 comments:

  1. Ricetta da provare assolutamente!
    Foto così belle da far desiderare di allungare la mano e prendere una "Nonnettes" e potersela gustare in ossequioso silenzio.
    Tutto estremamente semplice ma al contempo straordinario, un po' come te......
    Un saluto affettuoso dalla Toscana, da chi ti segue sempre con grande attenzione. Anna Giordani

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    Replies
    1. Anna, thank you very much for your very kind comments! I wish I could reach out through the web and offer you nonnettes...

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  2. Oh, I want to have some! Can you recommend a brand for me to buy when I am in Paris next week? Or, even better, is it something I can find 'fait maison" in a boulangerie?

    I want to have a Farine-Proust-Moment!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sally, I don't know if you can find nonnettes in a regular boulangerie. But they are bound to have some on that Biocoop on Boulevard de Grenelle that I mentioned to you in an email. Have a wonderful trip! Can't wait to hear about your new Parisian adventures...

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  3. Hi MC,
    These look scrumptious. Loved your story about how you were reacquainted with your childhood treats. I miss marmalade. I used to love it spread thickly on hot buttered English muffins. Haven't had it for years so your writing about these has brought back fond memories for me too.
    JanetH

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    Replies
    1. Hello Janet! So glad you liked the story. I got the marmalade at Trader Joe's. So if you have one nearby, you should be able to find it...

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  4. Dear MC,
    Thank you for sharing these beautiful little spice cakes! They were so flavorful, the warmth of the spice the perfect antidote to cold winter days.
    The recipe looks wonderful and I was hoping you’d post it; I love the idea of pairing different spices and jams, for flavor variations.
    I have a beautiful flour, and a gorgeous jar of mûres waiting for me, for when I have a chance to bake these :^)
    What good fortune you rediscovered nonnettes – now we have discovered them too!
    :^) breadsong

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    Replies
    1. Hello breadsong! Thank you for your kind words. I can't wait to see where your imagination will take you... Keep me posted!

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  5. Quelle belle recette!
    Il semblent très onctueux et moelleux.
    J'ai sauvé le lien dans mes bookmarks.
    Tes post sont toujours très beau!
    Je te souhaite un beau weekend.
    Lou

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  6. Thank you for your generous attention, for you're always a source of great learning and wisdom for me. I am glad that my "home" you like it and I hope to be able to create a friendly place where you can understand how big my passion for the "Boulangerie". One of my desire? Get to know you one day .... who knows ..... and you can mix together in person and exchange the poetry of bread. THANK YOU. Anna Giordani

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    Replies
    1. One can only hope, Anna! And meanwhile, there is the web... Hugs, MC

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  7. How entirely sweet! I love historic food, (like the Dresdner Eierschecke: http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2013/06/rhubarb-eierschecke-torte-dresden.html), it is so nice to adapt it a bit to modern taste. I agree, the nuns probably would have thought using more expensive white flour a sin.
    I ordered the chestnut flour, but there appears to be a shortage, I hope it comes in soon.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karin! Thank you for the rhubarb torte recipe, it looks spectacular! I hope the chestnut flour comes in soon and isn't smoky... I can't wait to see what you make with it!

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    2. Thanks, and I will let you know. If it is the same I had before, it shouldn't be smoky. Unfortunately I didn't have enough left.

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  8. Good morning and congratulations for your blog!
    I know it is a lit off topic but i really liked cambrousse bread fron an older post.
    There is any recipe vailable or any kind of information about it.
    Thanks in advance.
    Costas,Greece.

    ReplyDelete

 

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