tete de what?

[ulterior epicure]

hi all.

i just had a wonderful time in strasbourg, france. it was within the stalls of this alsacian city's Christmas markets that i discovered a delightful treat that the locals call tetes des negres (for those who are not Francophones, literally - "heads of blacks").

they're basically a soft meringue ball dipped in chocolate. the meringues were incredibly creamy and i was suspicious that there was some mistake in translation... as the fillings tasted like pure sweet whipped cream. one vendor confirmed that it did contain a bit a cream (a teenage girl), while two (much older women) vendors and two (old women) patrons insisted that the filling was only whipped egg whites and sugar.

despite its politically sensitive nomenclature, i want to know how theses treats are made. can anyone fill me in? are they indeed meringues? do they contain cream? do i bake them first? ????

would love to hear from you alsacian-savvy egulleters! thanks!

the ulterior epicure.

p.s. there's a little more detail about my inquiry posted on my blog.

[Behemoth]

Are you sure it is meringue? We had something similar in Lebanon growing up (equally unfortunate name in Arabic) and I think the inside was more like marshmallow. They also exist in Germany but I forget what the new, more PC name is.

edit: here is a photo and recipe for those not familiar with it:

link

Edited December 4, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[ulterior epicure]

behemoth.

i'm not quite sure it wasn't marshmallow and was hoping for a clarification. your link seemed right - but i'm not as fluent in french as the recipe necessitates... would need a translation to better assess...

u.e.

[ulterior epicure]

what is "beurre ramolli?"

[anzu]

A slightly different recipe here(scroll down) with a meringue filling (egg white and sugar). Also, a more PC name of tete de choco.

Behemoth, I'm also trying to think of the German name for the marshmallow and chocolate creations, and coming up blank.

[anzu]

what is "beurre ramolli?"

←

softened butter.

[Behemoth]

behemoth.

i'm not quite sure it wasn't marshmallow and was hoping for a clarification.  your link seemed right - but i'm not as fluent in french as the recipe necessitates... would need a translation to better assess...

u.e.

←

I'm afraid I have to run but here is a great link. You can paste the URL into this site, and then you will be able to click on the words and get translations. It is a fairly easy to follow recipe.

By marshmallow I didn't mean the american stuff that comes in bags. More like a creamy foamy thing, it is basically eggwhites & sugar. They are cooked in a water bath.

good luck!

[ulterior epicure]

wait - so clarification... they do contain cream/butter and aren't simply egg whites?

[Behemoth]

I did a little google search, and the German name I recalled didn't refer to the same candy, but rather to something similar to a Klondike bar:

link

[ulterior epicure]

By marshmallow I didn't mean the american stuff that comes in bags. More like a creamy foamy thing, it is basically eggwhites & sugar.

Yes, exactly! It's more like marshmallow cream - but there's no cream or butter?

[Sugarella]

The way I read it (with knowledge of Quebec french, not French french) is that tetes des negres literally translates to blackheads ..... where heads is used in place of caps, the way a mushroom head looks like a cap. I don't think it's nearly as offensive as some would like us to believe in this age of political correctness. The description sounds rather innocent and innocuous to me, for what it's worth.

....And I have had meringues that have whipped cream in them so you might be right on the mark with that one.

[Pan]

The way I read it (with knowledge of Quebec french, not French french) is that tetes des negres literally translates to blackheads[...]

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Nope. "Negres" is a plural noun, not an adjective. Black heads would be "tetes noires."

[M. Lucia]

I was just going to add that there is a very similar thing in Lebanon, which translates as "slave heads," to be even more un-pc. They are usually available in summer and they come in two forms: in a sort of marshmallow creme or in ice cream.

Sugarella, bless you for trying to be gracious, but "tetes des negres," in my reading, means heads of negroes. It's definitely not politically correct, and the reading you give it would use different vocab. I think the difference may be in what some people consider offensive.

[Sugarella]

Well in that case I stand corrected ......as I said my familiarity with France's french is rather limited. French seems rather insipid here, unless they're talking about other Canadians. I'll make sure I call them "chocolate meringues" from now on.....

[paulbrussel]

In Dutch they are called "negerzoenen": kisses of negroes.

A few weeks ago, when the most important Dutch dictionary was published in a new edition, a group started to have this word deleted, being discriminating.

[ulterior epicure]

In Dutch they are called "negerzoenen": kisses of negroes.

A few weeks ago, when the most important Dutch dictionary was published in a new edition, a group started to have this word deleted, being discriminating.

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Hi paulbrussels.

Do they sell them in the Netherlands?

U.E.

[Swisskaese]

Here they are called Krembo (cream inside) and they come in several flavours:

Vanilla

Chocolate

Strawberry

Mocha

Tutti Frutti

I also can't remember the German name, something with Kopf.

This link shows a poster ad for Krembo.

[ulterior epicure]

I just remembered: the woman at the Christmas market said not (insisted - with a wagging finger) to refrigerate them (I asked how long they would keep) - suggesting that there is no cream/butter involved... of course, I'm not that savvy on pastry-making/preservation... am I wrong?

U.E.

[Swisskaese]

I just remembered!!!

They are called Mohrenköpfe or Negerküsse. I think it means a Moor's head or Negroe's kisses. Again, not PC.

They are not made with cream. It is airated marshmallow, but I don't know how they are made. They are sold at room temperature, but a lot of people like to put them in the refrigerator.

Edited December 5, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[Ptipois]

To clarify.

- These pastry concoctions are not called "têtes des nègres" but "têtes de nègre".

Their meaning is really as politically incorrect as was first suspected, no meaning of mushroom caps or anything there. They are from a time when everyday language was a less sensitive issue.

- They are not specifically Alsatian but generally French. They tend to disappear slightly from pastry shops all over France but if there is a region where they will hang on when all other têtes-de-nègre have disappeared elsewhere, that must be Alsace.

Actually they are not so much disappearing as being renamed: têtes-de-nègre tend to become têtes-de-choco. Except in Alsace, of course.

However, the famous brown-cap cèpe mushroom, bolet tête-de-nègre, has not been renamed yet and doesn't seem ready to be.

- Due to their round shape, they are noted for an uneven cooking of the French meringue that is their main element. Hence the soft texture of the meringue inside while the outside is crunchy and dipped in ganache, then in flaked chocolate.

Another version involves hollowed-out French meringues filled and pasted together two by two with chocolate mousse. Same dipping in ganache and chocolate flakes.

[ulterior epicure]

ptipois!

thanks for the excellent information. since you seem to know what you're talking about, i need some info:

1. do you have a recipe proper for these tetes de choco?

2. what do you mean by uneven cooking?

3. do they in fact involve cooking?

4. do they in fact contain cream/butter?

5. how does one keep the meringues adhered to the wafers when dipping into the ganache? doesn't the warm ganache deflate/ruin the meringues?

6. i LOVED the flavored ones (especially rum raisin and also cinammon) - any idea how to incorporate these elements into the meringue?

thanks!

u.e.

[Mette]

I don't know anything about Alsace, but in Denmark we have something very similar to what you are describing. A cooked meringue piped on a wafer, covered with chocolate and sometimes sprinkled with dessicated coconut.

In my childhood (in the 70's and early 80's) they were called negerboller (negro buns (as in bread rolls, not the other kind :-))) or negerkys (negro kisses). The brand was 'Sambo'. Now adays they are called Flødeboller (cream buns (no cream, though)) and the brand has changed to 'Samba'. For a bit of trivia, check out the manufacturer's homepage. Flødeboller's had quite a revival with the goumet chocolate crowd, in a hand made version.

I've tried this recipe Clickety and it is pretty authentic, although the base would traditionally be a thin wafer. The marcipan makes for a more dessert like confection. Be ware though, that the meringue tends to slide off the base when dipping if the base is covered with chocolate. Better to pipe the meringue on the naked base and dip the whole thing afterwards - and use tempered chocolate.

Have fun!

/Mette

[ulterior epicure]

Mette.

This is great - this is exactly what I'm looking for (though the tetes de negres I had were about five times as big as those pictured in your recipe link

Especially, thanks for answering my initial question - how to dip the whole thing without the meringue falling off! But, I suppose they stick to the wafer/marzipan base if you pipe them on directly?

As for tempered chocolates, can anyone give me a link or brief explanation between liquid chocolates? I know there's a differece between chocolates that will harden and those that will stay wet when cool... how do I make the type that will harden into a shell around the meringue? I suppose I need to read the recipe!

U.E.

[Nicolai]

And you thought that:

- Negerzoenen

- Negerküsse

- Mohrenköpfe

- Têtes de Nègre

- Negerboller

are not politically correct. LoL

Try translate this one: Dickmanns

This is the current favorite in Deutchland.

Now how it got from Têtes de Nègre to Dickmanns is a 201 in Political Science!

[Pan]

And you thought that:

- Negerzoenen

- Negerküsse

- Mohrenköpfe

- Têtes de Nègre

- Negerboller

are not politically correct. LoL

Try translate this one: Dickmanns[...]

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Without looking it up, doesn't that mean "fatman's"?