Praline Tart — Lyon's shocking-pink tarte aux pralines

i. Origin & history

The heart of the tart is the praline rose, and the word "praline" itself is French. The story usually told is that the sugar-coated almond was created in the seventeenth century by the cook of the Maréchal du Plessis-Praslin, a French diplomat and soldier, and named after his employer. Whether or not the anecdote is accurate, the original French praline was exactly this: a whole almond tumbled in boiling sugar syrup until encased in a rough, crunchy shell. That is quite different from the smooth ground praline paste used in French pastry, and from the soft pecan-and-cream pralines of New Orleans.

In Lyon and the surrounding Rhône-Alpes, those sugared almonds are coloured a bright carmine pink, and the praline rose has become a regional emblem. It turns up in the brioche aux pralines of Lyon, in the Savoyard gâteau de Saint-Genix (a brioche studded with whole pink pralines), and above all in the tarte aux pralines.

The tart itself is a comparatively modern dish. It is widely associated with the celebrated chef Alain Chapel, whose restaurant at Mionnay near Lyon is often credited with turning a homely local filling — pralines melted with cream — into a refined dessert in the 1970s. From there it spread through the city's pâtisseries and bouchons, and it is now as much a symbol of Lyonnais food as quenelles or pink-praline brioche.

Because of the name, the tart is often confused with other "praline" desserts. It contains no chocolate, no hazelnut paste and no pecans. If a recipe calls for praliné paste and chocolate ganache, it is a different (and also excellent) French tart — closer to the chocolate hazelnut tart — not the Lyon original.

ii. How cream and sugared almonds become a sliceable filling

The filling has only two ingredients, and the technique lies in what happens when you heat them together. When crushed pink pralines are simmered in double cream, the sugar shells dissolve into the cream, turning it vivid pink and very sweet. As the mixture simmers, water evaporates and the sugar concentration rises, exactly as in caramel or fudge making. The longer it reduces, the firmer it sets.

The target is a mixture that coats the back of a spoon thickly and leaves a clear line when you draw a finger through it — on a sugar thermometer, roughly 105–108 °C. Pulled too early, the filling stays soft and runs when sliced. Taken too far, it sets hard and chewy and can turn grainy as the sugar recrystallises. Most pâtissiers simmer it gently for 10–15 minutes, stirring often so the cream does not catch.

The almonds inside the pralines do not dissolve; they soften slightly in the cream and give the filling its texture. This is why the pralines are crushed rather than ground: you want small pieces of almond suspended in the pink cream, not a smooth paste. Some bakers keep back a handful of crushed pralines to scatter over the top for crunch.

Finally, the pastry must be fully baked before filling. The filling goes in hot and liquid and is not baked again, so a pale, undercooked case would turn soggy. A crisp, golden pâte sucrée also provides a buttery, slightly salty foil to the extreme sweetness of the filling.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 200 g plain flour
• 25 g ground almonds
• 70 g icing sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 110 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg
• 250 g pink pralines (pralines roses)
• 250 ml double cream

Pink pralines are sold in French delicatessens and online, sometimes labelled pralines roses or "pink sugared almonds". Do not substitute sugared almonds of the wedding-favour kind (dragées), which have a hard, smooth candy shell that dissolves differently. To make your own, cook 200 g sugar with 70 ml water to 120 °C, add a few drops of red food colouring and 150 g whole blanched almonds, and stir off the heat until the sugar crystallises around the nuts; repeat the coating once or twice more for a thicker shell. Use double cream (around 48% fat) — lighter cream needs much longer reducing and sets less reliably. Shop-bought sweet shortcrust can replace the homemade pâte sucrée.

iv. Method

1. For the pastry, rub the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar, salt and butter together to fine crumbs. Add the egg and bring together into a smooth dough without kneading. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
2. Roll the pastry to 3 mm thick and line a 22–23 cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the base and chill for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), fan 160 °C.
3. Line the case with baking paper and baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 10–12 minutes until evenly golden and dry to the touch. Cool in the tin.
4. Put the pralines in a strong freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin into small pieces, roughly 3–5 mm. Keep a tablespoon aside for decoration.
5. Put the crushed pralines and cream in a heavy saucepan over a medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar coating dissolves and the cream turns bright pink, then simmer gently for 10–15 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick enough to coat a spoon and hold a clear line when you draw a finger through it (about 105–108 °C).
6. Pour the hot filling into the cooled pastry case and spread it level. Scatter over the reserved praline pieces.
7. Leave to cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours until set enough to slice cleanly.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Bake the case until truly golden. The filling is not baked, so the pastry must be crisp before it goes in. A pale case softens under the cream within hours.
• Crush, do not grind. A food processor turns pralines into powder and dust. A bag and rolling pin give the small almond pieces that make the texture.
• Reduce patiently over a gentle heat. High heat catches the cream on the base of the pan and can split it. Stir and scrape the corners regularly.
• Test the set on a cold plate. Drop a little filling onto a chilled saucer; after a minute it should hold its shape and wrinkle slightly when pushed.
• Slice with a hot knife. Dip a sharp knife in hot water and wipe it between cuts for clean pink slices.
• Serve in small slices. It is one of the sweetest tarts in the French repertoire. A thin wedge is a proper portion.

vi. Variations

Some Lyon bakeries make tartelettes aux pralines, individual tarts that are a common café treat. Others add a splash of kirsch or a little butter to the filling for gloss, or use a mix of pink-sugared almonds and hazelnuts. The same pink pralines go into the brioche aux pralines, a soft brioche marbled with melting pink sugar, and the Savoyard gâteau de Saint-Genix.

Other French "praline" desserts take a different route. The Paris-Brest uses smooth hazelnut praliné paste whipped into cream, and the hazelnut mousse does the same with a lighter set. For a nut tart with a baked filling, the almond tart and the Swiss-influenced caramel nut tarts are close relatives, while the American South's pecan-and-cream pralines are a separate confection that only shares the name.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve the tart cool or at room temperature, in thin slices. Its sweetness is best balanced by something sharp or plain: a spoonful of unsweetened crème fraîche, a few raspberries, or strong black coffee. In Lyon it is eaten as an afternoon treat or as the dessert after a bouchon lunch, and it is a favourite to bring to family gatherings.

Keep the tart covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, and take it out 20 minutes before serving so the filling softens slightly. The pastry case can be baked up to 2 days ahead and kept airtight. The finished tart freezes reasonably well for up to a month, wrapped tightly; thaw it in the fridge overnight, though the pastry will be a little softer.

ix. More from French

• Hazelnut Praline — the pastry-kitchen praliné
• Chocolate Hazelnut Tart — praliné and ganache
• Paris-Brest — praline cream choux ring
• Almond Tart — tarte aux amandes
• Treacle Tart — British golden-syrup tart
• Sans Rival — Filipino cashew meringue cake