A Moment For: the Mont Blanc from The Flour in West Melbourne

At The Flour in West Melbourne, a hidden-in-plain-sight pastry shop run by sisters April Yoonhee Bae and Seonghee Bae, you can find a dessert rarely seen in Melbourne: Mont Blanc cake.

The wintery dessert has its origins in France and Italy. It’s a staple of patisserie menus in Japan, but is hard to find in Melbourne.

The traditional version is shaped to resemble its namesake European mountain. It’s made with a meringue base that’s topped with whipped cream and thin noodle-like strands made from chestnut puree. At The Flour, you’ll find a delightful twist on the classic.

April, the head baker, says the inspiration for her Mont Blanc came from her childhood in Ulsan, South Korea. Roasted chestnuts were a favourite snack – a nostalgic part of winter afternoons spent with her father – and the memory of peeling chestnuts together motivated her to create her own version of this dessert.

The traditional versions she had tasted often featured French meringue with whipped Chantilly cream and chestnut cream on top. “I didn’t like the meringue, so I removed it straightaway,” she says.

Her rendition starts with a layer of soufflé sponge which serves as the foundation. It’s then topped with cream made from French chestnut puree folded with mascarpone cream. Candied chestnuts, cooked in muscovado sugar and steeped overnight, are placed atop the cream layer. There’s then a layer of Valrhona white chocolate ganache mixed with mascarpone.

“I like the richness mascarpone adds,” says April. This is followed by a chestnut puree custard, combined with butter, to make a smooth mousseline that is turned into “sweet chestnut vermicelli” on top. Finally, the cake is garnished with another candied chestnut and a touch of gold leaf. The pastry is only available for a short time each year. 

The Flour Melbourne
199 Victoria Street, West Melbourne

theflourmelbourne.com