Chocolate Puffs
An almost authentic 18th century recipe
Historical recipes can be frustratingly vague and Mary Eales’ recipe for Chocolate Puffs is no exception. Although she provides measurements for the sugar and chocolate she doesn’t enlighten us as to how many egg whites are required. Nor are there any cooking times (which is par for the course with recipes from this period).
Food historian Marc Meltonville, who recently published a collection of tavern cook Richard Briggs’ recipes, makes the following observation about the chocolate used in Chocolate Puff recipes:
‘…until the nineteenth century, there is no chocolate in the form of a bar as we are used to it. The block of chocolate that Briggs presumes you have bought from the general store, is an ingredient. It is used almost solely for making drinks.’
After the cacao beans had been roasted and ground, the paste was formed into a chocolate ‘cake’ which could be grated then dissolved in liquid to make the chocolate drink. Often these chocolate ‘cakes’ would containing other ingredients besides cacao such as vanilla and allspice or old world spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
The English Art of Cookery by Richard Briggs was published in 1788, some seventy years after Mary Eales proposed the recipe. Briggs helpfully does tell the reader how many egg whites to use (although it is virtually identical to that provided by Mrs Raffald twenty years earlier). I initially followed his recipe using caster sugar and pure unsweetened chocolate which resulted in a rather gritty texture and not terribly airy puff.
For my second attempt I switched the caster sugar for icing sugar. These cookies were even more solid than the first batch although the grittiness was eliminated. Briggs’ recipe was helpful in terms of the method and size of the puffs in the final modernised recipe though. I had a chat on instagram with Marc and he recommended blitzing the caster sugar in a food processor to achieve a finer, but not powdery, texture (based on the fact that sugar was grated from a cone and then ground by hand in this era). Using icing sugar resulted in something more like a fondant icing. I suspect that a texture between the two types of sugar would be more in keeping with the eighteenth century recipe or perhaps a combination of the two sugars would work in the future? (Let me know if you try this!)
So it was back to Mrs Eales and a bit a guess work. I decided to use two medium eggs whites as eggs were much smaller in the eighteenth century and halved the rest of the ingredients. I also added a few aromatics but these can be omitted if you prefer. The greater proportion of egg whites to dry ingredients resulted in a crisp exterior and an intense chocolate marshmallowy centre - rather like an almond free macaron. On that note, if you want a dryer interior, the puffs could probably stand to be cooked for another 10-15 minutes or so.
Are they authentic? Well, not entirely on account of the labour saving device (electric whisk) and processed ingredients used (icing sugar). But they taste great and are perfect if you want a little sweet something with a cup of coffee or tea.
Ingredients (modern) - makes 24-28 small puffs
37g/1½oz pure unsweetened chocolate
225g/8oz icing (confectioners) sugar
Pinch of ground allspice or cinnamon, according to taste (optional)
2 medium egg whites
A few drops vanilla extract (optional)
Method
Preheat your oven to 110°C/100°C fan.
Finely grate your chocolate. Mix with the sugar and spice (if using).
Whisk your egg whites until it forms soft peaks using an electric whisk or free standing mixer (unless you are feeling particularly energetic and want to do it by hand!).
With the motor running gradually beat in the chocolate sugar mixture. Finally, beat in a few drops of vanilla extract. You should have a thick, glossy meringue like mixture.
Either drop a good teaspoon or pipe 2cm rounds (the approximate size of a sixpence in this era) on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper or something non-stick. Make sure you leave a few centimetres between each puff as they will spread a bit. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the tray.
Suggested Reading
Richard Briggs, The English Art of Cookery (1791 edition) - see page 439
Mary Eales, Mrs. Mary Eales's receipts. Confectioner to her late Majesty Queen Anne (1718) - see page 74
Marc Meltonville The Tavern Cook: Eighteenth Century Dining through the recipes of Richard Briggs. (2023) - see page 161
Elizabeth Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper, (1769) - see page 254