Specialities The cornuelles

Specialities from Deux-Sèvres and Charente also called corniches, cornettes, cornouelles... The cornuelle is a small flat cake with 3 "horns" with a hole in the middle. There are various types: the cornuelle from Chizé, the most famous, made from a pastry by only one confectioner (recipe remains secret), the cornuelle made in pastry shell, the cornuelle made in donut pastry and the cornuelle made in sweetened shortcrust pastry. This cake can be filled with confectioner's cream or chantilly cream and vanilla-, lemon- or orange flower-flavored. Cornuelles were traditionally eaten during 1 month, 15 days before and 15 days after Palm Sunday. The hole in the middle of the cake allowed to put a blessed branch sprig studded in a decorated apple.

Ingredients (for 50 cornuelles) : 375 g butter 1,5 to 2 kg flour 500 g sugar 25 g baker's ammonia 25 g salt 1/2 l milk 14 eggs Choice of flavor : orange flower, vanilla... Choice of decoration : dragées or anise seeds.

Preparation : 15 minutes + 1 hour rest

Cooking : 15 minutes

Recipe:
In a terrine mix flour, carbonat, salt and sugar.
Add softened butter cut in little pieces and knead by hand until you get a sandy aspect. Add eggs, knead pastry and let it rest for an hour.
Roll the pastry out with a rolling pin on about 1 cm thick and cut up triangular shapes, pricking the top with a fork, make a hole in the middle of the triangle.
Glaze with beaten egg and decorate each of the 3 ends with an anise seed or a dragée before sprinkling everything with sugar.
Put in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve it fresh.