If you like to explore the specialties of the Île-de-France region, beyond the great Parisian classics, then this cake may well tickle your gustatory curiosity. In the Yvelines region, a sweet born just after the war, in 1946, has become a flagship specialty originating from the town of Rambouillet: the Rambolitain. Soft, praline-filled and crunchy, this dessert was born in the 40s and is a real local Proust's madeleine, thanks to family craftsmanship and a jealously guarded recipe.
The Rambolitain was imagined by Noël Paquet, then an artisan at Pâtisserie C. Paquet. Paquet, located at 6, rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Rambouillet. Since 1946, the recipe has remained unchanged: a fine, crunchy macaron dough, topped with a light praline cream, then sprinkled with roasted almonds and hazelnuts. The bakery is now closed for good, after more than 70 years. In 1996, former mayor and senator Gérard Larcher celebrated Le Rambolitain's fiftieth anniversary and elevated the pastry to the status of a local gastronomic specialty. Since then, it has been a fixture at official receptions throughout the region.
So how did Le Rambolitain win over its public? The combination of a light macaroon paste and a delicate praline mousse gives the cake a soft yet airy texture. Traditional praliné, Spanish almonds, Piedmont hazelnuts and Grand Cru butter guarantee a rare nobility of taste. The chocolate version would have been considered, but the public would have continued to love the Rambolitain with praline, in keeping with the original recipe handed down from generation to generation in the Paquet family.
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