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New ZealandFlavors · Tours
Sweet pastry tart with apricot jam and candied fruit, topped with a layer of almond meringue. Despite the name, it has no relation to nougat. It is the pastry specialty of Tours, with its own confraternity since 1998.
Traditional sweet from Tours, Centro-Vale do Loire
Also known as: nougat tourangeau
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Nougat de Tours — Tours, France
The nougat de Tours is a tart. The base is a sweet buttery pastry, topped with a thin layer of apricot jam and candied fruit diced into cubes. On top goes the macaronade, a mixture of sugar, ground almond and beaten egg whites, dusted with powdered sugar before baking. During baking, the topping forms a thin crust while the inside remains soft.
The name is misleading: it is not the nougat of Montélimar nor the torrone, the honey-and-almond sweet. Local tradition links the recipe to the Renaissance, the era of the Loire châteaux; Touraine tourism claims it may have been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, who lived in Amboise, but that is a story without documentation.
The pastry declined in the 1960s and was revived by a Tours chef, Charles Barrier. In 1998 the Confrérie du nougat de Tours was created; it protects the recipe, organizes a competition for pastry chefs and apprentices, and gathers members each year at the city hall.
It is sold in pâtisseries in Tours and the Touraine, in individual sizes or as tarts for sharing.
Tours , Centro-Vale do Loire
Pastry specialty of the city, protected by a Tours confraternity since 1998.
Sweet dough of flour, sugar, butter and egg; apricot jam; candied fruit diced into cubes; ground almond; egg whites; sugar and powdered sugar.
In slices, as a dessert or for an afternoon snack, sometimes served with crème anglaise or a red fruit sauce.
Year-round; it is common at family lunches and as a gift brought from the Touraine.
Your questions
No. It is a sweet pastry tart with apricot jam, candied fruit and an almond meringue topping.
Local tradition links it to the Renaissance in the Touraine, but there is no document of its creation. The pastry was revived in the 20th century by a Tours chef, Charles Barrier.
Created in 1998, it protects the traditional recipe, organizes a competition for pastry chefs and apprentices, and promotes the pastry in the region.
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