Coussin de Lyon
Photo: Frédéric Bonifas · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

The Coussin de Lyon was created in 1960 by Voisin Chocolatier to commemorate a 1643 votive offering of a silk cushion bearing a candle that the city's notables gave to the Virgin Mary at the Fourviere basilica to ward off the plague. The recipe is patented to Voisin and the silhouette is registered; the boxes sold from the Voisin counters on Place Bellecour and Rue de Brest are the canonical version.

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Common allergens: Almonds, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 24Hands-on 1 hrTotal 4 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the ganache: 200g good dark chocolate (70%)
  • 150ml double cream
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon Curacao or Grand Marnier
  • For the marzipan shell: 250g ground almonds, 250g icing sugar, 1 egg white, 1 teaspoon orange flower water, green food colouring (paste, not liquid)
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Method

  1. Make the ganache first: chop the chocolate finely. Warm the cream just to a simmer, pour over the chocolate and let stand 1 minute.
  2. Whisk to a smooth ganache, then whisk in the soft butter and the liqueur.
  3. Pour into a shallow dish lined with parchment in a thin even layer (around 1cm). Refrigerate 2 hours until firm.
  4. Make the marzipan: combine ground almonds and icing sugar in a bowl. Add the egg white and orange flower water; bring together to a smooth paste. Add a tiny amount of green food colouring paste and knead in until evenly pale green.
  5. Cut the firm ganache into 2cm squares.
  6. Roll the marzipan to 3mm thick on a surface dusted with icing sugar.
  7. Cut the marzipan into 6cm squares. Place a ganache cube in the centre of each, fold the corners over to enclose, then gently press into a cushion shape with a slight pinch in the middle.
  8. Dust the finished coussins lightly with icing sugar. Store in a sealed box up to 2 weeks.

Tip from the editors. The marzipan must be fresh and slightly pliable; if it cracks, knead in a few drops of water.

Where to eat coussin de lyon

Coussin de Lyon in Lyon

Voisin Chocolatier Lyon ★ 4.2

€ BakeryCoussin de Lyon chocolates2e

Voisin on Place Bellecour is the Lyonnais chocolatier founded in 1897, the originator of the Coussin de Lyon: a cushion-shaped almond marzipan filled.

Worth the queueCoussin de Lyon (almond marzipan)

TipThe Coussin de Lyon assortment box is the city gift; available by weight.

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