Chocolate mendiants
Mendiants are made with a thin layer of chocolate, stuck with toasted nuts, dried and candied fruit.
65 K 4.8/5 (4 reviews)
1 hour 2 min.
Easy
2.70 €
20 pieces
8 IngredientsLast modified on: May 27th 2020
For 20 pieces, you will need:
- 1
30 g candied grapefruit peel - 2
20 raisins - 3
20 whole almonds - 4
10 walnut kernels - 5
20 hazelnuts - 6
20 pistachios - 7
20 pine nuts - 8
100 g dark chocolate - Total weight: 220 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 30 min.
Cooking: 35 min.
All in all: 1 hour 2 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 3 min.
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Chop 30 g candied grapefruit peel into small dice.
Separate 20 raisins (they often come stuck together).
Chop 30 g candied grapefruit peel into small dice.
Separate 20 raisins (they often come stuck together).
Stage 2 - ⌛ 15 min.
Lay a sheet of cooking parchment on a baking sheet and spread out 20 whole almonds, 10 walnut kernels, and 20 hazelnuts.
Toast the nuts in the oven for 15 minutes.
Toast the nuts in the oven for 15 minutes.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 4 min.
After this time, take the nuts out of the oven. Tip the almonds and walnuts off the baking sheet and (if necessary) rub the hazelnuts in tea towel to remove the skins.
Leave to cool.
Leave to cool.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 10 min.
Reuse the same paper and baking sheet to toast 20 pistachios and 20 pine nuts in the oven for 10 minutes. Being smaller, they will not take as long.
Leave to cool.
Leave to cool.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 10 min.
Melt 100 g dark chocolate over a bain-marie. The usual method is to put the chocolate in a bowl, but if you use a small bottle instead, this makes the next stage easier.
Stage 6
Check that the chocolate is fully melted.
Stage 7
For this recipe, I used a silicon mould with rectangular compartments, but you can use whatever you have to hand - the shape doesn't matter.
Stage 8
Pour a thin layer of chocolate into the moulds (now the bottle comes into its own).
Stage 9
Then arrange the fruit and nuts on top.
When everything is on, press down into the chocolate with your fingers.
When everything is on, press down into the chocolate with your fingers.
Stage 10 - ⌛ 20 min.
My tip: work like a production line. Pour all the chocolate first, then add the all almonds, next the raisins, etc.
This way, all your mediants will look the same.
This way, all your mediants will look the same.
Stage 11
Refrigerate for 2 hours to set the chocolate and make sure the fruit and nuts are stuck.
Stage 12
Take your mendiants out of their moulds gently, and leave to come back to room temperature before handing round or tucking in yourself.
Remarks
The French name means "mendicants", after the 4 types of fruit and nuts traditionally used in the Provençal thirteen Christmas desserts to represent the 4 mendicant religious orders: raisins for the Augustines, hazelnuts for the Carmelites, figs for the Franciscans and almonds for the Dominicans.
You can vary the topping depending on the fruit and nuts you have to hand, but do try to keep a mix of toasted nuts + dried fruit + candied fruit.
You can vary the topping depending on the fruit and nuts you have to hand, but do try to keep a mix of toasted nuts + dried fruit + candied fruit.
Keeping: Several days in a sealed container.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 30 RDI=10 % | 230 RDI=20 % | 100 RDI=20 % | 1,220 RDI=60 % | 5,110 RDI: 60 % |
| Per 100 g | 10 RDI=5 % | 100 RDI=10 % | 40 RDI=7 % | 550 RDI=30 % | 2,320 RDI: 30 % |
| Per piece | 1 RDI=1 % | 10 RDI=1 % | 4 RDI=1 % | 60 RDI=3 % | 260 RDI: 3 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 20 pieces : 2.70 €
- Per piece : 0.15 €
Change currency:
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Dark chocolate
Like these other recipes: Chestnut Fudge Cupcakes, Chocolate mug cake, Flaky brownie brioche, Chocolate eclairs, Chocolate rice pudding, ... See them all 39
Candied grapefruit peel
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Chocolate thins with toasted nuts, Chocolate cream with a crunch, irish coffee mousse, Grapefruit moelleux, Brioche royale, Calissons, ... See them all 6
Pine nuts
Like these other recipes: Mint and pea pesto, Pesto, Purple Pesto, Crunchy salad, Kalamata Salad, ... See them all 9
Hazelnuts
Like these other recipes: Little chocolate and hazelnut fondants, How to peel hazelnuts, Brioche royale, Granola, Praline spread, ... See them all 5
Other recipes you may also like
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline. June 21th 2017485 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
Fresh spinach with cream
Fresh spinach, simply wilted, reheated in a sauce of thickened cream with shallot, and served with quarters of hard-boiled egg. September 29th 2012374 K3.8 1 hour 45 min.
How to prepare romanesco
Here is how to take a whole romanesco and end up with small pieces ready to use in a recipe. January 17th 2013697 K 23 30 min.
How to keep a tart pastry case crisp
The problem with tarts, and fruit tarts in particular, is that the filling (fruit, cream or whatever) ends up soaking into the pastry and turns it soft. Here is a professional tip for avoiding this problem: spread a thin layer of white chocolate, which does not have a strong flavour, in the bottom of the tart. This seals the pastry and it will stay crisp. French pastry chef have a verb for that, it's "chablonner". June 12th 2013184 K4.7 1 hour
Coupe Augustin
A "coupe Augustin" is a kind of sundae made with mint ice cream, slices of white peach poached in a light syrup, Chantilly cream, raspberry coulis and topped with toasted flaked almonds. September 8th 201390 K4.7 30 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-03-01)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.