Chocolate mendiants
Mendiants are made with a thin layer of chocolate, stuck with toasted nuts, dried and candied fruit.
54 K 4.8/5 (4 reviews)
1 hour 2 min.
Easy
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
Change measures:
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: Mousse with two chocolates, Pear and chocolate tart with a hint of mint, Viennese Shortbread, Mint and chocolate cream, Chocolate-verbena cream, ... See them all 36
Candied grapefruit peel
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Chocolate orangettes for Erika, Chocolate cream with a crunch, irish coffee mousse, Calissons, Chocolate thins with toasted nuts, Brioche royale, ... See them all 6
Raisins
Like these other recipes: Raisin breads (pains aux raisins), Little apple turnovers with almonds and raisins, Sweet pancake rolls from Brittany, Caramel semolina pudding with raisins, 3-fruit brioche loaf, ... See them all 20
Pistachios
Like these other recipes: Rice pudding with fruit and nuts, Frozen nougat, Saucipain, How to peel pistachios, Moist cereal bars, ... See them all 18
Other recipes you may also like
Small ratatouille with
It's a hotch-potch of vegetables, cooked in two stages, onto which eggs are broken and cooked until the white only is just firm.June 12th 2011270 K5 1 hour 3 min.
Boeuf (beef) bourguignon
Bœuf bourguignon is a traditional recipe of French cuisine (bourguignon means from Burgundy). It's chunks of meat cooked slowly with bacon, onions, carrots and mushrooms in red wine.February 21th 2011480 K 32.5 4 hours 20 min.
Potatoes with prawns
This recipe, originally from Belgium, consists of baked potatoes which are hollowed out and filled with fried prawns. A cream and white wine sauce is then poured over the potatoes before returning them to the oven.January 14th 2016123 K3.8 1 hour 50 min.
Red mullet fillets in a quick marinade
For this recipe, the marinade is made in a jiffy: oil, lemon, parsley, salt and pepper. The red mullet fillets are marinaded for an hour, then pan-fried quickly. They are served with plain white rice.February 22th 201586 K4.7 1 hour 25 min.
Avocado with Tuna
Here is a quick recipe for a simple starter: avocado, tuna, chopped herbs and mayonnaise.April 29th 201588 K5 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
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.