“What is the first mouthful like? A fresh cloud,” said Isabelle Martin.
Tourteau fromagé is her ‘Proust’s madeleine.’ “It takes me back to my childhood, to weddings. Above all, it brings back memories of good times.”
A trained PR, communication and marketing specialist, Ms Martin launched her own company in the summer of 2023. She wanted to buy a pre-existing business, and scouted out several potential options. One company’s name tempted her more than the others: Tourteaux Jahan.
The shop, situated near Poitiers airport, produced tourteaux fromagés. It was owned by Patrick Jounault, who was looking to sell.
The name tourteau alone - which comes from ‘tourterie’ and means ‘cake’ in poitevin-saintongeais, the local dialect - was enough to convince her to buy the company.
The texture of tourteau fromagé is soft and lightCOJT
Business has been good in her first two years. The shop bakes between two and 12 batches every day, producing 100 to 120 tourteaux each.
“I think the quality of our products comes from the fact that they are baked with fresh curd cheese, not fromage blanc,” she said. The tourteau fromagé often finds itself at the centre of ‘controversial’ debates such as this one concerning the correct type of soft cheese.
It’s precise origins are similarly contentious.
The tourteau hails from the Poitou-Charente region in the south of Deux-Sèvres or the Pays Mellois, the former name of Melle.
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But where exactly was it first made? The communes of Sepvret, Lezay, La Mothe-Saint-Héray, Saint-Romans-lès-Melle and Brioux-sur-Boutonne all claim ownership.
How it was created is by no means clearer.
The story goes that a cook left it in the oven by mistake, thereby creating its signature blackened, swollen crust, and many of its nicknames. It used to be referred to as the marquis noir or the rounded cake with a black hat.
“Call it the ‘cheesecake of Poitou’ if you will,” said Ms Martin.
'The rounded cake with a black hat'COJT
It used to be baked with goat cheese, which gives a more pronounced taste. Fromage blanc, either goat or cow, brings softness.
What everyone can agree on, however, is its significance to the region, and its taste. Its texture is often characterised as ‘aérienne’ (fluffy). It tastes soft, creamy and lightly sugary.
Eaten mostly between Easter and All Saints’ Day, it is a favourite choice for weddings.
In time gone by, it was customary to have one cart full of tourteaux right behind the wedding carriage.
Tourteau fromagé was even used as a code term by the Poitevin resistance during World War Two.
Recipe for tourteau fromagé
For a cake serving four people, you will need 250g goat cheese, 170g caster sugar, 180g flour, six eggs, 100g butter, a pinch of salt and a splash of cognac.
Prepare a shortcrust pastry using 180g flour, 90g butter, salt and a little water.
Let it rest for two hours, then roll it out and line a greased cake tin with the remaining 10g butter.
In a bowl, beat the cheese with 120g sugar and 5cl milk until smooth.
Separate the eggs, and whisk the whites with the remaining sugar until stiff. Mix the yolks with the cheese, 60g flour and the cognac.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites, pour the mixture onto the pastry base and bake. Preheat the oven to 250C for 20 minutes, then reduce to 180C for another 20 minutes.
Tourteaux Jahan unveiled a new recipe of tourteaux on April 1, baked with goat cheese.
“I like it toasted in slices, with foie gras and fleur de sel, or as a gratin with crème fraîche, butternut, goat cheese and olive oil,” said Ms Martin.
