The nonnette from Dijon: noble ladies, murder and fairs
And also
The tops
What’s this?
A mellow gingerbread with an icing and a mellow heart flavoured with oranges jam... the nonnette!
A Dijon’s speciality, which was named after nuns (nonnette= "little nun"), who used to make these small cakes in their convent: a paste made of wheat flour, honey, yellows eggs and spices.
Mother company Mulot and PetitJean, based in Dijon, makes nonnettes since 1796.
The little history
The medieval boichet
In the Middle-Ages, the gingerbread was called boichet: Margaret of Flanders loved them!
Duke of Burgundy Philip the Bold’s wife popularized this cake in Burgundy. Ooo, the naughty little greedy one!
A sweet murder weapon...
Oh, the gingerbread was also used for dirty tasks... crimes!
Do you remember this murder, in 1455? The murder weapon was a delicious gingerbeard...
Neroli and pearls
In the 17th century, Mrs. de Sévigné loved gingerbread: especially nonnettes à la reine, "Queen’s nonnettes", made with rye flour, decorated with big sugar nuggets, flavoured with neroli.
King Louis XIII was also fond of them: everyone in his court had at least one nonnette in his pocket!