Pièce montée

A pièce montée (French: [pjɛs mɔ̃te], lit. 'assembled piece' or 'mounted piece'; plural pièces montées) is a kind of decorative confectionery centerpiece in an architectural or sculptural form used for formal banquets and made of such ingredients as "confectioner’s paste" (also known as pâté d'office), nougat, marzipan, and spun sugar. Although the ingredients are typically edible, their purpose is mainly decorative, and they are often not meant to be consumed. They are associated with classical French chefs, such as Carême. Carême had studied architecture, and is credited with saying, referring to pièces montées, that architecture is the most noble of the arts, and pastry the highest form of architecture.^[1]

Pièces montées for a banquet being prepared in the kitchen of Delmonico's Restaurant in New York in 1902

Pièce montée

Illustration of a pièce montée representing a cactus, taken from Charles Ranhofer's 1894 book, The Epicurean. It was to be made of various types of nougat, including pistachio nougat to form the cactus itself.
Type	Decorative confectionery
Place of origin	France
Main ingredients	Nougat, marzipan, spun sugar

The term pièce montée is sometimes used to refer to the dessert also known as croquembouche, an assemblage of choux pastry profiteroles (or occasionally other kinds of pastry) stuck together with caramel or with spun sugar into a tall, usually conical shape. Unlike the type of pièce montée described above, it is meant to be eaten; in France, traditionally it is served at parties that celebrate weddings and baptisms.

Description

A pièce montée made of stacked cakes.

The pièce montée is a dessert traditionally served at a wedding, a communion or a festive meal. It can take different forms: a pyramid of choux stuck together with caramel, or a stacking of cakes.

At weddings, a figurine representing the bride and groom is often placed on top of the pièce montée.

In France, people often, and somewhat reductively, call the croquembouche a "pièce montée."

History and development

The *pièce montée* is a grand decorative confectionery centerpiece that became prominent in France during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Its most famous promoter was the French chef Marie-Antoine Carême (1783–1833), often described as the founder of haute pâtisserie. Carême transformed the *pièce montée* into an edible architectural display, frequently inspired by classical temples, pyramids, and other monumental structures.^[2][3]

Carême’s works combined culinary skill with architectural theory. In *Le Pâtissier pittoresque*, he prefaced his pastry designs with a treatise on the five orders of architecture, highlighting his intention to merge artistry and gastronomy.^[4]

Forms and occasions

Originally, pièces montées were ornamental and not always entirely edible. Elements such as sugar paste, marzipan, nougat, almond paste, spun sugar, and pastry were common, often supported by non-edible frames of wood, wire, or cardboard.^[5]

Croquembouche made of cream puffs.

The best-known edible form of a *pièce montée* is the croquembouche, a conical tower of cream puffs bound with caramel or spun sugar, traditionally served at weddings, baptisms, and communions.^[6]

See also

• Entremet