PProvenance
Enter
P
French · Tours

Pruneaux Fourrés de Tours

Pruneaux fourrés (stuffed prunes) are a Tourangelle confection of venerable tradition — large, plump Agen prunes (pruneaux d'Agen, themselves an AOC product from the southwest) that are carefully pitted, filled with almond paste (pâte d'amande), and sometimes enrobed in dark chocolate or fondant. Tours has been a center of the prune-stuffing trade since the 17th century, when the city sat at the crossroads of the prune routes from Agen (coming up the Garonne) and the almond routes from Provence, making it the natural meeting point for the two ingredients. The technique requires specific prunes: mi-cuits (semi-dried, 35% moisture) rather than fully dried, ensuring a plump, yielding texture. The prunes are steamed briefly to soften, then split along one side (never fully opened) and the pit removed with a small knife. The almond paste filling is made from blanched almonds, sugar, and a binding of egg white, flavored with kirsch, vanilla, or orange flower water. A small finger of paste is inserted into each prune, which is then pressed closed, leaving a visible seam of green or white almond paste. The contrast is essential: the dark, jammy, slightly tannic prune against the smooth, sweet, aromatic paste. Superior versions use Agen prunes mi-cuits of the largest caliber (28-33 per 500g), marzipan made from Sicilian almonds, and finish with a thin shell of dark couverture chocolate (70%). Pruneaux fourrés are served as petits fours with coffee, as part of a Christmas thirteen-desserts spread (they appear in the Provençal tradition too), and as gifts in decorated boxes from the confiseries of Tours. The best artisan producers — La Maison des Pruneaux, Confiserie du Roy René — use traditional hand-stuffing methods that machines cannot replicate.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
ServesAbout 20 pruneaux fourrés
Sourced0of 6 in BC
Cook
‹ Previous · Profiteroles au Chocolat|Next · Purée de Pommes de Terre — Classical French Potato Purée ›
I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

500 g
Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits
largest caliber, 28–33 per 500 g, semi-dried at 35% moisture
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the almond paste
200 g
blanched almonds
ground fine, preferably Sicilian
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
icing sugar
sifted
Your own market
1
egg white
Your own market
15 ml
kirsch
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the chocolate enrobing (optional)
200 g
dark couverture chocolate
70%, tempered
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II

The Method

1
Place the pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits in a steamer basket over simmering water. Steam for 3 minutes. The prunes should feel pliable and yielding under light pressure; if any resist, return them for a further minute. Remove and allow to cool until handleable.
From the canon — Pruneaux d’Agen (IGP) are France’s most celebrated dried fruit — prunes of extraordinary quality produced exclusively from the Prune d’Ente variety, a plum i… Pruneaux d'Agen →
2
Grind the blanched almonds to a fine, uniform powder. Combine with the sifted icing sugar, then work in the egg white and kirsch until the paste coheres into a smooth, firm mass that holds a clean edge when cut. The paste should smell distinctly of almond and kirsch rather than sugar alone; if it tastes predominantly sweet, it will not balance the prune's tannic depth.
3
Hold each prune between thumb and forefinger. Using a small knife, make a single split along one side from end to end — never fully opening the prune. Ease the pit free with the tip of the knife. The prune must remain intact, hinged along the uncut side.
4
Roll a small finger of almond paste — roughly the volume of the removed pit — and press it into the cavity of each prune. This is where the dish lives or dies: the filling must be sized so the prune closes back around it, leaving only a visible seam of pale paste at the split. Overfilling forces the prune open; underfilling leaves a hollow that collapses on presentation. Press the prune gently closed and set seam-side up.
5
For the chocolate version: temper the 70% dark couverture. Holding each stuffed prune by the seam end, dip it halfway into the chocolate. Lift, allow the excess to fall, and set on parchment. The chocolate should set with a faint sheen and an audible snap when the sheet is flexed; a dull or tacky surface indicates insufficient tempering.
6
Rest the finished pruneaux fourrés at room temperature before serving. They are presented whole — the discovery of the filling is intrinsic to the confection. Arrange on a silver tray as petits fours alongside coffee.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits of the largest caliber (28–33 per 500 g), almond paste made from Sicilian blanched almonds, finished with tempered 70% dark couverture; hand-stuffed to the standard of La Maison des Pruneaux or Confiserie du Roy René.
02
Estate — Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits sourced from a named producer (e.g., Maison Roucadil), fresh-ground almond paste with kirsch, no chocolate enrobing but paste visible at the seam.
03
Market — Good-quality mi-cuits prunes, fresh almond paste made to the entry's proportions; orange flower water or vanilla used in place of kirsch.
04
House — Mi-cuits prunes of standard caliber, almond paste made fresh but with standard-grade almonds; served plain without chocolate, at room temperature.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Touch. After steaming, the prune yields to light pressure without resistance — pliable throughout, not leathery at the skin.
◇Taste. The almond paste reads as almond and kirsch first, sweet second — it balances rather than amplifies the prune's tannic depth.
◇Sight. Each closed prune shows a clean seam of pale almond paste and no split or open flap along the sides.
◇Sound. A tempered chocolate shell flexes the parchment sheet with a faint snap; a tacky or dull surface indicates the tempering has failed.
◇Where it lives or dies. The filling must be sized precisely so the prune closes back around the paste, leaving only a visible seam — overfilling splits the prune open, underfilling collapses it.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Riesling
Ancient Lakes Vineyard — Cave B · Ancient Lakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia

Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.

Without alcohol

No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.

Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
← PreviousProfiteroles au ChocolatOne standard · no exceptions