Firstly there is a well-known digestive in ski resorts from the Alps, genepi… to be consumed in moderation of course…
Génépi is simply the Savoyard word for mugwort ! Mugwort belongs to this large family of plants that grow in the Hautes-Alpes. They are distilled to make brandies and liqueurs, such as absinthe. In the Middle Ages, monks mix genepi stems and flowers with other plants, alcohol and sugar, and macerate the whole thing for several weeks.
Under the Revolution, a certain Charles Meunier recovers the recipe with a monk, and opened his own distillery in Voiron, in Isère. It was there that he perfected the famous liqueur of genepi, tonic and digestive. Its creation is immediately taken over by competitorsbut it was only during the inter-war period that genepi from the Alps became essential: ski resorts were fashionable and a small digestive to pass the fondue and raclette was welcome!
And why not accompany the genepi with a slice of Savoy cake? It really can’t hurt, if the genepi is consumed in moderation, I remind you. The Savoy cake is the oldest of the big cakes known. It is rather light and airy for a cake!
Its dough is simple: eggs, sugar, flour and a pinch of anise or saffron, it’s the beaten whites which give it all its lightness. This trick, we still owe it to a monk. But the cake was not born in a monastery. He was born in a castle, in Chambéry, in the 14th century according to legend. But when it is invented, its batter is heavy and thick, because whites and yolks are mixed together.
400 years later, a priest from the Lyon region publishes an economic dictionary and gives a recipe explaining that you have to beat egg whites to give them all their lightness. The fashion for Savoy cake will spread through the kitchens of the nobility and the bourgeoisie. And then, just before the revolution, Monsieur Parmentier organized a banquet to make the potato better known: he explained to the pastry chefs how to use starch it contains for an even more airy texture! From there, the pastry chefs incorporated starch into their Savoy cakes… Since then, the success of this dessert has never wavered!
So, I summarize. For our cyclists, a small glass of anti-fatigue and digestive genepi, and a slice of Savoie cake light as a feather to keep climbing