The 17th century is considered to be the birth of the praline. According to legend, the first dessert to combine almonds with liquid sugar was created at the court of French Sun King Louis XIV.
Creator of this delicacy is deemed to be the head chef of French field marshal Comte du Plessis Praslin. The head chef decided to name his invention “Praslines” in honour of the field marshal. From this moment on, the field marshal not only used the delicacy of the same name to delight the ladies of the royal court, but also as an icebreaker in difficult diplomatic situations.
However, it took some time for the creation of the fine chocolate pralines as we enjoy them today. It was only in 1879, when Rodolphe Lindt introduced the decisive refinement to the chocolate preparation by means of the conching method, that the delicate glaze of today’s pralines could be achieved.