Paris patisseries | Sugared & Spiced

Des Gâteaux et du Pain

Add: 89 rue du Bac , 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 48 30 74
Hours: [Mon-Sat] 9am~8pm [Sun] 9am~6pm
Website: www.desgateauxetdupain.com
Price: [pastries] €6~7
Tasted on: Apr 2015

Some recent tastings from Des Gâteaux et du Pain. “Pamplemousse Rosa” (€6.80), a new creation from Claire Damon, is composed of rose-flavored mousse, grapefruit segments, grapefruit jelly, and rice flour biscuit. The rose flavor is rather strong, almost too much for me if not balanced by the bitter freshness from the grapefruit. Not one of my favorites from Des Gâteaux et du Pain, but quite nice nonetheless.

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“Kashmir” (€6.80), an intriguing combination of saffron, orange, and date. The bottom is a moist almond biscuit, topped with orange and saffron-flavored date compote, saffron crème brûlée, and vanilla mousse. The flavor combination is very unique and memorable indeed, though I personally am not swooned by it. That said, this could still be a fun try for those with an adventurous palate.

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2014/07/282015/08/05

[Paris] Pierre Hermé (6)

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Pierre Hermé

Add: 72 rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Hours: 10am~7pm (7:30pm on Thu-Fri, 8pm on Sat)
Website: www.pierreherme.com
Price: €4.50~7.30/pastries
Visited on: Jul 2014

Some recent tastings from Pierre Hermé. I’ve been spending a fortune at this shop since moving to Paris, and I just can’t help but get sucked back in there!

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博! Pierre Hermé Add: 72 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris Tel: +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77 Hours: 10am~7pm (7:30pm on Thu-Fri, 8pm on Sat) Website: www.pierreherme.com Price: €4.50~7.30/individual dessert Visited on: Jul 2014

Yasamine (€7.20), macaron biscuits sandwiching jasmine tea cream, fresh mangoes, and house candied grapefruit. Jasmine-flavored pastries often reminds me of bathroom refresheners since this scent is frequently used for this purpose, but phew! – Yasamine did not have this problem. The sweetness from jasmine cream, the fruitiness from fresh mangoes, and the slight bitterness from candied grapefruit combined wonderfully together, and I was pleasantly surprised by this unusual combination.

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2014/07/222015/08/05

[Paris] Des Gâteaux et du Pain (6)

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Des Gâteaux et du Pain

Add: 89 rue du Bac , 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 48 30 74
Hours: [Mon-Sat] 9am~8pm [Sun] 9am~6pm
Website: www.desgateauxetdupain.com
Price: [pastries] €5~6
Tasted on: Jul 2014

Some lovely recent tastings from Des Gâteaux et du Pain. Variation Citron (€6), literally a variation on the traditional lemon tart – the lemon cream has been infused with verbena (one of my favorite herbs to use in pastries!) and dotted with a few fresh raspberries. Light and refreshing.

sugared & spiced - des gâteaux et du pain

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2014/06/122015/08/05

[Paris] Sebastien Gaudard (4)

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Sebastien Gaudard

Add: 22 rue des Martyrs, 75009 Paris
Tel: 01 71 18 24 70
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 10am~8pm [Sat] 9am~8pm [Sun] 9am~7pm
Website: www.sebastiengaudard.fr
Price: €4~6/pastry
Tasted on: Jun 2014

To compensate for a rather disappointing breakfast at Cafe Marlette (more on this later in a separate post), Carin and I strolled along rue des Martyrs to Sebastien Gaudard for some sweet pick-me-ups. For previous posts on this cute pastry shop (which has one of my favorite lemon tarts in Paris), see here, here, and here.

paris sebastien gaudard

For those who wish to take photos in the shop, do note that only 2 photos are allowed per person. Ahem, yes, they are actually that strict about it. On another note, special thanks to Carin for lending me her camera for the morning! Can’t believe I left my battery at home, yikes.

sugared & spiced - sebastien gaudard

paris sebastien gaudard

sugared & spiced - sebastien gaudard

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2014/05/262015/08/05

[Paris] Ladurée

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Ladurée

Add: 21 rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris*
Tel: 01 44 07 64 87
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 8:30am~7:30pm [Sat] 8:30am~8:30pm [Sun] 10am~7:30pm
Website: www.laduree.com
Price: [coffee/tea] €4~8 [pastries] €6~10
Visited on: May 2014

*Multiple locations in Paris and worldwide, check website for details.

You must have heard of Ladurée. The pastel-colored macarons from this luxury patisserie, having appeared in popular culture like Marie Antoinette and Gossip Girl, form many people’s imagination of French pastry. Sweet lovers from all over the world flock to Ladurée for a taste of these double deckers, and apparently Ladurée sells around 15,000 of them each day (though I’m not sure how up to date this number is and if it’s referring to its sales in Paris, France, or worldwide). While I prefer macarons from Pierre Hermé, I do also enjoy the ones from Ladurée – the texture and the flavor are both quite different, and it’s really a matter of personal preference. However, I have not actually tried of any of Ladurée’s pastries during my almost-2-year stay in Paris until just earlier this month. Why?

sugared & spiced - paris laduree

Simply put, I’ve heard negative reviews about Ladurée pastries from industry professionals. This may come as a surprise for many people, as Ladurée is often seen as the epitome of French pastry by the general public, but actually I know of many patissiers who don’t go to Ladurée anymore.

sugared & spiced - paris laduree

Having said that, one has got to tea at Ladurée at least once while living in Paris, no? So on a rainy afternoon, I sought refuge from the downpour at Ladurée’s salon de thé on rue Bonaparte with a few of my favorites.

sugared & spiced - paris laduree

The pastry display at Ladurée is generally quite attractive. This La Fraise Ladurée, for example, composed of light strawberry mousseline, strawberry confit, and coconut dacquoise, is definitely a cutie.

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2014/04/162015/08/05

[Paris] Des Gâteaux et du Pain (5)

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Des Gâteaux et du Pain

The 2nd boutique of Des Gâteaux et du Pain is dangerously close to where I live, and I probably go there a little too often…but a pastry display as neat as this, who can resist?

paris des gâteaux et du pain

So here we are, a few recent tastings.

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Saint honoré mangue et caramel (€6.50), mango cream puffs paired with a caramel chantilly cream perfumed with sweet spices of vanilla, anise, and cinnamon. I had written about this pastry over a year ago after my first visit to Des Gâteaux et du Pain and while it’s just as tasty, I also noticed that the price has increased from €5.40 to €6.50. Le sigh.

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2014/03/022015/08/05

[Paris] Michalak Masterclass

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Michalak Masterclass

Add: 60 rue du Faubourg Poissonière, 75010 Paris
Tel: 01 42 46 10 45
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 12~7pm
Website: www.michalakmasterclass.com
Price: €3.50~6.50/individual pastries, €120 or 260/pastry lesson
Tasted on: Mar 2014

Christophe Michalak, the head pastry chef at Plaza Athénée since 2000 (and until the luxury hotel went under renovation at the end of last year), is one of the top high profile pastry chefs in France. He has published a dozens of recipe books, hosted “Le gâteau de mes rêves” on Teva, been the judge on “Qui sera le prochain grand pâtissier“, yadi yadi yada. Naturally, he generated quite a buzz with the opening of his very own Michalak Masterclass in September 2013, a combination of pastry boutique, atelier, and classroom. This cool video is its best intro, do watch it.

paris michalak masterclass

The boutique area itself is quite small, with a concise display of pastries at the counter. What you can find: Les Fantastiks (an in-between of tart and cake, freshly made in the morning using seasonal products), Les Kosmiks (verrines in various flavors, more on this later), Konfifruits (confiture), and a few other miscellaneous products (even branded pencils and badges).

paris michalak masterclass

Here is a sneak peek of the atelier space. Sleek, isn’t it? The classrooms are upstairs so I didn’t get a chance to see them, but the pictures on Masterclass’ website are certainly looking very nice. It costs quite a fortune to attend one of these classes though, with the regular lesson priced at €120, and a Michalak lesson priced at €260 – but hey, that’s what you’ve got to pay for some private face time with a celebrity.

paris michalak masterclass

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2014/01/262015/08/05

[Paris] Les Fées Pâtissières

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Les Fées Pâtissières

Add: 21 rue rambuteau, 75004 paris
Tel: 01 42 77 42 15
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 10am~8pm (closed on Monday)
Website: www.lesfeespatissieres.com
Price: €3.80/pastry
Visited on: Jan 2014

Les Fées Pâtissières may seem like a cupcake shop at first glance, but it’s much more than that. Conceived by Déborah Lévy and Sarah Harb, two French women who have been passionate about pastries since at a young age, Les Fées Pâtissières is a creative concept that reinvents traditional French pastries into something lighter, smaller, and ultra chic. Each creation here is truly as much a feast for the eyes as is for the taste buds.

paris les fées pâtissières

Managing the kitchen is pastry chef Eddie Benghanem, previously at Trianon Palace and the Ritz Hotel. Realizing the vision of Déborah and Sarah, he transforms the traditional baba, tarte au citron, religieuse, Saint Honoré, and Paris Brest into mini-sized pastries that are just irresistibly adorable.

paris les fées pâtissières

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2013/10/262015/08/05

[Paris] Jean-Paul Hévin (2)

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Jean-Paul Hévin

Add*: 231 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris
Tel: +33 1 55 35 35 96
Hours: 10am~7:30pm
Website: www.jeanpaulhevin.com
Price: €4~7/pastry
Visited on: Oct 2013

Another visit to Jean-Paul Hévin. Read my previous post for a brief intro on this world-famous chocolatier, otherwise, plunge right in!

*4 locations available in Paris, check website for detail.

Yuzu (€5.80), composed of tonka croustillant, dark chocolate ganache, cream of yuzu juice and a Venezuela dark chocolate mousse. Varying textures with an acidic note from yuzu. Lovely.

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2013/10/172015/08/05

[Paris] Jacques Genin (2)

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Jacques Genin

Add: 133 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 77 29 01
Hours: Tue-Sun 11am~7pm (8pm on Sat, closed on Mon)
Website: jacquesgenin.fr
Price: [desserts] €6.50~13 [drinks] €4.50~11.00
Tasted on: Sep 2013

I could hardly believe it myself. I had been living in Paris for over a year, yet I hadn’t tasted Jacques Genin’s famous Paris-Brest. It’s not that I don’t frequent his shop – I’d already been there 5 or 6 times – it’s just that ever since Genin has cut down his pastry production (details here), the offerings at his salon de thé have been elusive. You are likely to see mille feuille and tarte au citron (both are must-tries, by the way) on the menu, but items like Paris-Brest are not always there.

On my visit last week, however, I actually had a chance to try some of these rarer items – and not just one, but three! We managed to get Paris-Brest, cheesecake, and l’éphémère on the table, in the addition to the frequently-seen mille feuille and tarte citron.

Since I’ve already raved about the mille feuille and tarte au citron in a previous post, let’s go straight for the Paris-Brest (€8). What it is: a ring of choux pastry studded with crunchy hazelnuts, sandwiching swirls of gorgeous hazelnut praline cream. Holy, moly, heavenly – I was not disappointed despite ultra high expectation. It’s not too sweet or overly rich, but the serving is generous so sharing is recommended.

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Tag: Paris patisseries

[Paris] Des Gâteaux et du Pain (7)

[Paris] Pierre Hermé (6)

[Paris] Des Gâteaux et du Pain (6)

[Paris] Sebastien Gaudard (4)

[Paris] Ladurée

[Paris] Des Gâteaux et du Pain (5)

[Paris] Michalak Masterclass

[Paris] Les Fées Pâtissières

[Paris] Jean-Paul Hévin (2)

[Paris] Jacques Genin (2)

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