I’m headed to Paris next week on what I’m calling my “Tour du Patisserie”. I’ve been to Paris a few times before, so I’ve “been there and done that” to some of the most famous attractions. My husband has never been, so we will be going to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, but I have some other things in mind…
…It involves things like…
…This raspberry ispahan macaron creation from Pierre Herme…
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Eating my *favorite* French cake… Le Fraisier! It is light sponge cake with yummy mousseline creme, with strawberries sandwiched inside… topped with a thin layer of marzipan and sometimes honey. It is so light and refreshing. My wedding cake was a frasier cake.
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| Fraisier Cake from Gerard Mulot, source |
I want to try this rose ispahan croissant from Pierre Herme… I’ve read wonders about it… It is a buttery croissant glazed with rose-flavored almond cream, then drizzled with candied rose petals and filled with raspberry litchi pate. I’ve read even for those rose flavored dessert haters, this is like a bite of heaven!
Or perhaps trying this caramel eclair from Cafe Pouchkine…
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This caramel mille feuille (napoleon in English) from Hugo et Victor is mouthwatering… layers of crunchy caramelized pastry with a caramel creme in between.
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A tarte citron with a crunchy shell, smooth lemon curd, with meringue on top looks amazing from La Patisserie des Reves…
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And yes, of course, Laduree is on my list… I plan to visit more than once to try a bunch of different macaron flavors….
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Perhaps we’ll enjoy a sip of Chocolat Africain (aka the world’s best hot chocolate!) at Angelina’s… when my family and I first went to Paris years ago, we stumbled upon this shop which was just down the street from our hotel. We didn’t find out until years later that our local little pastry shop that we’d go to in the afternoons was world-famous! Ha!
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Maybe we will try a St. Honore from Arnaud Lehrer. The St Honore is a ring of puff pastry with pastry creme, then topped with pastry puffs that are filled with creme and dipped in either chocolate or sugar…
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I’ve never had a Paris Brest before, but it is supposed to be like nutella in a bite. It has praline cream layered in-between two crunchy but soft choux pastry sides with some chocolate in the center. Patisserie des Reves is supposed to make a fabulous one…
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I love the fresh fruit tarts… this tarte framboise pistache, aka raspberry pistachio tart from Pain du Sucre is supposed to be delicious…. It has fresh raspberries with a glaze, with a pistachio cake in the center.
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Alright, so I know, technically, that ice cream does not fall into the “patisserie” category. But I’m adding it to my “tour du patisserie” anyway. The three flavors below are supposed to be amazing. They are from world famous ice cream house, Berthillon, and I’m going to wait in line to try them!
Apparently the chocolat noir (dark chocolate) is amazing, but the caramel beurre sale (salted butter caramel) is to-die-for!
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| left, dark chocolate, right salted butter caramel source |
What I’ve read though, is if the fresh wild strawberry (frais de bois) is in season, it is a must try. It is different than the regular strawberry flavor, it contains whole fresh strawberries and is apparently like no other ice cream.
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| fresh wild strawberry source |
I also *love* croissants aux amandes (almond croissants)… even though most of them are made from day-old croissants. This one is from Laurent Duchene, and I don’t have a preference where I eat my croissants from! They are all delicious compared to the ones in America!
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But let’s face it, my favorite favorite thing in Paris is just a plain ol’ croissant. I have been searching for croissants in the US that are similar to those in Paris and have only been let down. The perfect croissant is buttery, light and airy, but crisp on the outside. It has the perfect little crunch, but then it is soft in the inside. While I usually go for the plain croissant, the pain du chocolat (chocolate croissant) is always delicious. The shelf life of a croissant is 4 hours. Thus, we are to only eat croissants before 10am when they are still fresh…
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Is there anything I should add to my “Tour du Patisserie” before I head off to Paris in 2 weeks??
Perhaps I need to add some pepcid and tums into my luggage, after seeing my list! I feel like a little piggy with this list, but I’ve read the best souvenir from Paris is the 5 pounds of pastry weight you gain. And as for the “diet”, I heard French women don’t diet, so I won’t either…
Images are not my own.
If you’ve missed a Paris trip post, catch them ALL RIGHT HERE !
I think I just gained 10 lbs. reading this post! Have a wonderful trip.
We will be doing a ton of walking so hopefully I'll be able to burn *some* of the calories…
It's great post! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, I had fun writing it!