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Lost In Parisian Patisserie

24th October 2013 By Urvashi Roe Leave a Comment

Once upon a time I reviewed a book called Sweet Paris by Michael Paul.  At the back there is a very comprehensive address list of patisseries, cookware shops and pastry postcodes.  It has been on my wish list to wander through Paris and discover these well known and hidden gems alike.

It started with a map

Last weekend I had the opportunity to do just that.  It started with a map.  I plotted patisseries, tearooms and markets and each of the markers held the metro station for reference and any specialities of each place.

#wheninparis map

Click on the map to go to GoogleMaps and download my map

In reality it was an organised form of wandering

The map was helpful to pin point target district areas but in reality I ended up wandering albeit it in an organised way.  It was very difficult to get distracted because every street held treasures.

Picture1

Every street is a treasure trove

Sebastien Gaudard

Rue de Martyrs was my favourite of the trip.  It is a foodie heaven of independent shops, groceries and cafes.  The patisserie to visit here is Sebastien Gaudard.  A pristine shop in white with white glazed patisserie to match.  The ladies behind the counter were adorably snooty.  I admired the precision with which they displayed the bakes and even the way they steered away from me – as if I would contaminate the beautifully crafted mouthfuls.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-15

Rum Babas, Paris Brest, Eclairs and other various delights at Sebastien Gaudard

Rose Bakery

This was on my list because I’ve had the book, Breakfast, Lunch, Tea for years.  It was much less of a patisserie but the loaf cakes did look very good albeit not classic French.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-17

Rose Bakery, Rue de Martyrs

Popelini

Popelini is on the same road as the two above and specialises in choux buns with a range of fillings.  I tried the lemon which was just the right mix of choux and creme patissiere in a mouthful.  And I took a nice big mouthful! There were also vanilla, salted caramel, pistachio, rose and a changing daily special filled with whipped cream and creme patissiere.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-25

Lines of choux buns at Popelini

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-26

The daily special at Popelini. This was one orange blossom

La Durée

La Durée macarons were my first.  A friend from Geneva brought them as a gift and I have been hooked ever since.  It was rather amazing to see the Salon de Thé with the trompe d’œil ceiling.  The flavour of the day was Pink Peppercorn which was utterly fabulous.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-45

Pink Peppercorn flavour macron from La Duree

Dalloyau

This is home to the Opera Cake so I was keen to hunt this one down.  I was disappointed.  The range looked fabulous but tastes were dry, staff were unhelpful and there was a smell of savoury in the shop which masked my enjoyment of the patisserie counter.  The only Opera cakes for sale were the large square variety which I was not allowed to photograph.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-58

Dalloyau patisserie counter

Marche des Enfants Rouges

Le Marché des Enfants Rouges is supposed to be the oldest food market in Paris and was built under the rule of Louis XIII around 1615.  The name means the ‘Market of the Red Children’ and refers to the red uniform worn by the children of the orphanage that was located nearby. It is still marked by a small iron gate off the Rue de Bretagne and houses a wealth of stalls from fresh flowers and vegetables to Vietnamese Pho. I loved it. It was vibrant even early in the morning when I popped in for these chouquettes.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-72

Chouquettes from the baker at Le Marche des Enfants Rouges

Hugo and Victor

This boutique patisserie and confisserie describes itself as a ‘far cry from pastry shops’ and it is indeed.  I felt I was in an art gallery. There were tall cylinder vase displays of the seasonal signature ingredients. One ingredient per vase – verbena, kaffir lime, fig, pear and almond.  Underneath each of these were further vases housing a creation within the theme.  I opted for kaffir lime macarons and a verbena flavoured St Honore.  The macarons were awful. Dry and flaky shells with a filling that was hard and chewy.  They did not melt in my mouth like the La Duree and I tasted no kaffir lime either.

The St Honore was the complete opposite.  It was topped with a verbena leaf delicately dipped in white chocolate. Crunchy and delicious.  There was the tiniest taste of verbena in the whipped cream but the creme patissiere contained all the flavour.  The presentation also was unusual, boutiquey and modern.  I would certainly recommend this place.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-129

Gateau St Honore at Hugo Victor

Sadaharu Aoki

Having lived in Japan for a few years I was keen to explore this chef’s creations.  His mission is to keep it simple. He says he is all about “Creating something delicious.  To achieve this goal, it is essential to maintain simplicity”.  I think that could actually be a Haiku if it were written in Kanji.

Poetry aside, his creations are stunning.  The sesame eclair was rich with a voluminous pastry cream that had a thick sesame paste running through it.  The eclair pastry was crisp and the layer of icing on the top sprinkled with sesame seeds sprinkled on top just set it off perfectly – visually and for my tastebuds.

I have also been eating his macarons every evening, savouring a flavour at a time.  Last night was the turn of the ‘violette’ which was as delicate and floral as you would expect.  I have wasabi, green tea, sesame and rose to go.

Next time I will visit his tea room as I would have liked to have tried his Yuzu Millefeuille and Yuzu flavouring in the Tart au Citron.  I am a huge fan of yuzu which is a cross between a lemon and a lime.  It works so well with baking.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-131

Japanese inspired flavours at Sadaharu Aoki’s shop

These are a mere sample of my favourites from the trip. There were so many more, almost on every corner.  In fact this glorious pink display with a flawless Frasier was in a tiny shop near the Gare Du Nord.

Urvashi Roe Botanical Baker Paris Oct 2013-5

Local neighbourhood patisserie

I travelled courtesy of Eurostar as part of their new campaign.  This is my patisserie story and I will be sharing a few more in the coming weeks.  You can share your own stories on their microsite and find my tweets and instagram pictures as well as many others under the hashtag #wheninparis.

Have you been to Paris? What were your highlights? What is your favourite French pastry?  Which of the above would you like to dive into? 

Related

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: eurostar, hugo et victor, la duree, macron, Opera Cake, Paris, Pâtisserie, sadaharu aoki, Sebastien Gaudard #wheninparis

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie Bryson (@cookingkt) says

    24th October 2013 at 2:09 pm

    one word – JEALOUS!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 2:17 pm

      I’m going back for Dec and Xmas markets. Can’t wait!

      Reply
  2. Food Ren (@RenBehan) says

    24th October 2013 at 2:18 pm

    Ooh what a wonderful adventure! Exactly the way I like to plan my city breaks! The photos are amazing and tell a lovely story. Bon Appetit!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 2:19 pm

      Thank you Ren. My husband always makes fun of me for being too organised but I don’t think that’s possible. One can never be TOO organised!

      Reply
  3. Amy at love made my home says

    24th October 2013 at 2:33 pm

    Some beautiful looking pattiserie you have there.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 3:23 pm

      Thanks. Wish I could take the credit for creating. I just ate it. Lots of it!

      Reply
  4. agosrani says

    24th October 2013 at 4:21 pm

    Looks fantastic and tempting me to return to Europe just to embark upon the quest of finding the perfect macroon! 🙂

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 5:51 pm

      Oh yes. My search for that perfect one continues. There is the inevitable pierre herme vs la duree debate. I like both for different reasons. I was not prepared to queue this time to enter Pierre Herme though. Perhaps next time.

      Reply
  5. Sarah says

    24th October 2013 at 9:14 pm

    Looks like the perfect Paris trip… you certainly made the most of your time there! And great timing too, we’re spending a few days in Paris very soon – can I borrow your map?

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 9:21 pm

      Of course! If you click on it, you’ll get google maps and you should be able to save it. There are more dots on the map of the other places I went to. I didn’t get to the La Duree Bar for example. That’s on my list for next time and the Mandarian Oriental also.

      Reply
  6. andreamynard says

    24th October 2013 at 9:52 pm

    What a fabulous, tempting array of patisseries! Have to admit the last time I went to Paris was many years ago when hitch-hiking for rag week as a student with my boyfriend – it was February and snowing and as we spent a lot of time freezing by roadsides, far from romantic. This looks a lot more civilised!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 10:49 pm

      Funny. That’s similar to my first experience of Paris too. You have to go back. I already did you a map!

      Reply
  7. Cathy says

    24th October 2013 at 9:55 pm

    How delicious your trip around Paris looks! I’d definitely like to try the Japanese tarts, as I also love the green tea (and bean paste too) that is traditionally used in their sweets.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      24th October 2013 at 10:50 pm

      I’m trying to recreate the recipe for the sesame eclair as I loved the flavour with pastry. Will keep you posted!

      Reply
  8. Vohn says

    25th October 2013 at 1:48 am

    Yummilicious! By complete coincidence I was reminiscing about Parisienne patisseries tonight with my father! Sounds like you had a delicious trip – can’t wait to hear more! Vohn x

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      25th October 2013 at 7:14 am

      I did indeed. Thank you. It was great to go with just a patisserie agenda. No other sight seeing but I still had to queue to get into some of these as they are tourist attractions in themselves!

      Reply
  9. Jayne says

    25th October 2013 at 6:57 am

    What a delicious, beautiful post! Your trip sounded amazing!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      25th October 2013 at 7:15 am

      Thanks Jayne. I can’t wait to go back in Dec. my girls are now also obsessed with this art form so it will be nice to see it through their eyes

      Reply
  10. Aline Conus says

    25th October 2013 at 12:17 pm

    French patisserie is kind of an art form and Paris is a permanent exhibit!
    I absolutely recommend you to try Pierre Hermé possibly one of the best chef these days.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      25th October 2013 at 12:46 pm

      It is indeed. I have had lots of PH macarons but on this visit I just didn’t visit due to the ridiculous queues. I love the flavours he crafts and the way these permeate all the layers of the macaron. He does this really well

      Reply
  11. Jaime says

    25th October 2013 at 2:27 pm

    Ah Urvashi, this is well and truly my favourite of all your posts!! I cannot peel my eyes off the delicious photos and recommendations. I am desperate to plan a trip to Paris next year but off the beaten track this time to follow the scent of glorious pastries.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      25th October 2013 at 9:40 pm

      That’s exactly what I did! Such a luxurious treat – almost as indulgent as the patisserie

      Reply
  12. Franglais kitchen, Nazima says

    27th October 2013 at 10:36 pm

    so very pretty. Lovely pictures. There are such wonderfully novel patissiers in Paris. wonderful post

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      28th October 2013 at 7:58 am

      Thank you. It’s great to see the modern flavours like the Japanese so interwoven with the French

      Reply
  13. Aunt Tracy says

    28th October 2013 at 2:54 pm

    The photography is stunning and I feel like I was there with you, tasting it all. Your blog is always inspiring and creative. Thank you for taking me to places that I have never been.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      28th October 2013 at 2:55 pm

      An absolute pleasure. Armchair travels are sometimes the easiest (you didn’t smell that infamous Parisian urine smell outside each station!!)

      Reply
  14. wildcraft diva says

    29th October 2013 at 8:12 am

    Gorgeous eye candy!! My fave place is “Izraël Le Monde des Espices”, 30 Rue François Miron. A tiny shop stuffed with lots of spices. Also Shakespeare and Co bookshop is pretty amazing. Will keep this list for future visits, thanks

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      30th October 2013 at 6:02 pm

      Thanks. I will have to hunt that one down when I go again in December!

      Reply
  15. Keep Calm and Fanny On says

    21st February 2014 at 6:52 pm

    Stunning… Not been for a couple of years now 🙁 but when I go back I’ll be using your guide! Thanks…

    Reply

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Hi I'm Urvashi!

I love food. This blog is a little glimpse into my foodie world which is an escape from two teenage girls, a busy job and my little cafe.

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