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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lines of choux buns at Popelini
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
one word – JEALOUS!
I’m going back for Dec and Xmas markets. Can’t wait!
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!
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!
Some beautiful looking pattiserie you have there.
Thanks. Wish I could take the credit for creating. I just ate it. Lots of it!
Looks fantastic and tempting me to return to Europe just to embark upon the quest of finding the perfect macroon! 🙂
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.
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?
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.
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!
Funny. That’s similar to my first experience of Paris too. You have to go back. I already did you a map!
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.
I’m trying to recreate the recipe for the sesame eclair as I loved the flavour with pastry. Will keep you posted!
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
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!
What a delicious, beautiful post! Your trip sounded amazing!
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
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.
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
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.
That’s exactly what I did! Such a luxurious treat – almost as indulgent as the patisserie
so very pretty. Lovely pictures. There are such wonderfully novel patissiers in Paris. wonderful post
Thank you. It’s great to see the modern flavours like the Japanese so interwoven with the French
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.
An absolute pleasure. Armchair travels are sometimes the easiest (you didn’t smell that infamous Parisian urine smell outside each station!!)
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
Thanks. I will have to hunt that one down when I go again in December!
Stunning… Not been for a couple of years now 🙁 but when I go back I’ll be using your guide! Thanks…