In December my daughter Holly and I went on a pastry hunt across Paris. It was our goal to find at least 5 patisseries which we had never visited. Bien sûr, part of the challenge included a sampling of the wares, all in the interest of scientific research!
This photo comes from Eric Kayser which is our daily stop on rue Monge so it did not count in our devious self-imposed contest. On the left is a périgourdin (chocolate, walnuts, caramel) and next to it an arabesque (apricots). I am not sure about the one on the right. You can barely see one in the upper left-hand corner which is a Mont-Blanc (so divine).
There will be more about the pastry hunt and I haven't even gotten to the macaron story (obsession) yet!
22 comments:
Ooo ... what a wonderful 'hunt'. Shall have to tell my travelling partner.
Wonderful to see your blog. Directed to you, of course, by Virginia. Those ones in the centre - arabesque - with a very strong espresso look just the ticket.
Oh, they all look beautiful, but I couldn't go past the périgourdin on the left. Chocolate and caramel all at once, and those little curlicues on top are so pretty!
miam-miam is right!!! Wish I had one of those right now for breakfast (even though I'd have to run a LOT further this afternoon). Can't wait to see more of our patisserie challenge photos!
une belle expérience; c'est quelque chose que je devrais essayer un jour...mdr!!
Yes I'll take one of each with my café this morning. ( Well if they're VIRTUAL, they don't have calories!) I'm eagerly awaiting the macaron story. Will you be showing us some of YOURS??
Bon weekend,
V
Oh-la-la! You and your daughter definitely chose the right competition to judge. It's a tough job, but I suppose someone had to do it! Your photo is simply irresistible.
Good lord. The perigourdin, most definitely.
Choose between chocolate and apricots, moi??? Oh, you make it hurt so good! They look luscious and make me wish we were back in Paris.
Julie -- December was a great time to "hunt patisseries" as the weather was not conducive to sitting in les jardins.
Jilly -- Thank you for your encouragement on my new blog -- I would love to be able to make these.
Shell -- It is interesting that the périgourdin is usually made with walnuts but my southern-self sees a pecan (we say pu cahn'). I think that it would be great either way. miam-miam!
Holly -- Bonjour, ma chère fille, I wish I could get my hands on one of those macarons you made this week!
Brittany -- C'est difficile de choisir 5 (ou 6 ou 7) patisseries parce que chaque patisserie a plusieurs specialitiés de la maison.
Virginia -- macarons will come
Alexa -- Holly was quite an active participant (and judge)
altadenahiker -- I'm with you on that one! Thanks for visiting my new blog!
M -- We did not consume nearly enough pastries, n'est-ce pas? We will make up for that the next time.
Maybe I'll have to stop at Eric Kayser and sample one of the ones on the right and report back.
I really like the mot du jour, so I stole it.
Starman -- Glad you stole it for your blog. Also, you can get some languages that make French seem almost a "piece of pastry" err, "cake" -- Don't you think it is interesting that the mot du jour is "pâtisserie" and if I had known that I could have at least gotten the â in there for a correct spelling on my post? Tant pis pour moi.
If you drop in, tell them I'll be back soon and then go next door and get a Baguette Monge from their boulangerie. Merci
I stole the Mot du Jour too. The other one I had I ditched because all I learned (?) were trés useful words like wheelbarrow etc. At least now I can spell something REALLY useful like pâtisserie! :) Merci
I don’t think that there is a better way to pass your time than going on a pastry shop hunt in Paris – there are so many good ones. What I like is many shops have pastries that are they own – I mean that you can’t find anywhere else. You will have to tell us which pattisserie was your favorite shop.
Here I am lucky to be close to a French pastry shop, owned by French people, where if you close your eyes while eating you may think you are in France. Here is a photo of their pastries: http://douceurdefrance.com/menu_pastries.htm.
Virginia -- just make sure that you know all the idiomatic expressions with your translations -- Ask me 'cause I know!
Vagabond -- Those look delicious! I guess it is good that there is not a selection comme ça near me.
Hi Genie --this post brought back lovely memories, as last year I stayed on Rue Monge & each morning headed down to Eric kayser for le demi baguette and chocolat croissant. your pic is making me hungry!
Dianne xx
Dianne -- Then you too know the distinctive alluring smell of the bread ovens and the lines that form outside as people head home from work, stopping in to pick up a baguette or two. Thanks for reminding me!
Maim, maim - c'est vrai!
Keep them coming!!!
Mad -- you bet! I did not sample nearly enough in June but have lots and lots of "tasty" photos!
Merci
in my question i should have read your bio before i asked my question>>>i love paris too, and quosaints>>>spelling wrong>>>fresh from a local bakery>>soft, flakey>>.more than women i think
Thanks to V for emailing your link to me. Now this is a photo hunt I can sink my teeth into! So many pastries, so little time.
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