IRMA’S French Pastry Guide

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Being in France doesn’t make me think twice which pastry to enjoy at least every other day. They look beautiful, taste delicious and each one of them has a story to tell. So I decided to get more inside knowledge and tasted them all (not all at once) and now I know which ones are worth taking the extra calories on. The good thing is that the eye too enjoys great pleasure when going out to buy them at a patisserie. The little treasures get packed in small paper boxes which are held together by a pastel ribbon and sometimes a gold emblem sticker with the name of the patisserie. Delightful and so French.

MY SELECTION:

Amandine
A crust of viennoisserie with an almond paste inside, it is a perfect breakfast to take with you while walking along the Tuileries gardens in the morning. It is more nutricious than a simple croissant and might even let you skip lunch.

Tarte Myrtille

It looks like a blueberry tart. Blueberries are the healthiest fruit you can find, with tons of anti-oxidants. The berries are perfectly ripe and sink into the creamy custard and explode with every bite. A perfect combination of buttery, crumbly crust, creamy custard and berries – and it is healthy on top of it.

Caprice
Layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. The bottom layer of cake may be soaked in something alcoholic which makes it the perfect pastry for a dessert in a cool winter night. I love the fact that most times the pâtissier uses fine, very dark chocolate.

Paris-Brest
A donut-shaped choux sliced and filled with a thick praline cream and sliced almonds on top. I love the name of this delicacy although I cannot imagine eating it in a train on my way from Paris to Brest.

Millefeuille frais
Very thin layers of pastry which are layered with pastry cream and fresh, sweet and juicy strawberries. I like to put it in a fridge before I eat it in summer, so it is slightly chilled and holds together well when cut with a fork into small bites.

Figue
I find this patisserie is really beautiful in shape and I would suggest buying it for a tea party or after dinner dessert. The texture is like cookie dough and it’s filled with some sort of grainy, chocolate/fig ganache. It looks so beautiful one can also use it as a table decoration for a dinner party.

Chocolate macaron
It is the world’s biggest truffle, with a slightly crispy coating that crackles like a thin layer of ice and melts into the ganache. How could anything else possibly be more addictive than this? There’s that pure chocolate endorphin rush, but there’s also the taste of perfect chocolate, which makes you more than happy.

Religieuse
A round choux shell filled with creamy dark chocolate custard and chocolate and chantilly topping. Substantial, chocolatey, creamy, rich, yet light. This may surpass the chocolate macaron as far as endorphin rushes. The name is worth ordering it in your favourite cafe.

Chouquettes
They are made of choux pastry and the inside is hollow. They’re sprinkled with large grains of sugar and you can buy them by the dozen. If you feel like it you can stuff them with freshly whipped cream or with homemade marmalade or just enjoy them with your coffee in the morning.

A classic and internationally well known macarons come in almost every colour and flavour, Les Mousses, save the carbs for later and enjoy chocolate mousse for a dessert, sometimes they also have a pastry base, fine Armandes are perfect with ice cream and sorbet, they are like sweet thin crisps with fine almonds, a classic for breakfast, le croissant, the queen of pastries, la Caprice
A classic and internationally well known macarons come in almost every colour and flavour, Les Mousses, save the carbs for later and enjoy chocolate mousse for a dessert, sometimes they also have a pastry base, fine Armandes are perfect with ice cream and sorbet, they are like sweet thin crisps with fine almonds, a classic for breakfast, le croissant, the queen of pastries, la Caprice