The perfect excuse to pause for dessert

There is nothing better than un gateau individuel from a landmark patisserie. But there is something to be said for the neighborhood bakery as well.

So the Pause Détente patisserie is not Pierre Hermé, La Patisserie des Reves or Arnaud Delmontel. But it’s a sweet spot all the same.

Located in the 11the arrondisement, they make giant crispy, custardy éclairs and tarts au citron that are accented with chocolate disks.

Many of their individual cakes are studded with fresh cream or berries…


…macarons or chocolate shavings (as well they should be!).

The big cakes get the same kind of trimmings. You just better be sure you have some help with these beauties.

And there’s even an entire section devoted to chocolate. Pralines and ganache. Milk and dark. Simple and elaborate.


It’s the perfect spot for a Saturday afternoon, n’est ce pas?

98 Avenue Ledru-Rollin, 11eme

A sweet neighborhood gem

With decadent boutiques like La Patisserie des Reves and Hugo & Victor opening alongside an astounding number of cupcake cafes, it’s sometimes nice to revisit old favorites—patisseries that are top-quality and inspiring, enchanting and artistic, patisseries that never fail to seduce and impress and that are (lucky me) close to home. Patisseries like Pain de Sucre.

Opened in 2004 by Pierre Gagnaire’s former pastry chef (Didier Mathray) alongside the internationally experienced palate of Nathalie Robert, the two have been making magic happen in the form of flavored marshmallows (cassis, pistachio, caramel… red pepper!??)…

… and chocolate bars studded with wild berries, flaky coconut or slivers of almond.

And even though they create a world of macaron flavors, and offer lovely and inventive desserts of mousselines accented with fruit compotes and crumbled biscuits and dark chocolate…

…along with spectacularly tempting individual desserts, from raspberry and lemon tarts to almond-grapefruit-chocolate ganache cakes…

…I can’t help but be most wowed by their tarts.

Square, not round, relying more on clementines and limes than apples and pears, flecked with crushed pistachios or speared with rosemary sprigs, these are masterpieces you don’t see often.

Tasty, too.

And bonus points: Pain de Sucre is open on Sundays you can have the ultimate finale to an indulgent spring weekend.

14, rue Rambuteau, 4eme

Blé Sucre’s madeleine: best in the city?

Before I went to Blé Sucre, I trolled through the blogs to figure out what was a must-order. I had a big eating agenda before me and had to make every pastry bite count.

I arrived with a short-list: pain au chocolat, madeleine or financier. I figured I’d eyeball them and then place my order according to what looked most irresistible. Logical, right? Silly girl, logic doesn’t work in a Parisian patisserie.

Of course the pain au chocolat, madeleines and financiers all looked divine. But then so did the pain aux raisins, raspberry bressons and chaussons de pommes.

And so did the chocolates and other bite-sized treats.


And so did all the sweet little cakes.



After such decadent displays, would a modest madeleine suffice in sating my sweet tooth? Would it be enough? In a word, oui.

The cake was moist, light and airy. Dense with just enough crispness along the ridge. And, with a thin layer of sugar glacage on top, it was indeed sweetly satisfying.

January Tour: A hop, skip and a cupcake

One street, three must-eat sweet spots. But since three seems a bit of a gyp compared to the gluttony of other months (well, it is January my friends, the month of great, big healthy intentions), all you have to do is pop around the corner for one last take-home indulgence—the icing on the cake, if you will.

Start at 35, rue Rambuteau. If you know your chocolate makers, you’ll know this is Pralus not by the claret red storefront but by the rainbow of colors of the chocolate pyramids (why they’re called pyramids instead of blocks, I’m not sure, seeing as they consist of 10 squares) and pink-spotted brioche (the famous “praluline”) in the window. The chocolate bars’ colored wrappings correspond to the origin of the cocoa beans. Aqua is from Cuba, violet, from Ghana, mustard yellow is from Indonesia. The pink in the brioche is from the (dyed) Piémont hazelnuts and Valencia almonds that are roasted, crushed and then baked into the sweet, buttery brioche. With either treat, it’s not the colors but the taste that matters (duh), and the flavors are indeed vibrant and delicious.

Speaking of color, a few doors down (23, rue Rambuteau) is the brash cupcake maker, Berko. They weren’t the first to seize the American trend in Paris, but they’re certainly the loudest. Crimson red, hot pink, florescent green, polka dots, gumdrops, chocolate swirls, cookie chunks—these cupcakes cause strollers to suffer from whiplash on the sidewalks every day. Other treats are equally colorful (and sinful), including cheesecake, custardy tarts and caramel-doused shortbread bars.

Jump to the other side of rue Rambuteau, where another patisserie creates sidewalk bottlenecks. Pain de Sucre, which was opened in 2004 by two pastry chefs, is the haute patisserie of the street. Great big, square tarts of rhubarb and raspberry are accented with rosemary; tablettes of chocolate are studded with wild strawberries or whole hazelnuts; and the perfect rows of macarons include flavors like elderflower, lime, chocolate mint and cherry-pistachio.

To bookend this short but sweet tour in chocolate, turn right onto rue des Archives for a visit to Jadis et Gourmande (39 rue des Archives). More gimmicky fun than serious artistry, this Parisian chocolate shop (one of five in the city) has chocolate Eiffel Towers, chocolate plaques that spell out P-A-R-I-S as well as delicious disks of milk and dark chocolate that are topped with dried fruit or nuts.

The incredible, all-too-edible, cakes of Lille, France (part II)

Yes, between Meert’s window dressings and the dangerous, seductive visit to Patisserie Charle, there were other sweet diversions in Lille.

Aux Merveilleux was perhaps the most unique. Rustic, I’d call it. Borderline dated in a Renaissance Fair sort of way, but still charming and delightful.


These are cakes you’re more likely to see in America than France: meringue-coated chocolate whipped cream, rolled in chocolate chips sprinkled with icing and sugar and topped with whipped cream. (I mean, seriously??)

Nearby at Luc Olivier, the dazzling jellies and macarons stood out louder than the pastries.



But what I was most excited about were the chocolates.

Valrhona bonbons in flavors like Tahitian vanilla, Cointreau, lavender, pear and praliné.



I stopped short of buying myself a box of 25, the smallest offered, and instead took a modest 10 home in a cellophane bag.

But it was Patrick Hermand who took the cake. Right?

These little cakes were arresting.


Absolutely exquisite.


Stunning.


Too pretty to eat, almost?


I’d eat one though. Hell, I'd probably eat eight.

The incredible, all-too-edible, cakes of Lille, France (part I)

Pierre, Gerard and Arnaud, eat your hearts out.

I trained up to Lille, in north-northeast France and discovered Paris isn’t the only place where patisserie is prized. I was dazzled by cakes at every turn.

I sought out Meert, a celebrated and historic tea salon. Sure, the millefeuilles, rochers, operas, baba rhums, tarts, muffins and cakes looked good.





But then I kept exploring. Besides Patrick Hermand, Aux Merveilleux and Luc Olivier, I discovered Patisserie Charle.

Incredible creations of pineapple and coconut, pears and salted caramel...

...apricot and pistachio, vanilla and raspberry...

white, milk and dark chocolate...


Too much beauty and temptation for one day.