Aurélien Cohen’s Pastry Shop
It was high time I told you about my Paris getaway in December to finally taste the pastries of the great chefs I admire. You need to come well-equipped (good shoes and a backpack) and off you go for a few kilometres on foot. I had the chance to try many pastries and took photos every time (and put on a few kilos too, no doubt!). I actually recommend doing what we did — don’t eat anything before you set off! And to avoid making this article too lengthy, I’ll split it into 2 parts. And to think I’m far from having tasted everything… ^_^
To start, the simplest thing is to head to Rue du Bac, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. A fascinating street for food lovers like us. It’s home to some of the greatest shops. A perfect chance to push open their doors for the first time, accompanied by my partner, a food lover of the highest order!
Good to know: As for prices, an individual pastry costs between €7 and €8 (I no longer have the exact prices). The prices are more or less the same for all the pastry shops on Rue du Bac. It may seem steep, but you don’t eat desserts like these every day. Quality ingredients and craftsmanship come at a price.
Hugo & Victor — 40 Boulevard Raspail
Metro Sèvres-Babylone. Our journey begins at Hugo & Victor. A shop that already looks very tempting from the outside. I find it truly beautiful. When you push open the door, you feel as though you’re entering another world, with that occasional sense that it might not be quite my world. A luxurious shop, with sales staff who give the impression of selling high-end jewellery rather than pastries. Not being used to this kind of place, I initially feel a little out of my depth. But then you get swept up in a whirlwind of treats, with breathtaking pastries and Christmas logs (yes, it was December) that take your breath away. The hardest part will be choosing.
Tasting
My partner is tempted by Monsieur Chou, a chestnut chou made from choux pastry, a glacé chestnut bavaroise and a vanilla and chestnut chantilly. On tasting it, my partner is delighted! One of the best desserts according to him.
Angelina — 108 Rue du Bac
We then arrive at Angelina. A shop as renowned as its signature dessert, the Mont-Blanc. A lovely little shop (just as pretty inside as out). It’s tiny and charming. The only drawback in my view: once inside the shop, you can no longer see the names and prices of the pastries (which are perfectly visible from the outside window).
Tasting
I convince my partner to try the Mont-Blanc (meringue, light chantilly, chestnut cream vermicelli), that traditional pastry that has made the Maison famous since 1903, while I opt for a vanilla Saint-Honoré (puff pastry, caramelised choux pastry, Bourbon vanilla pastry cream, light chantilly), another classic of French pâtisserie.
My partner perhaps made the mistake of tasting this Mont-Blanc right after the Monsieur Chou from Hugo & Victor, and for him, this dessert turned out to be very disappointing. Too heavy, too much chestnut cream, just too much… and he still had that delicious memory from Hugo & Victor in his head. As for me, it was the first Saint-Honoré I had ever eaten, it was very good, caramelised to perfection (and yet I’m not a big fan of caramel), but I found it a little light on Bourbon vanilla pastry cream.
La Pâtisserie des rêves — 93 Rue du Bac
We finally arrive at La Pâtisserie des rêves, Philippe Conticini’s shop that I had been wanting to discover for a good while! We find a lovely little shop, dressed in pink, with glass cloches displaying delicious pastries in large format and individual sizes. I love the idea! And strangely, I don’t feel that “luxury pastry shop” awkwardness I felt before — you feel at ease here and want to see and taste everything!
Tasting
From everything the chef offers, we decide to try the Paris-Brest (of course!), the grand cru vanille, the vanilla flan, the pistachio raspberry chou and an XXL madeleine.
Philippe Conticini’s Paris-Brest (which I’ve already had the chance to make at home — an absolute winner, by the way!) has been voted the best Paris-Brest in Paris. No less! I’ve become completely addicted to this pastry. The choux pastry combined with the wonderfully crunchy streusel adds a slightly salty note and an extra layer of texture. The mousseline cream is light and airy, a true delight in itself, especially as it conceals a praliné heart. Pure indulgence! I love it!
The pistachio raspberry chou was somewhat disappointing according to my partner. Personally, the look of the chou doesn’t make me think of raspberry (apart from the little pink bead on top) or pistachio. The colour of the chou has a lot to do with it. A decent dessert, nothing more.
The grand cru vanille was created for true vanilla lovers (which I am!). It’s made up of a vanilla Duja crunch, a vanilla sponge, an insert of dark vanilla crémeux and a white chocolate and vanilla mousse. As Philippe Conticini so perfectly puts it, it’s like a big hug. The vanilla flavour is very pronounced but I wasn’t completely won over. I felt it lacked a little texture (perhaps more crunch?). For my partner, on the other hand, it was THE pastry he preferred.
That leaves the vanilla flan and the little madeleine (well, relatively speaking, because it’s absolutely enormous!). The madeleine has a nice vanilla flavour but nothing exceptional. As for the flan, I didn’t really take to it, but it has to be said it’s my favourite pastry, I’ve tried many of them and I like it in a very particular way (incredibly creamy). My partner loved it though.
A big thumbs up for La Pâtisserie des rêves, which has found the ideal packaging for transporting all these little treats. The pastries sit on a polystyrene base and little pink pins keep everything in place, preventing the desserts from sliding around inside the box. Perfect when you’re out for the day on a little escapade, like us! Brilliant idea!
At BHV Marais
We returned to one of the chef’s shops a few weeks later at BHV Marais. The shop is located in the heart of the kitchen department on the 3rd floor but it wasn’t easy to find. The atmosphere is slightly different but equally pleasant. Here, it’s perfectly possible to enjoy the chef’s little treats on the spot. My partner, who had loved the grand cru vanille, ordered it again (along with a cannelé he quickly devoured), while I tried the vanilla Saint-Honoré (and had another Paris-Brest… you either love it or you don’t :P). I preferred this Saint-Honoré to the one at Angelina. I really like the shape of this dessert, which allows you at each step of tasting to get all the textures and flavours in one go.
Des gâteaux et du pain — 91 Rue du Bac
After a tasting break in a small nearby park (you do need to stop somewhere to eat all of this!), we continue our journey and arrive at Des gâteaux et du pain, Claire Damon’s shop. A shop that immediately wins you over and is well worth a visit. There’s a section dedicated to bread and viennoiseries, and you can also find some artisan products that look very tempting. On the other side, you discover a large, very minimal display case featuring the chef’s pastries. Classy and no-frills.
Tasting
Not easy to choose, but in the end we go for the milk-hazelnut entremets, made up of a milk chocolate sabayon, a praliné layer and an almond sponge with lightly toasted Piedmont hazelnuts. A truly accomplished dessert, the interplay of textures is incredible and the flavour… oh my, a true delight!
Jacques Genin — 89 Rue du Bac
A few steps away is the shop of Jacques Genin, a truly great chocolatier. When you walk into this shop, you get that sense of great luxury (even more pronounced than at Hugo & Victor). The shop is very large and bright, with a clean, refined style. There are a few Asian tourists stocking up on chocolate, which gives us time to take a tour of the shop. But we won’t be buying anything. We still have a long way to go 😉
Pierre Marcolini — 78 Rue du Bac
We continue down Rue du Bac and arrive at the shop of Pierre Marcolini, a great Belgian chocolatier. We go in out of curiosity but I won’t lie to you — it’s hard to imagine buying anything after everything we’ve already eaten ^_^ The shop is very small, with lots of chocolate bonbons but also some very beautiful Christmas logs (in large format but also individual sizes). I almost gave in to a little log with exotic flavours but my stomach couldn’t take any more. Especially as our journey isn’t over yet.
Acide Macaron (Jonathan Blot) — n°10 Rue du Bac
A small disappointment on arriving at n°10 Rue du Bac: Jonathan Blot’s (Acide Macaron) shop no longer exists.
Cyril Lignac — 133 Rue de Sèvres
Finally, and I hadn’t thought of it before embarking on this big gourmet stroll, it turns out that Cyril Lignac has a shop nearby. The shop is close to the Sèvres-Babylone Metro station. We decide to go anyway but take the Metro.
Cyril Lignac’s shop is very small. There’s bread, beautifully presented, and a display case brimming with the chef’s signature pastries. One major downside in my view: a real lighting problem (was it just a problem that day?). The pastries are not showcased at all well, there are ugly shadows that really spoil the look of the display case, what a shame! That said, it didn’t stop us from treating ourselves!
Tasting
We chose the praliné and peanut chou (choux pastry, financier and peanut praliné, crunchy pearls, hazelnut and vanilla whipped ganache, crunchy Dulcey chocolate shell), the équinoxe (light Bourbon vanilla cream, salted butter caramel crémeux heart and speculoos crunch) and the cappuccino (soft almond sponge, caramel crémeux, light Colombian coffee mousse and mascarpone cream).
I didn’t try the cappuccino (I don’t like coffee) but my partner loved it — a genuinely great cappuccino flavour. He still remembers it fondly. And we weren’t disappointed with the other 2 desserts either. The équinoxe is delicious, with a superb interplay of textures as a bonus. As for the chou, “wow”, as the chef would say — I loved it!! An address not to be missed, that’s for sure!
Eric Kayser
We also made a little stop at Eric Kayser‘s bakery. Such a simple and no-fuss bakery, I almost want to call it “the neighbourhood bakery” if it weren’t Eric Kayser’s. It was also the opportunity to buy la baguette Monge, this baker-pastry chef’s signature loaf. Made from wheat flour and liquid sourdough starter, it’s a crunchy baguette with a creamy crumb and a delicate flavour of milk and hazelnuts. It was also a chance to sit down for a while before heading home.
Our adventure ends here. We had planned to pay a visit to Christophe Michalak’s new shop and to Christophe Adam’s, but we had to face facts. It’s impossible to do everything in a single day. We couldn’t eat everything on the same day, so we left with some pastries that we finished tasting at home.
So I’ll see you very soon for the next chapter of our adventure full of treats. 🙂