Five days in Paris, five days of pâtisserie

And strawberries galore 🍓

Bonjour! Bonjour! and Boungiorno, too!

I was in Paris last week and I’ll be back again. But now I’m in Italy. And then, unbelievably, we’ll be on to the South of France. And after that to Greece! For all the years I’ve been traveling, I don’t think I’ve ever had a schedule like this — planes and trains and buses and adventures, oh boy! Never mind that our plan was to hold still in Paris for two months — one of the longest stretches we’ve ever been able to pull off. I’ll tell you more as I go along, but for today, I want to show you a few of the things I found in Paris in my first five days. I also want to give myself a little pat on the back— unlike last month, when I got April-in-Paris to you just under the wire, I’m not playing catch up … yet.

Strawberries, Strawberries, Strawberries

Stop me if I’ve told you this before, but when strawberries come into season in Paris, they’re a veritable cause for celebration. There are fraisiers, the cake that’s named for strawberry (fraise) bushes — soft sponge, softer cream and lots of berries standing upright, as though they’d been planted in rows. There are bowls of fresh strawberries topped with whipped cream spooned out by the ladleful at small bistros and grand restaurants. And there are strawberry tarts. So many strawberry tarts. (I didn’t see any strawberry-rhubarb cakes — you’ve got to make those yourself and if you want to, here’s a recipe.)

Maison Aleph Tart

One of my all-time favorite tarts comes from Aleph — what the chef, Myriam Sabet, does is elegant, ingenious and tied to her Syrian roots. I love that all of Myriam’s crusts are made from layers of handmade filo baked to a caramel crispness. This tart has pistachio cream, strawberry confit, fresh berries, fresh cream and a hint of orange-flower water. (Take a look here for more about Myriam and the tart; also there’s a recipe for pistachio cream.)

Tartlets from Tapisserie

It was fun to see that one of my favorite small pastry shops, Tapisserie, has as temporary home in one of my favorite grand department stores, Le Bon Marché. Also fun to see this strawberry tartlet with a hint of sumac. And yes, I’ll be playing with that flavor combination.

Viennoiserie from Laurent Duchêne

Viennoiserie encompasses the good things that straddle the line between bread and pastry, between breakfast and dessert; they’re what both boulangers and pastry chefs make. Think croissants and pain aux raisins, brioches and milk breads, and so many things made with laminated doughs. Oh, and cruffins — there are a lot of cruffins in Paris today. Also “New York Rolls” which are copies of the Suprêmes from Lafayette in New York City. The viennoiserie here is from Laurent Duchêne and thanks to Michael. He was out with a friend and came home with these — I know, I know, whatta guy! Back row from top left: palmier (so crunchy), brioche and croissant (truly marvelous). Front row from bottom left: chocolate brioche, chausson de pomme, and the stately cruffin which was filled with creamy salted caramel.

Cookie from Crème

The latest cookie shop that’s making news in Paris is Crème. Crème came from London, has a French chef baking in Paris and says their cookies are inspired by trips to New York. The inspiration has to be Levain, right? I’m thinking that if you like Levain cookies, these will be for you. They’re almost as hefty as Levain’s — these weigh in at about a quarter-pound each — and have a similar texture. The four flavors are: Double Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate Miso and Banana Dark Chocolate.

Marble cake from Galizé

I’m going to be telling you more about Galizé, the new pastry shop created by Caroline LeTouzé. It was Caroline’s dream and it’s remarkable that she made it a reality. The story behind it is delicious and the idea is delightful — a beautiful little shop that sells gâteaux voyage, those wonderful French cakes that are meant to travel or last a weekend. They are some of the simplest cakes in the French repertoire and some of the most beloved. At Galizé, which is only a month old, there are madeleines and gâteau Savoie, financiers and cookies and a marble cake that’s striped on the outside and polka-dotted on the inside.

Random Deliciousness

A strawberry filled cake from Galizé:

A rhubarb-rose tartlet from Aleph:

A lemon-meringue tartlet from Laurent Duchêne:

The tarte Tatin from Balthazar in New York City — the last thing I ate before taking off for Paris:

VV turned one! And shared her birthday cake (cake by GigiBlue) with Gemma. (I made a small banana cake for the family, but when it comes to big birthday cakes, it’s Katherine Yang of GigiBlue!) She also started walking that day!

Gemma got this dress for her ballet recital and announced that the matching bow was beautiful. She twirled in it until she made herself dizzy.

Hoping that all is sweet with you. I’ll keep in touch from the road — hope you will, too.

📚 You can find more recipes in my latest book BAKING WITH DORIE.

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