Sweet Paris : A pastry review for the uninitiated
If you could only do one thing in Paris, my recommendation would be : eat. French cuisine resonates with hundreds of years of culture, history, and yes, even politics. The variety multiplies with each region of the country, changing with the seasons and evolving in the hands of skilled chefs. Pâtisserie (pastry) is one of those very French foods that cast a spell over me when I first arrived in Paris. A frosted birthday cake was about as close to an artfully decorated pastry as I had ever come during my life in the United States. On every corner in Paris, it seemed, a window opened upon rows and rows of shapely cakes and tarts, the names of which had no apparent connection with their composition. L’Opéra, for example, says nothing about this cake’s seven alternating layers of coffee buttercream, almond biscuit and fudgy chocolate ganache. It can be frustrating to be confronted by such abundance with so little time. I’ve decided to start a review of sorts to aid the uninitiated visitor in his or her discovery of the French pâtisserie.
I’m going to start with one of my personal favorites, the macaron. This at-once soft and crunchy ‘cookie’ is often confused with the mound of shredded coconut commonly referred to as a ‘macaroon’ in the United States (the French have that too, but they call it a rocher de noix de coco). The history of the macaron stretches back to its medieval origins in Europe, followed by it’s journey from Italy to France during the Renaissance. The traditional version is a speciality of Lorraine, and has been so since two sisters of the order Les Dames de Saint Sacrement perfected the recipe in the 18th century (it’s still secret, by the way.) The Lorraine macaron is a button of almonds, powdered sugar and egg whites, three to five centimeters in diameter. When cooked to golden perfection, the cookie’s crispy exterior belies a soft chewy center bursting with almond flavor.
The Parisian macaron --- the variety you are most likely to encounter in the capitol – was developed by the pâtissier (pastry maker) Ladurée in the early 20th century. It has very little in common with the original macaron, aside from general shape. The Ladurée variety is a cookie sandwich of two macarons and a ganache center. The company is known for its ecelectic selection of flavors and colors from simple chocolate to lime-basil and chestnut. Though Ladurée is popular for its towers of multi-hued macarons (now its signature product) your neighborhood boulagerie-patisserie no doubt has their own excellent recipe. I buy mine just around the corner from my apartment for 0.80€ a piece.
You probably won’t find anything like the macaron outside of France, so make sure you try this intriguing conbination of chewy meringue and creamy filling before you leave. This bite-size delight is the perfect introduction the divine world of French pâtisserie.
