Henrianna : choux

Showing posts with label choux. Show all posts

8/11/17

L’éclair de Génie: A Treat Worth Trying

As avid Instagrammers and Parisian food aficionados may have noted, L’éclair de Génie is the reigning king of the éclair. This cleverly named business - a play on words literally meaning "a flash of genius" - with Chef Christophe Adam at the helm, provides customers all over the world with beautiful éclairs, ice cream, confections and more.

With shops all over Paris, its place of birth, it is hard to avoid the white and yellow facades and inviting pastry counters of L’éclair de Génie. Even in my neighborhood in a suburb west of Paris, an éclair delivery truck is often parked around town. The vans are adorned with photographs of immaculate éclairs of every color.

The shops I passed most often were those in Le Marais and on Rue Montorgueil. Usually, I would just pass by. Sometimes, I would venture inside to take a peek. Once or twice, I indulged in one of the scrumptious morsels.

Over the summer, my sister visited from the US and we stopped into the storefront in Le Marais to see what they had to offer. At the time, the shop was featuring a box of 4 mini eclairs for 10€. Naturally, we took a box without hesitation and were delighted to try the lemon-coconut, salted butter caramel, raspberry, and strawberry varieties. The four wonders were nestled into a beautifully designed box. Careful attention had clearly been paid to each one of the 3-bite pastries and the decorations were perfect reflections of their flavors.

The Raspberry éclair was glazed in pink and adorned with shimmery covered pop rocks. The filling was tinted pink and had a bright fruity taste.

The Lemon Coconut was filled with a rich cream and topped with a tiny coconut marshmallow and thin strip of coconut.

The Strawberry variety was set off by a smidgen of gold leaf and a tiny wild strawberry. Don't forget the fresh berry filling which had a pleasant level of acidity.

And the classic Salted Butter Caramel was shining in gold and caramel glaze and studded with crunchy chocolate morsels. The filling was perfectly thick and well-emulsified.

If you head in for a treat, don’t skip the classic chocolate flavor, and make sure you try something seasonal on the menu. Chef Christophe Adam has perfected his product and made it worthy of all éclair accolades. Stay delicious L’éclair de Génie!

Find the most convenient location for you here.

4/26/17

The Jacques Genin Experience

You are visiting Paris. You have 20 or 30€ left in your wallet. The weather has just taken a turn for the gray and you have a hankering for a pick-me-up. Of course, you could go to Le Bon Marche to hide from the rain, find some gifts to take home, and have a bite to eat. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to head over to Shakespeare and Company or Pont Neuf for a boat ride. But, if you really want to spend your time and those last few euros wisely, you really ought to make your way to Jacques Genin.

This perfect boutique and tea room is located in a tastefully updated old building on Rue de Turenne. Chocolates and confections are expertly displayed and a serene tea room is set up on one side of the shop with fresh flowers on each table and a spiral staircase to heaven/the pastry kitchen

I have visited this special place many times now and have grown to have a great respect for Chef Jacques Genin and the quality he manages to maintain day in and day out. The chef himself seems truly to be present in his kitchen. During one of my visits, he descended inconspicuously to place bags of perfectly baked madeleines on the sales counter. My companions and I saw him strolling outside with an interviewer and he later returned to go back to his kitchen. My mom, who was visiting from the US, told him how exquisite her experience was and he humbly thanked her like a real professional.

Each front-of-the-house employee is dressed in refined black clothes and they all at least speak French and English. If you can, visit around the time of a holiday to see the elegant chocolate displays and take one home with you to enjoy that evening. Because let's be real, no matter how beautiful it is you are not going to be able to resist having a taste. If you are lucky enough to visit when the chef himself descends with a limited amount of some special treat he has whipped up, snatch a bag without hesitation. They will not last long and are worth the price.

The chocolates at Jacques Genin are mostly decorated with acetate cocoa butter transfer sheets. Genin chooses minimalist designs that allow the rich tones of the dark and milk chocolate to shine through. This master works with Valrhona chocolate and he knows how to add flavor to this perfect product without compromising the taste of the chocolate itself. Many of his offerings are delicately infused with spices and herbs while others are filled with classic praline mixes that never disappoint.

If you have the time to sit in the tea room and order a pastry, you will leave Paris feeling that you have had a true French experience. You will have the choice of several beverages to accompany your freshly made pastry. You will be presented with your coffee, I recommend the café crème, a glass of water, a small plate of chocolates and/or pâtes de fruits, and your flawless pastry. Even if you are trying to resist the tourist itch of taking photos of everything you eat, you will not be able to resist documenting these wonders.

Paris-Brest

The Paris-Brest is a pastry that was created in the early 1900s by Louis Durand in honor of a bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back to Paris. It consists of a pâte à choux ring, meant to symbolize a bicycle tire, sprinkled with sliced almonds, baked, and filled with rich praline cream. It is often adorned with a dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Jacques Genin makes the minor change of swapping the almonds for chopped hazelnuts because the praline paste he uses savors primarily of hazelnut.

Tart au Chocolat (Chocolate Tart)

Normally, a chocolate tart is a simple pate a sucree shell filled with a ganache of dark chocolate.

Chez Jacques Genin does not deviate from the original. It is a smooth and crunchy morsel of deliciousness.

Saint-Honoré

The Saint-Honoré is named for the patron saint of bakers. This wonder mixes a few of the most delicious components in French pastry. A base of puff pastry is adorned with a ring of pâte à choux, and cream puffs with caramelized sugar. The cake is filled with crème chiboust and topped with crème chantilly.

Traditionally, this pastry is in the form of a circle. Genin updated its format by beginning with a rectangle and omitting the piped pâte à choux. His version still includes the cream puffs.

Fraisier

Perfect for springtime, the Fraisier is a strikingly beautiful and classic cake. Genoise, or buttery sponge cake, sandwiches a generous layer of vanilla cream bejeweled with fresh strawberries. The entremet is finished with a thin layer of almond paste or marzipan.

The marzipan layer is often artificially colored green, but at Jacques Genin you will not find any fake colors in your almond paste.

Forêt Noire (Black Forest Cake)

This well-known cake originated in Germany, but that does not stop other nations from making it. You will find layers of chocolate sponge cake and whipped cream highlighted with boozy cherries and chocolate shavings.

The version at Jacques Genin is modern and sophisticated. Chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse, and whipped envelop whole cherries and a shard of tempered chocolate sticks like a piece of fancy jewelry to the side of each slice.

Well, internet, now you know my obsession with Jacques Genin. If you want to see the man in action, but cannot visit the shop, check the links below for a few short videos.

Video by David Lebovitz

Video by Mind of a Chef

Jacques Genin

http://jacquesgenin.fr/fr/

Perfect bonbons, refined tea room, and perfect ambiance.

133 Rue de Turenne

75003, Paris

Metro: Republique

27 Rue de Varenne

75007, Paris

Metro: Varenne or Rue du Bac

4/15/17

Eclairs

One of the things that is shaping my Parisian experience most is pastry. From choux-based classics to thin cakes in between layers of mousse, it's my mission to experience them all.

This post will focus on a familiar classic: l'éclair. Traditionally, éclairs consist of baked pâte à choux, chocolate or coffee pastry cream, and a stripe of chocolate or coffee fondant. However, especially in Paris, you will find innovative flavors in addition to the traditional ones.

I've tried éclairs from five or six different places here in Paris and here's my current list. You will find a list with information and addresses at the end of this post.

Maison Pradier

This multi-store patisserie was founded in 1859 and continues to turn out lovely food and create a clean, sunny atmosphere. They've got 13 stores in the Paris area. No small operation. In 2015 they were named makers of the best éclair au chocolat in Paris.

I stopped by their Saint Michel location for a mid-morning snack one sunny day. In their refrigerated case, they displayed their award-winning éclair au chocolat, as well as salted caramel and passion fruit varieties.

I opted for the award-winner. The quality of the chocolate glaze was good, nice and dark. The pâte à choux was baked well, but overall they lacked the perfection I was seeking in a 4€ pastry. The filling was not the most flavorful and the choux was a little soggy, which I suppose in bound to happen with creamy fillings. A good snack, but for me, not the best éclair of Paris.

L'Eclair de Génie

Perhaps the most well-known purveyor of éclairs is L'Eclair de Génie. With boutiques all over the world, Christophe Adam has created a sensation. The meticulously created pastries here are always perfect. One could easily eat lunch in Paris for the 6€ it costs to enjoy one of these treats.

Unfortunately, my only photo of éclairs from this place is dark and unflattering. But, just trust me. These things are incredible. Each creation is classic and new, sweet, crunchy, smooth, gorgeous...

Pictured L to R are: Salted Butter Caramel, Vanilla Pecan, Dark Chocolate, Pistachio Raspberry

Thevenin

From all appearances, Thevenin is an up-and-coming patisserie in Paris. You can grab lunch at one of their shops to go with your bread and fancy pastry. Their éclairs weren't the most beautiful, the choux wasn't baked quite as darkly as I prefer, but the flavor and filling was spot on. The Thevenin éclairs au chocolat are more milk chocolate than dark, which is a nice change.