In the Paris patisserie wars, upscale, boutique-like patisseries battle to stay on top and outdo each other with their extravagant confectionary concoctions. Even a simple strawberry tart can be reconfigured in a whole new way that makes it sexy and exciting, as I experienced last week at Fauchon.
On Fridays and Saturdays for the month of June, Fauchon has set up a strawberry tart stand where you can customize your tart. In total there are 27 variations on the theme and here is how it is broken up:
3 types of strawberries: Mara de bois (large wild strawberries), Fraise de bois (small wild strawberries), and Gariguette.
3 types of crusts: pate sable, sweet crunchy, and caramelized millefeuille
3 cream fillings: nougat, pistachio, lemon
3 sizes: individual, 4 people, and 6-8 people
You choose one for each category and voila! you have your perfect, personalized tart.
I chose the individual tart (although I would have had no problem polishing off the 4 person serving in a nano-second) with the pate sucre, the delicate, tiny fraise des bois, and the pistachio cream. I watched in fascination as the pastry chef skillfully prepared my tart. He took a pastry bag and effortlessly filled my tart, whizzing to and fro with the pistachio cream. He carefully arranged the fraise des bois on top of the cream and packed it in a Fauchon shocking pink box to go. It was gorgeous!
I live about 20 minutes from Fauchon, so it was 20 minutes of pure agony waiting to dig into my tart. Without even taking off my coat, I ravaged the pink box into shreds and dove in, mouth first. The crust was crunchy and cookie like, the strawberries tangy and pungent, and the pistachio cream subtle but flavorful. An harmonious dessert trio in perfect sync.
Fauchon
26 Place de la Madeleine 75008
Metro: Madeleine
Open 8Am to 9PM
The tart bar is open on Fridays and Saturdays for the month of June
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I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
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OMG!!! Do they do this every year? If so, my next trip will be in June.
Posted by: Cheryl | June 18, 2012 at 03:47 PM
Ahhhh, des tartes aux fraises - absolutely my favorite dessert of all desserts...and only in Paris can you procure the quintessential tartes aux fraises. It is not uncommon for me to consume 2 for breakfast, 1 in late morning, 2 at lunch and 2 for dinner dessert and maybe even 1 more in the evening! So yummy!!!
Posted by: Bill | June 18, 2012 at 06:43 PM
Fabulous! Just looked up Fauchon's site and checked out their boutique on Place de la Madeleine; It's very impressive!
Waiting 20 minutes speaks to your tremendous self-control, Richard :)
Posted by: Jeff - too far from Paris | June 19, 2012 at 10:15 AM