I Prefer Paris

Easter 2021: Jacques Genin Chocolate Easter Eggs

Every year I do a personal Easter egg hunt and search for the most imaginative Easter creations at pastry shops and chocolatiers around Paris. It’s always a joy and a surprise what these pastry and chocolate wizards are up to and how they transform Easter eggs into art. 

I visited various shops in the past few days, and some were disappointing, and a few had some interesting choices, but there was nothing they knocked my socks off until I visited Jacques Genin. If you don’t know who Jacques Genin is, he is one of the greatest pastry, confectionary, and chocolate artisans working in Paris. His stunning shop in the Marais, is a temple to his art, and I along with many others are his worshipers. CLICK HERE to read my past blog about Jacques Genin. 

When I walked into his shop yesterday, I was floored by his latest creations. The eggs had incredible textures and colors painted on them and each one is unique and one of a kind. There’s a series that has illustrations of dancers on them and another recalled abstract artists such as Jackson Pollack. There was also a selection of colorful rabbits, elephants, and fish in the same vibrant colors and patterns. It was tricky taking photographs because all the eggs were packaged in plastic and the lights of the shop were reflecting on them. 

Pardon my bad puns but have a hoppy and eggciting Easter. 

https://jacquesgenin.fr/

Jackson Pollack? 

I want to thank everyone for watching my live Montmartre Tour and also for your generous tips to my PayPal account.If you missed it,  CLICK HERE to watch the video and CLICK HERE if you would like to leave a tip in my PayPal account(you don’t have to have a PayPal account), which I would greatly appreciate. Enjoy

Patisserie Fu Castella

I love walking down a familiar street near my apartment in the Marais and suddenly seeing a new storefront. In this case it was Fu Castella, a gleaming new patisserie featuring sky high sponge cakes.

The historic and original cake recipe dates back from the 1600s when a popular sponge cake from Portugal, pão de Castela, was sent to Japan by trading merchants. It was a big hit, and the first shop started in Fukusaya and followed by shops in Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. 

Walking into the shop, there’s a glass showcase lined with scrumptious looking, massive loaves of sponge cake in flavors such as chocolate, coffee, vanilla, pecan, banana (gluten free) and matcha tea with red bean. And if that wasn’t enough to tantalize my tastebuds, in a refrigerated, glass case was a selection of sponge cakes layered with strawberry and cream, Black Forest, and for gay pride, layers of colored sponge cake filled with whipped cream in between. 

There’s a lovely tearoom in the back of the shop serving their sponge cakes, ice cream, iced and hot tea, coffee, and bubble tea and is decorated with white, shiny table tops and chairs, geometric patterned carpet in taupe and beige, and dramatic wood beams extending from the table to the ceiling.

Their homemade ice cream flavors include mango, pistachio, sesame, yuzu, and chocolate. 

28 rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004

https://www.fucastella.com/

Please read my article Five Wonderful Hotel Restaurants In Paris 

https://passportmagazine.com/five-wonderful-hotel-restaurants-paris/

Moinet H. Confiserie

One of the things I appreciate about Paris is the relevance and abundance of confectionary shops around the city. The closest thing we used to have in the U.S. would be penny candy shops, which almost don’t exist anymore, except perhaps Dylan’s candy shop in New York.

 On a corner on Ile Saint Louis, Moinet H. Confiserie is a divine haven for all things sweet. The boutique is not only literally a candy land, but it also has lots of eye candy with its charming displays of wood shelves and tables lined with colorful tins, cellophane bags filled with goodies and tied with red ribbon, chocolate bars packaged in hot pink wrappers, burgundy and pale blue tile floors, and wood beam ceilings.

Moinet H. Confiserie was established in 1852 in Vichy, France, and produces artisan confections. Their extensive product list includes hard candies, pastilles, mints, caramels, chocolates, pralines, caramels, fruit-flavored jelly candies (pates de fruit), flavored marshmallows (guimauves), and even pastille scented candles. They also stock sugarless candies.

45 rue Saint-Louis en L’ille, 75004

https://confiserie-moinet.fr/maison-moinet/

Experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens, and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Shopping Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, Emily in Paris tours, and Chocolate and pastry tours.

Tours start at 275 euros for up to 3 people, and 85 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.

 Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com 

Christophe Louie Boulangerie

I was walking in the northern Marais a few weeks ago, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a sliver of a storefront with a new boulangerie, Christophe Louie. I made a beeline inside and discovered a new world of bread and pastries. Pressing my nose to the glass case, I was in a tizzy trying to decide which pastry to have. I spoke with one of the owners, Guillaume Etlin, and he advised having one of their creampuffs.

Christophe Louie is dedicated to bringing old-world-style Italian breads to France. He worked as a pastry chef for 20 years, and in 2018, he went back to pastry school to learn the techniques to make Pannetone, later studying with a master Pannetone maker in Italy. He then started to sell Pannetone online and decided to open a shop. Christophe Louie has expanded his repertoire and the new boulangerie is filled with breads and pastries including massive loaves of French sourdough bread, financiers, sandwiches, cookies, fruit tarts, and loaf cakes plus loads of Pannetone lining the shelves.

The creampuff was absolute heaven, and I balanced the rich custardy cream with a cup of strong espresso.

12 rue Dupetit-Thouars, 75003

Open Wednesday to Saturday, 8:30 am-7:30 pm, Sunday, 8:30 am- 3:30 pm

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are  walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Shopping Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, Emily in Paris Tour, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 250 euros for up to 3 people, and 85 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.

 Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com 

Sain Boulangerie

I practically went insain at the Sain Boulangerie the other day.

Vincent told me last week about a fantastic new Sain boulangerie/café in the upper Marais and said we must go back for lunch. He didn’t have to twist my arm, so we went for lunch with a friend a few days later. Soon as I entered, my eyes almost popped out of my head when I looked at the baskets and glass cases filled with the most delectable bread, pastries, desserts, and sandwiches. There wasn’t one item I wouldn’t want to devour, and even just looking at them, I could tell they would taste as good as they looked.

I brought myself down from pastry heaven for a few minutes to try and decide what I wanted for lunch, choosing a baguette filled with slices of roasted duck and shredded, roasted beets. Vincent had a humongous arancini, stuffed with rich, gooey mozzarella (which of course, I tried and loved) and my friend had a baguette with ham, cheese, and slivered cornichons.

Now for the crucial decision: what to have for dessert? After much consideration and hand wringing, I decided on a slice of the matcha and cherry loaf cake, with a cafe served in the classic, bottle green espresso cups. Although it was tasty enough, I was disappointed there weren’t more cherries in the cake part, but Vincent’s chocolate éclair is truly one of the best I ever tasted. Instead of having the usual, very sweet layer of shiny chocolate on top, the entire éclair was covered with a layer of dark chocolate and topped with shards of dark chocolate.

Baker/owner Anthony Courteille uses old-fashioned techniques before bread was mass-produced using processed flour. He works with a handful of organic flour producers, and the bread has a reduced gluten content, much lower than in commercial bread.

Sain Boulangerie

23 rue des Gravilliers, 75003 

Open Monday to Saturday, 7:30am-7:30pm 

Sunday 8am-1pm 

https://www.sain-boulangerie.com/

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the book giveaway for Cafe Society by Joan Osburn and congratulations to Donna B. who left the tenth comment. CLICK HERE to order Cafe Society on Amazon.

Café Marie Antoinette/ Au Petite Versailles du Marais Boulangerie and Pâtisserie

A mandatory stop on my Marais tour is for coffee and a pastry is the Cafe Marie Antoinette. It’s associated with the Au Petite Versailles du Marais Boulangerie and Patisserie, which is next door and where all cakes, pastries, and breads are sourced from and baked by the award-winning pastry chef Christian Vabret. 

Au Petite Versailles du Marais won the award for the second-best baguette in Paris in 2012, and we sample the baguette with butter and jam on the Marais tour and also on my food tour. 

We are pleasantly greeted by the lovely Monica, who always has a smile on her face, and warmly welcomes us to have a seat. The interior is fit for a king or a queen with period style furniture, a beautiful hand painted ceiling, and crystal chandeliers and there’s outdoor tables too. 

Once you are seated Monica hauls out a massive tray with mouth watering pastries and places it on your table. It’s almost impossible to resist, so either my tour clients or I will order one if we don’t opt for the baguette. 

Café Marie Antoinette has coffee and hot chocolate plus a sizable tea menu. A savory menu with quiches, sandwiches, salads, a plat du jour, and croque monsieurs is also offered. 

Café Marie Antoinette 25 rue Francois Miron, 75004

Metro : Saint Paul

Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-7pm, closed Monday

Au Petite Versailles du Marais 1 Rue Tiron, 75004

Open Monday to Saturday 7am-8pm, closed Sunday

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

https://eyepreferparistours.com/

LV Dream

LV Dream is a one-year pop-up exhibition (it opened November 16, 2022) presented by Louis Vuitton. The exhibition celebrates the 160 years of the house with a nine-room display of its history, designs, and its collaborations with artists and designers starting in the 2000s. I have seen numerous and similar Louis Vuitton exhibitions in past years at museums and other venues in Paris. Much of it looked familiar and I moved through it rapidly. At the end I treated myself to a decadent pastry at the café upstairs. 

Maxime Frédéric, the acclaimed and award-winning pastry chef from the five-star Le Cheval Blanc hotel has created a special pastry menu for the café. On a long, white marble counter each gorgeous dessert, a jewel in itself, is individually displayed on a pedestal, covered with a glass dome. It was very difficult to choose just one (I was alone and didn’t have the benefit of sharing another pastry with someone else) and finally settled on chocolate entrement. While I waited for my pastry and coffee, I took in the colorful and beautifully appointed décor with eggplant color leather banquettes dotted with fun patterned and print throw pillows, and almost a jungle of lush trees and plants, making me feel I was a tropical, outdoor terrace, which made up for the gray skies and cold temperature outside. The elegant table setting had ruby red, woven placemats, blue and purple water glasses (so beautiful, I was tempted to buy a set in the gift shop) and Christofle flatware. The pastry, embossed with the LV logo, was served on a Bernardaud, white china plate. To say it was sublime is a gross understatement and I savored every morsel. 

Prices are steep and range between 16 to 20€ for a pastry and coffee starts at 6 euros (my café crème was 9€!) but absolutely worth it for the experience. 

After my pastry, I sauntered over to the chocolate boutique with glass vitrines filled with tempting chocolates, which cleverly had the LV logo stamped and sculpted on them. I bought Vincent a box of four chocolates, each one in a different color and with a different flavor. Vincent generously shared them with me. 

There’s also a gift and product shop attached to the pastry bar.

Tickets are free for the exhibit, but you must reserve online. https://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/magazine/articles/lv-dream

You can visit the pastry bar independently without seeing the exhibit.

2 rue Pont Neuf, 75001 (just across the street from La Samaritaine)

 

Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse

Superstar chef and serial entrepreneur Alain Ducasse has expanded his culinary empire once again with a new line of cookies. The new shop and bakery (cookies are made on the premises) is located near the Bastille, a few doors down from La Manufacture, Ducasse’s bean to bar chocolate shop and ice cream shop, now a triple sweet threat on the rue de la Roquette. 

I paid a visit the other day and the storefront was designed in typical Ducasse style, elegant but modern, with a touch of the old. The sophisticated packaging, using the look of old-fashioned cardboard, is a continuation of the slightly industrial look Ducasse started to use with his chocolate brand, and some of the displays had glass domes, showing off the cookies. 

As you read in my former posts, I have been dieting as of late, losing approximately 17 pounds since February, and it was excruciating to have to restrain myself to buy just one kind of cookie. As I perused the shelves of beyond appetizing cookies, I took it all in, not succumbing to sweet tooth. There were such interesting flavor combinations, such as rice, Madagascar chocolate and cocoa nibs, corn, smoked vanilla, and chocolate, chickpea, honey and chocolate, rye, coffee, and chocolate, and their signature flavor, butter and buckwheat. There were also a variety of shapes and different configurations including hexagon shaped cookies, cookie bars (basically chocolate tablets with a layer of cookie over them), palets (a round cookie dipped in chocolate, looking like a super sophisticated version of Mallomars), and biscuits with toppings. 

After much hand wringing and mental torture on trying to decide on one item to buy, I chose something simple, the Croc Fin, a paper-thin cookie in a hexagon shape made with wheat and cocoa, laced with fine, slivered almonds. As much as I like rich and extravagant pastries, I love a simple butter cookie. Mind you, they don’t sell individual cookies, only boxes, and the Croc Fin has nine cookies inside. Another excruciating part was I had to split the box with Vincent. 

The taste and texture were exquisite, and they weren’t too sweet. You can taste the butter, but it wasn’t overpowering, and they were as light as air but still substantial enough to be satisfied just eating one or two at a time. 

 The dangerous part is that Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse is only about a 12-minute walk from my house, and hardly enough steps to make a dent.

42 rue de la Roquette, 75011

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-7:30pm

https://www.lechocolat-alainducasse.com/en/lebiscuit-alainducasse

My final choice-Croc Fin

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Babka Zana

Given the last two blog posts, about a new ice cream shop and a new restaurant, and this one today, it would seem I was on a food binge, which is partially true. The reality is that I have been dieting since February and I have lost 13 pounds but have still ventured to new food shops and restaurants.

Suddenly in the last year or so, babka has been all the rage in Paris, popping up in the counters at traditional and trendy boulangerie’s. I was walking near Place des Vosges a few weeks ago and spotted Babka Zana, a new boulangerie specializing in babka and other Jewish style pastries.

Of course, I stopped in and had to buy something.  The counter was dripping with the most tempting pastries, appetizingly displayed on wood trays, looking like they were just taken out of the oven minutes before, without the parchment paper being removed. After much handwringing about which one and only one to choose, I picked the mother’s recipe with chocolate and hazelnuts. It was near lunchtime, and I hadn’t contemplated what to have for lunch. Since I was a little kid and until this day, a tuna sandwich is my go-to lunch, and when I saw Babka Zana had a tuna sandwich, bingo, there was lunch. Now this was no ordinary tuna salad with Hellmann’s mayo and chopped celery, instead it was made with Tunisian tuna (which I’ve never had, never mind heard of) with chopped potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, Kalamata olives, and laced with harissa sauce and served in a shiny topped brioche. It one word, it was out of this world, and I may never return to my standby mayo and celery again. Dessert was you know what, with a strong cup of espresso. The dark chocolate and the hazelnuts nestled into the soft pastry gave it a sensational taste. I masochistically weighed myself the next morning, gaining a pound, but it was worth every bite.

Other tempting babka flavors include pistachio and orange flower, halvah and lemon, and a special babka of the month. (I wonder if they have a babka flavor of the month club?) Babka Zana has an extensive and versatile pastry, sandwich, and savory menu including rugelach, labneh cheesecake, strudel, kouglof, boreks, tartines and salads.  

There’s a few tables and chairs inside to enjoy your treats.

8 rue de la Pas de Mule, 75003

Babka Zana has a second shop at 65 rue Condorcet – 75009 Paris

https://www.babkazana.com/

TUNA!

La Galette de Rois -2022

Every year starting on January 6th, la galette de Rois (the cake of the three kings), a cake made of frangipane (almond cream paste) and a buttery crust, is sold in patisseries all over France. These delicious cakes celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, where the three wise men came to see the baby Jesus. In certain parts of France the cake is made with brioche and filled with glazed fruit.

A feve- a little china figure is hidden inside of the cake, and whoever gets it, (without breaking a cap when biting into it) is crowned king and gets to choose his queen. The cake is usually sold with a gold paper crown.

Do it in Paris has published an article with the best Galettes du Roi for 2021 Click here to read 

If you would like to make your own, below is a recipe. 

Recipe: Galette des Rois
(Serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb frozen puff pastry
2 eggs
7 oz almond paste

Preparation: Leave the puff pastry at room temperature for about 2 hours until defrosted but still cold.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with baking parchment or grease the pan and lightly sift flour on it. Shake off any excess flour. Roll each sheet of pastry into a circle about 12 inches across. Place one circle on the prepared pan.

Mix the egg with the almond paste until smooth and spread the mixture evenly on the prepared circle of pastry, leaving a border 1 1/2 inches wide all around. If you have a small piece of china, insert it into the almond mixture (you may also use a bean as the fève.
Place the second circle of pastry on top and press it down tightly around the rim.

Beat lightly the remaining egg and brush it on the top of the cake. With a long-bladed knife, press lightly but firmly through the egg glaze marking a crisscross pattern. 

Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and puffed. Do not check for doneness for at least 15 minutes, as the pastry may collapse. Serve slightly warm or cold.

My Paris Apartment for Rent

I am looking to rent my apartment from March 22 to April 1, 2022 a total of 11 nights/10 days.

It’s a spacious, loft style, one bedroom, with 12-foot ceilings, wood parquet floors, kitchen with dishwasher, flat screen TV, queen size bed, a bathroom with a tub, and beautifully furnished with mid-century modern furniture. It’s on the second floor and there’s an elevator.

The apartment is in a great location, in the Marais by Saint Paul, right next to metro station, bus stop and taxi stand. Also great restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and food shops right outside your doorstep.

Price: 200€ per night, minimum of 7 nights. For the full 11 nights, it’s 2,000€ instead of 2200€.

Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested or need more information.

Le Comptoir Ritz

The legendary Ritz Hotel Paris has extended its brand with a free-standing pastry boutique on the rue Cambon, where another legendary brand is located, Chanel. 

The head pastry chef at the Ritz, Francois Perret, who was named "World's Best Restaurant Pastry Chef" in 2019, is now baking up a storm, offering his delectable delights in a café and patisserie. Since 2016,Perret has been making a name for himself with his irresistible madeleines, which where the favorite pastry of Marcel Proust, at the Proust Tea Salon in the hotel. In the boutique, he has added new flavors of madeleines including caramel, fruit, honey, and chocolate. Not only are the new flavors enticing, they also look great, with a gorgeous shiny glaze on them. 

I perused the vitrines of the shop lined with oodles of other gorgeous treats including a fresh fig tart, millefeuille, Ritz au Lait, a Breton sable with a topping of either white, dark, or white chocolate, marble cake, and a dark chocolate bar. They also have a gooey cookie with chocolate chips and hazelnuts, pain au chocolates, and croissants. I was intrigued by the unusual, oblong shape of the croissant (resembling a churros) and bought one to go. I had a difficult time selecting one flavor of the madeleines and chose raspberry. 

The croissant was light, buttery, and flaky, with a little more substance to it that other croissants, and the madeleine was more like a jelly donut, with a dollop of raspberry jelly inside. 

One of my favorite things at Le Comptoir Ritz is a clever gift box, made of wood, which has different illustrations inked on them of iconic figures of the Ritz Paris including Cesar Ritz, the original owner, Auguste Escoffier, and Francois Perret. The boxes come in two sizes, holding either eight or twelve madeleines. 

Another taste sensation is cake shakes, a combination of cake and milkshake served in a cup, with flavors such as marble cake, madeleine, caramel pastry, and hot chocolate. 

If that’s too much of a sweet attack, Le Comptoir offers a salmon, chicken Cesar, or vegan sandwich. 

There’s a taupe colored, leather banquet with café tables and chairs to savor your goodies in the shop. 

38 rue Cambon, 75008

https://www.ritzparislecomptoir.com/en