Skip to main content

Des Gateaux & Du Pain, Paris


I can't hide the fact that I have a pastry obsession. It might seem that I would eat just about anything that is made of a tart shell, cream and sugar, but  I am actually very picky about the pastry that I focus on.  While the creations need to be sublime in taste, it is also essential for them to be visually appealing.  Enter Claire Damon, a rare female pastry chef at the helm of a top patisserie in Paris, and one who can hold her own among the giants in the male dominated pastry field.  Damon, who trained under Pierre Herme, opened her own boutique in 2006, and in a very short period of time became a highly regarded figure on the Parisian pastry scene.

The pastries and cakes created by Claire Damon are works of art, some are almost too beautiful to sink a fork into --  almost.  Her boutiques are very chic, and a touch intimidating.  There are usually about ten or so different pastries available each day; all are seasonal, refined, and elegant.

Here are some of the wonderful pastries from Des Gateaux & Du Pain.

J'Adore la Fraise - I Love Strawberries, layers of almond-strawberry biscuit, strawberry cream, and strawberry pulp mousse.

Pamplemousse Rosa - Grapefruit Rose, Rose-flavored mousse, grapefruit jelly, and a rose-flavored rice flour biscuit.


Cheesecake Framboise-Raspberry cheesecake, Tart shell with raspberry cream, cheesecake.


Wild strawberries tart - Fresh wild strawberries, strawberry confit, cream.



Le Lipstick Cerise - Cherry Lipstick, vanilla cream, crème brulee with pistachio, compote of cherries.



I know that this blueberry tart might look fairly ordinary, but this is my favorite pastry in all of Paris. It is called Initiales CD - Initials CD.  This magnificent creation is composed of tenderized wild blueberries, cream infused with hay, and a pate sablee tart.  I cannot fully express the spectacular taste of this very unassuming delicacy.  The soft wild blueberries explode with flavor, the cream has wonderful vanilla notes, and the tart shell is sheer perfection.    



La Vert Absinthe - Flavors of green tomato, lime, fresh mint, and garnished with Angelica - wild celery flower.


Saint Honore Cerise et Pistache de Sicile - Pate sablee, (a rich pastry crust), cherry compote, pistachio chantilly cream, choux pastries filled with pistachio cream.


A lovely display of some of the best pastries in Paris.



Viennoiserie - breads, croissants etc.  You just can't go wrong.


This beautiful apple tart did not come in a small size, but it would be a wonderful addition to a Thanksgiving dinner.



Des Gateaux & Du Pain
63, boulevard Pasteur
89, rue du Bac

Joanna



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bordier Butter - The Best Butter in France

France is in the midst of a butter shortage!  Due to a decrease in milk production and a substantial demand for French pastries all over the world (mainly China and the Middle East), the price of butter has increased by 60% in one year.  The French are stocking up and thus creating shortages.  French newspapers are publishing articles titled "A guide to cooking without butter".  So, with hopes that the shortages are temporary, here is my ode to the best butter in the world.  I'm not kidding.  The. Best. Butter. In. The. World. Mr. Bordier, a grandson and a son of cheese mongers, became a butter artisan in 1985.  He acquired a creamery originally founded in 1927.  The supreme taste of the Bordier butter was first recognized by a chef from the Plaza Athenee while vacationing in Brittany, a beautiful region in northwestern France. Bordier is the lone butter master to still use the old method of kneading the butter according to the 19th century t...
4 comments
Read more

Grandma's Kitchen, Hangzhou

In need of some traditional cooking, we made our way to Grandma's Home/Grandma's Kitchen. We were prepared for a long wait since this is a very popular restaurant, but got lucky and only waited for 15 minutes.  It was after 8pm, maybe that was the reason.  There is a computer at the entrance where one can register for a table.  We just gave our name to the girl inside the lobby, she in turn handed us a paper with our number on it.  As we waited outside, we kept our eyes glued to the screen in the lobby showing the ticket numbers.  When our number came up, the lobby girl gave us the number of our table and we took the elevator to the 8th floor. The numbers are on the edge of each table. I really liked the design of the restaurant.  It was creative in the use of old jars with words scribbled on them, chalk like drawings on the walls and bamboo beams creating a roof above us.    The menu was in Chinese but we...
1 comment
Read more

A. Lacroix Patisserie, Paris

My visits to Paris are usually carefully planned out; practically every meal is decided far in advance, and same goes for pastries, ice cream and macaron.  While I have not visited every pastry shop in Paris, that would be almost impossible given their numbers, I am aware of most of them.  Imagine my happiness when I came across a brand new patisserie, one that is barely a year old!   A. Lacroix is a lovely tea room/patisserie opened by an American woman and a Parisian pastry chef.  Jackie, the founder, is originally from Ohio but has been living in Paris for nine years.  She left her job in the telecom industry in order to pursue a dream of opening a tea salon.  I'm so glad she did!   This is a charming patisserie/tea salon with beautiful stone walls, wooden beams, plenty of seating space, and location that just can't be beat.  One side of the place looks at the Notre-Dame Cathedral! A. Lacroix is not just a pastry sho...
Post a Comment
Read more