The Best Pastries & Chocolate In Paris | Kirsten Tibballs

Paris, one of my favourite cities in the world, and certainly the leader in all things chocolate and patisserie, can be a little bit confusing when you're coming to Paris to know where to visit and where the best shops are. So I've selected for you my favourite both patisserie and chocolate stores. I'm here at the Patisserie of Cedric Braulé at the La Maryse Hotel in Paris. Now the only day this patisserie is closed is Monday. Do yourself a favour and drop into the patisserie. It's open in the afternoon, but the favourites do sell out very quickly. There's five of the fruits or his classic products that are sold, but today the Noisette tart is already gone, unfortunately. So we've just purchased the almond and hazelnut Paris brass, and we're going to have a taste. So now for the taste test, if you do want to sit down and enjoy Cedric's patisseries, you can have afternoon tea at the La Maryse, but it does take quite a while to get in because there's a long waiting list. So I would book at least a couple of months in advance if you're planning to go to Paris. Now there's five patisseries to choose from when you go to Cedric's patisserie, and they will change seasonally. So here I've picked the choux pastry, and this particular choux pastry is what we call a Paris brass. So this was actually first invented for the bike race from Paris to Brest. So the shape represents a bicycle wheel. This particular one is filled with a combination of almond and hazelnut praline. You can see roasted almonds on the outside. Looks absolutely beautiful. It's a classic French patisserie product. Depends how you look at it, whether it's unfortunate or fortunate. When you're dealing with choux pastry, it must be eaten on the same day it's created. So it must be eaten today. So let's have a taste. So this has multiple layers in there. So it looked like a heavier praline in the base and then a lighter cream on top. That's quite a big morsel to fit in my mouth. Let's see how I go. Now I'll admit that I've actually tried at least 20 of Cedric's creations. And this is the first time I've tried this one. And I would say it's number two after the noisette or the hazelnut. It's absolutely beautiful. I'm going to go back for another spoon. So I'm here in the production kitchen of La Marise Hotel. So this is the baking section of the kitchen. It's a really tight kitchen. But they actually have 30 pastry chefs working out of here under Cedric, who designs all the products that are created for both the restaurant, the afternoon tea, and for his patisserie. Sometimes it's no. Sometimes it's 10. How much for? 170. Yes. Have a look at these beautiful petit gateaux that Cedric has brought out for us to try. So here we have the Almond Eclair. We have the Lime, Coffee Religious, and the Pear Tart. So we're going to break in and have a taste of these. In his actual store, you can watch these creations being made from 6 a.m. till noon. And then the shop opens at noon until sold out. That's a lot. I think we're meant to share that. Yeah. This is a chocolate petit gateau from Cedric, made with 100% chocolate from Alain Ducasse. Oh, wow. Absolutely beautiful. I know it's been a lot of dessert so far, but how can you say no? This is one of the desserts at La Marise from Alain Ducasse restaurant. It's a coffee dessert. It's so thin. Look at that pastry and the filling inside. It's beautiful. The texture of that, I shouldn't talk with my mouth full, but the texture of that and flavour is superb. The first Pierre Hermé Paris boutique actually opened in Tokyo in 1998. It was then closely followed by the first Paris boutique, which was opened in 2001. Pierre now has stores right throughout Paris. Some, you can take away the patisseries, but others you can actually dine in. Here at Pierre Hermé's of Indulge is some puff pastry, almond cream, candied orange, a thin layer of almond meringue and caramelised almonds. Looks absolutely amazing. I'm going to do the right thing and use a knife and fork this time. So let's see. So crunchy. Here we go. I feel like I'm always eating in front of you. I must say, best Vansuari pastry I have ever tasted. And that's a big call. It's actually the crunch layer on top that's my favourite, which I believe is the thin layer of almond meringue. So it's egg white and almond. And when that's baked, it's super, super crunchy. Inside, there's a little bit of almond cream there with some candied orange to it. The orange is really quite subtle. It's not strong at all. But it's this texture that I keep coming back to on top, that crunchy texture. It has a beautiful flavour, but in the mouth, it's amazing. I feel like a two-year-old with all the mess I made, but that was really yummy. Pierre Hermé is world-renowned. There's no question about it. But what he is most famous for It's a combination of rose, lychee and raspberry, which is now a very common combination, which Pierre himself is the first one to put those flavours together. Lagerée was first established in 1862 and became quite famous at that time for their tea rooms. What they're world-famous for now is the macaron. And actually, it was Lagerée that first put two dry macaron shells together with a filling. In September 1997, Lagerée opened at 75 Avenue Champs-Élysées, the most famous store that Lagerée has. Lagerée now has multiple stores in Paris and around the world. Rather than queue for an hour for a morning tea, I've got some takeaway, which is a little bit cheaper, and then I can eat it at my own leisure. Now, I've got a spread here from Lagerée, because I couldn't choose just one thing. It was Catherine Medici in Italy who actually brought macarons from Italy to France. But at that time, they were just the shell, the biscuit, without any filling at all. So it wasn't until the mid-19th century that pastry chef Pierre Desfontaines actually put the two shells together with the filling inside. So we can actually thank Lagerée in France for the macaron as we know it today. So I couldn't resist buying a few macarons. Now, every season, they bring out new macarons and different flavours, but they do keep the classics, like chocolate, coffee, caramel, vanilla. I purchased a couple of different flavours to try, one classic as well as a couple of new ones. What I also did is I purchased a pettigato and an eclair. So the eclair is actually their biggest seller in terms of small cakes. And this is the pettigato that I got. And this is the eclair. Chocolate eclair, of course. Now, the eclair itself is actually pretty plain. I would say that that is solid chocolate on top, so pretty basic. When you have something as simple like that, for me, it has to taste exceptional. But it's their best seller, so it must taste all right. This pettigato itself is very rich. It's chocolate, peanut and caramel. Usually, Lagerée's style is very feminine, very pretty, where I think this is more indulgent. And then, of course, we have the macaron. Now, if you're nostalgic or you're a purist, Lagerée would be the place in Paris to go to select your macaron, which is where they actually originated from. Now, I'm going to start with the eclair. So choux pastry should be eaten on the same day it's made because the moisture coming from the cream it's filled with will make the pastry quite soft, and then it's never as good to eat. There's never really a ladylike way to eat the eclair, so I'm going to break it in half. Trying the chocolate eclair first. It's got a really decadent, rich chocolate flavour. But I'm sorry, Lagerée. In my opinion, you're much better off if you're a lover of eclairs going to Eclair de Genie. The pastry chef at Lagerée is Claire Halzer. To be honest, a lot of their products are very classic and don't change very often, but you will at Valentine's Day, Christmas and Easter. You'll get a customised range for that period or season. For me, a macaron, once it's made, should sit for at least a day before it's eaten so that the shell's not too crunchy. I know that Lagerée have a sequence and a process that the macarons go through before they go to you at the counter. So this particular macaron is coconut and lime. I feel like I'm dissing two of their products. But if I have to choose, I much prefer Pierre Hermès macarons to Lagerée. It's still really good and yummy. I just find the filling in Pierre Hermès really beautiful in terms of texture, and it's a great contrast with the shell. Now, this is licorice, but I tasted this before the coconut. It's a whole other experience, much better than the coconut in terms of flavour and texture. Then I come to my third choice of macarons. This one's a little bit unusual. It's violet, chocolate and pepper. The violet really is quite prominent, overpowers at the start, but then you get coming through a small amount of pepper, which is really quite nice. Now, macarons themselves are really sweet. So if you're not a sweet tooth, I would recommend you avoid the macarons and go for something that you know won't be quite as sweet. Now we're at the Pettigato. And I do sound like I'm a little bit down on Lagerée, but I want to give you my true experience and what I think of each of the products that I actually taste. So... It's cute that they've got a little medallion there. And this one's actually made of chocolate with the L on it. A lot of the medallions with the branding on them are made of cardboard. So make sure you check before you bite in that it's not actually cardboard. So I've got peanut caramel chocolate and marshmallow on top. It was quite hard to cut through, so I'm not sure if it's shortbread on the side or the base. It is, it's peanut shortbread, or as they would say in France, peanut sablé. So that's actually around the base and up the sides. It's a dominating flavour, but it matches perfectly with the caramel. It's a really well thought out and beautifully made Pettigato. What can I say? Patrick, Patrick Roger. You're a lover of chocolate, you must come here. He often has sculptures of different creations which are seasonal, but just the chocolates themselves are a big drawcard. I'm going to try his lime dark chocolate ganache before I test the hazelnut and almond praline. Great. Now everybody likes different flavour profiles when we talk about chocolate and patisserie. I prefer classic flavours myself. I'm never after something like Tabasco or chilli or prawn or something really out there. And this is a great example of what I love. These are almond and hazelnut praline chocolates. They've got a milk coating which I think matches the best with praline, but that's my personal opinion. Patrick Roger is famous around the world for the quality of his chocolates. He's actually a Meilleur Ouvrier de France, which means he was awarded Best Craftsman for his chocolate making skill by the French government. And it shines through in all of his products. So regardless of what you choose, I don't think you'll be disappointed. The other advantage of a praline, particularly if you're travelling, is it has a really long shelf life because it has a limited amount of water in there. So normally if you're buying a praline, you know that you can keep the chocolates for an extended period of time. Now I haven't tried this particular chocolate before, but I have purchased these as a gift. I think what I like about it as well, a lot of what makes me like a product is the texture. And you can see already by the exterior that they've got a crunchiness on the outside, which I know I'm going to love. Now I promise not necessarily all of them will go back to Melbourne, but let's say a lot of them will because I can't reseal the pack. And I'm working out if I can shuffle them in so then no one will know I ever took one. When I enter a chocolate or patisserie store, I always ask, what's a bestseller? And this is one of the bestsellers, and I can see why. I'm here at Eclair de Genie, otherwise known as Genius Eclair. Now this is a patisserie by Christophe Adam. The most popular eclair is a caramel eclair, but they do have different eclairs that they bring out every single month. It's always awkward and very unladylike to taste an eclair, but let's see how we go. The word eclair comes from the French word lightning, and that's because classically eclairs are really cracked and uneven. So to get an eclair that's not only perfect in shape and finish is quite the challenge, but Christophe Adam has absolutely nailed it. Each eclair looks identical, and no matter which store you go to, not only here in Paris, but now globally, they'll all look identical. The beauty of this caramel eclair is it's a beautiful flavour without being too bitter for a caramel or too sweet. I loved eclair until 2002, so I worked a lot. I think I lived with the eclair all of my life. And of course, with Eclair de Genie in Paris, in China and Japan, we have now eight countries. I love to create a lot of new eclairs all over the year, and now we created 350 eclairs in six years. I'm here at Yann Tuberer Patisserie, one of many here in Paris, and I'm about to try the famous mille-feuille. Now, they only produce a limited number of these per patisserie per day, and it's made when you order it so that the pastry itself doesn't go too soft. What's amazing with this mille-feuille, or it's quite unique, is the texture of the pastry and how thin it is. So it's really, really ultra-thin, so when you break into it, it should break very, very easily. What's unique about Yann's patisserie is that the pastry chefs not only work in production, but they also have to work here in the shops, finishing the product, and also serving and helping the customers. He doesn't use any artificial food colours, so everything is natural and everything is handmade. So you can see, even with a plastic knife, how easily you can actually get through the layers, and what you're looking for in a mille-feuille is a texture of cream that's not too firm. Beautiful in texture, but also beautiful in flavour, and look how thin that pastry is. It's super, super thin, which is why you can break into it so easily. The reason the mille-feuille is made as you order it is so that the pastry itself stays nice and crunchy. If it sits for too long with the creme patissiere inside, it will go soft very quickly. Now, I understand there is a high risk of me being diabetic at the end of this trip, but with so many beautiful pastries to try, I can't seem to stop. I'm here at Angelina Patisserie in Rue de Rivoli. Now, for me, this is a classic Angelina patisserie to visit. There are a few that you can actually come to in Paris. Now, I'm here because, for me, this is the best hot chocolate in Paris. It is really rich, but when you add a little bit of creme to it, for me, it's perfect. I never like to pour it all out so that I've got two cups worth of hot chocolate. Decadent, I know, but you'll certainly thank me once you taste it. Well worth the trip to Paris. I've snuck into a little corner of the patisserie. No one's here at the moment, so I'm going to have a taste. This is very light and summery for this time of year in Paris, but I love it. Very light, very refreshing, flavours of nougat and fruits of the forest. Do I have any on my mouth? This is a great food street to visit when you're in Paris. It's one of the oldest food streets and it also includes one of the oldest patisseries. Let's go and take a look. I'm here out the front of Fou Du Patisserie. Now, this is quite unique. They have three stores, but what they actually do is they feature ten of Paris' leading pastry chefs, and they sell one product from each pastry chef. Every month, the product changes, so if you're short on time, this is a great place to visit to see a collection of ten pastries from ten of the leading pastry chefs in Paris. I'm here at Caramel Paris, which is a patisserie by Nicolas Ellouin. Now, you cannot go to Paris without a visit here. You can actually visit Caramel and taste the number one lemon tart in Paris. Now, it's here, and I'm going to do you a favour. I'm actually going to taste it for you and then explain the different layers so you know what to expect when you come yourself. Here we have the famous lemon tart from Caramel that won Best Lemon Tart in Paris. Now, I've tasted a lot of lemon tarts right throughout Paris, but this one takes the cake. It has a beautiful pastry casing, and you can see smooth meringue, and each lemon tart is identical in the counter. So here we have layers of sablé, a hazelnut caramel, a lemon cream, a lemon madeleine, and of course, topped with the meringue and a small roasted hazelnut. I was told by a pastry chef friend of mine that you should always eat a tart with your hands. So let's see, this may be a little bit messy. What makes people go back to consumer product a second time? 80% of that reason is actually texture, and the texture in this lemon tart is absolutely phenomenal. You've got the crunchy sablé, the chewy caramel, the creamy lemon, topped with a moist madeleine, and then a spongy meringue. Together, that combination of texture and flavour is superb. I highly recommend you come to Caramel if only to try their lemon tart. I'm at Alain Ducasse chocolate store here in Paris. This is one of my true favourites, and it's quite a unique store because here at Alain Ducasse, they actually create their own chocolate from the bean. Not only do they create chocolate bars created from cocoa beans from all around the world and some really quite rare and unique cocoa beans, but they also use that chocolate they produce to create individual pralines and ganache-filled chocolates. Here at Alain Ducasse, with all the chocolate that they make themselves, they produce individual chocolate bars, which are origin bars with cocoa beans from one particular region. They also use that chocolate to create individual chocolates, chocolate pastes, and a broad range of products. The chocolate is really quite intense, but you can pick a particular chocolate to get a distinctive flavour profile. It's very cold in here. Currently, it's 9 degrees, but the standard temperature sits around 15 degrees Celsius all year round to ensure that the chocolate is stored at the optimal condition. What I have here is one of their bean-to-bar chocolates that they've created themselves from the bean. What's quite unique about this is it tells you where the beans are from. This particular bean is from Venezuela. It's 75%. It's a dark chocolate, which means I've got 25% sugar added. It's made from a porcelain bean, which is a very, very rare cocoa bean that is white. It's very hard to get. They have exclusively selected the porcelain bean from Venezuela. It's also a single variety. It's a Carrillo variety. Around the world, there are three types of cocoa beans. There's Carrillo, Forastero and Trinitario. The Carrillo makes up a very small percentage of the world's supply of cocoa. So to have a bar actually made exclusive with the Carrillo bean is quite rare and unique. What you'll actually find in a lot of cocoa plantations now around the world, the beans are actually blended, so they can't tell you if it's actually Carrillo bean. So I'm opening this up. It's well sealed. So the first thing when you're tasting chocolate is to actually smell. So you want to involve all of your senses. It has a really intense chocolate aroma and flavour. The next one is visual. So we have a look to make sure that the chocolate itself hasn't been discoloured, so it's got no fat bloom. Next, we're listening with our ears and we're looking for a snap. So when we snap the chocolate, you should be able to hear it and that means it's got a nice good percentage of cocoa butter, which will make it melt and dissipate on the palate very quickly. So here we go with the snap. Wow. That's fantastic. When you're tasting chocolate, it's very different to eating it. So you're going to place a piece of the chocolate onto your tongue and push your tongue up to the roof of your mouth. Don't chew it and just let the chocolate melt and dissipate. So now I'm going to discuss the flavour profile with different types of beans from different regions. You'll get very distinctive flavour profiles when the beans aren't blended. This one is really quite fruity. I've got notes of bananas and some notes of berries. It's a little bit sour, but the overall flavour is beautiful. With a really good quality chocolate, when you taste it like that, if you don't drink or eat anything else, the flavour should linger on the palate for up to 45 minutes. The flavour will also change as you taste it, as it travels through different parts of your mouth. Now I've purchased some individually enrobed ganaches and I've also purchased some chocolate bars, the Origin chocolate bars. Now the Origin chocolate bars, particularly dark chocolate, for me will last forever. It'll last 20 years or more, as long as it's kept in the right conditions and not overheated. The individually enrobed ganaches will last about 3 weeks, which is fantastic because you know you're getting a very, very fresh product when you purchase it. I'm here at Un Glace Paris, which is quite a unique patisserie because all the cakes are made out of ice cream. It's the only one in Paris that does produce ice cream cakes and the pastry chef is Emmanuel Rion. Emmanuel is a Mayor of the France in ice cream, or they say glass, in France. So that means he was awarded the best craftsman in France for his ice cream making skills. What's amazing is you would never know that all the cakes are created out of ice cream. When you look in the cabinet it looks like a normal patisserie with pettigato and entremets. They have two stores in Paris. This particular store is in the Marais region of Paris and has a small section where you can actually sit down to enjoy the cakes and pastries or you can also take them away. When the pastries are served, they're served at minus 11 degrees Celsius and they're created fresh daily. In fact, the production facility to create all these cakes is here on site in the Marais shop. What I've chosen is a caramel milfoil but it's actually made out of ice cream. It's got the classic puff pastry and I can see a meringue on the outside but I've yet to see what's inside. I've got a caramel sauce here which is going to go on top of the milfoil before I break in. So this has vanilla and caramel inside so I'm looking forward to tasting it. This isn't necessarily the most popular patisserie in Paris but I think it's very unique. The fact that there's so much detail in these beautiful petit gateaux and cakes and they're all created out of ice cream. I don't just eat cake, I eat other things as well in case you're wondering. I'm here at one of my favourite patisseries, Michelac Paris. Now he's an innovator and a leader in the industry not only in France but right around the world. He has multiple patisseries serving both sweet and savoury creations. I want my cakes to represent me. I tend to say, taste my cakes and you'll know who I am. I try to make cakes that have a fresh taste, that are sexy but that are very tasty, that have texture, taste, flavours and that bring emotions. But all of that has to stay in a form of simplicity because I made haute couture cakes a long time ago it was very complicated, there was a lot of decor, I don't want to do that anymore. I also want cakes that are healthier to eat. We only use organic eggs, we use natural colourings based on vegetables. Here on my heart we use a colouring based on radishes. We use more and more non-refined sugars like muscovado sugar or brown sugar. I want simple things and good things for my body. It's the patisserie that looks the most like me now. I hope you've loved all my recommendations for the top chocolate and patisserie stores. Probably not as much as me. Now I'm off to have a crepe. If you enjoyed that episode you will love my channel. Subscribe today for even more tutorials on chocolate and baking. Best of all, it's free. So get on it.