A stroke of genius – un colpo di genio

[scorrete in basso per la versione in italiano]

Today I want to share with you the experience I had at L’Eclair de Génie by Christophe Adam.

I have been wanting to visit this pastry shop for the whole year I spent in Paris, because I really love the concept and I have been thinking about doing something similar in the future for quite a while.

I finally had the time to go when I left my job at La pâtisserie des rêves and I had a few free days before leaving.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, but I was the only customer in the shop, I wasn’t really sure I could take pictures and, even though the sales assistant said it was ok, she kept looking at me with a “are you going to buy anything at some point?” look……so yes, I didn’t manage to take nice pictures at all.

Christophe Adam opened this shop after working for Fauchon, and, as a matter of fact, in terms of style they still have a lot in common.

I am a big fan of Fauchon (aesthetically speaking), so I really love Adam’s style too.

Here is a close up of the flavours available that day (more horrible pics! ):

I thought they were a bit small, so despite the 30 °C outside I decided to buy 3. And of course I couldn’t resist more that 2 minutes, so I ate them right away.

I chose mascarpone and salted butter caramel, raspberry and dark chocolate, vanilla and caramelized pecan nuts.

So, I loved the way they looked, especially the raspberry one: the pastry was red and the icing was pearly and glazed on the top…it looked like a jewel!

On the other hand, the chocolate cream wasn’t chocolatey enough…not even by far.

The other two were probably less pretty but really nice, I especially loved the fact that the vanilla cream wasn’t that sweet..It made it so, so easy to eat…that if I could go back in time I would probably eat 2 o 3 more!

I found the pastry good and soft, but honestly I thought it would have been spectacular, especially considering that all they do is eclairs…..well, it was good, but it didn’t have a WOW factor.

I was hoping to find the art collection, but unfortunately they had already stopped it. Anyway this is what it looked like:

How cool is that?

If you find yourself in Paris, go and have an eclair, because all in all, L’Eclair de Génie is a real troke of genius!

❤

Oggi voglio raccontarvi la mia esperienza a L’Eclair de Génie di Christophe Adam.

Ho avuto in mente di andarci per tutto l’anno che ho passato a Parigi, perchè mi piace davvero il concetto e poi ho un’idea simile che vorrei realizzare in futuro.

Sono riuscita ad andarci solo una volta finito il lavoro a La pâtisserie des rêves e ho avuto qualche giorno libero prima di ripartire.

Le foto sono davvero terribili, quindi non le ripeterò! 🙂

 

Christophe Adam ha aperto questo negozio dopo aver lavorato per Fauchon, e infatti, in termini di estetica, hanno molto in comune.

Io sono una grande fan del design di Fauchon, per cui adoro anche lo stile di Adam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erano abbastanza piccoli, così, nonostante i 30 °C, ho deciso di comprarne 3. E ovviamente non sono riuscita a resistere più di 2 minuti..quindi li ho mangiati immediatamente!

H scelto mascarpone e caramello al burro salato, lampone e cioccolato fondente, e vaniglia e noci pecan caramellizzate.

D’aspetto li ho trovati meravigliosi, soprattutto quello al lampone: la pasta era rossa e la glassa perlata e lucida….sembrava un gioiello!

D’altro canto la crema al cioccolato non era abbastanza cioccolatosa….davvero per niente.

Gli altri due erano invece più semplici in termini estetici ma davvero buoni, ho soprattutto apprezzato il fatto che la crema alla vaniglia non fosse troppo dolce, li rendeva incredibilmente facili da mangiare..tanto che se tornassi indietro nel tempo ne mangerei altri 2 o 3!

La pasta era buona e morbida, ma sinceramente mi aspettavo qualcosa di davvero spettacolare, considerato che qui si producono solo eclair…era buona ma non meravigliosa.

Speravo di trovare anche la collezione arte ma purtroppo l’avevano già interrotta. Comunque ecco di cosa si trattava:

Fantastico, no?

Se vi trovate a Parigi, andate a mangiare un eclair, perchè, tutto considerato, L’Eclair de Génie è davvero un colpo di genio!

a cupcake odyssey

I’ve finally tasted the most famous cupcakes in Paris…..and it’s been quite disappointing!

To be fair, I have to admit that they looked really nice in the window and there was a very big choice..even if I suspect it was the same cupcake and cream base with different flavours ..but anyway, it looked pretty.

They also had a selection of sliced cakes :

I decided to go classic and I tasted a red velvet cupcake.

 

It was super mini size, cold , dry, old and definitely not worth the 2.40 Euros (2.30/2.50…I can’t remember) I payed for it!

Lucky I didn’t go for the slice of cake, that cost over 5 Euros!

I think that it’s always best to eat local food and follow the traditions of the country we are visiting..

Paris is SO  full of amazing things to eat.. there is an award winning pastry shop/bakery/ deli every 50 metres….just stick to a St. Honore or a croissant and you’ll be fine!

❤

Finalmente ho assaggiato i cupcakes più famosi di Parigi…ed è stato piuttosto deludente!

Onestamente, bisogna ammettere che erano molto ben presentati in vetrina e c’era un’ampia scelta..anche se sospetto si trattasse della stessa base di cupcake e crema con differenti sapori…comunque, si presentavano bene.

 

C’era anche una selezione di torte già tagliate…

 

Io ho deciso di rimanere sul classico e ho assaggiato un cupcake red velvet.

 

Innanzi tutto era minuscolo, poi freddo, secco e vecchio..e soprattutto non valeva i 2.40 Euro (2.30/2.50 non ricordo) che costava!

Fortunatamente non ho preso la fetta di torta, che costava più di 5 Euro!

Penso che sia sempre meglio preferire cibi locali e seguire le tradizioni del posto che stiamo visitando…

Parigi è piena di cose meravigliose da mangiare…c’è una pasticceria/fornaio/delicatessen rinomata e pluri premiata ogni 50 metri….scegliete un St. Honore o un croissant e andrà tutto bene! 

 

Shades

My first parisian cake has been delivered on saturday…..I’m so happy!

My friend Silvia and I have been having this project in mind for quite a while: we have been discussing the possibility to put together european taste and american/british look, and this was the first time we had the chance to try all the things we had imagined….and it worked!

Here is the result:

We made the cake for a guy with very high standards in matter of food (oh right, I’m in Paris!) so he asked for no artificial looking colours and a “french” sort of approach for what concerned the taste.

So we came up with a chocolate mud cake enriched in water for a lighter consistency (and in butter..you know, for the french taste), filled with a chocolate and hazelnut croustillant, a thin layer of dark chocolate ganache and a vanilla chantilly.

For the decorations we used three different variations of chocolate chantilly and finished with a vanilla one….Yes, it was pretty amazing!

I’m so happy with the result and mostly with the fact that the two of us together can learn so much from each other!

I bet our friends and friends of friends are going to put on a lot of weight in the next few months…and yes, it would totally be our fault!

Goodbye country

There are so many new things happening in my life at the moment! (meaning this is about to become a personal post!)

Professionally (and not only ) speaking, a great moment is about to start.. I am going to move to Paris to work  at one of the coolest maison de pâtisserie in town and I can’t tell you how thrilling-scary-exciting-terrifying feeling this is.

You know, in the last few years I have been mostly travelling, and I really loved it. Possibly, travelling is what really, REALLY, makes me happy.

When I came to Sweden, about 6 months ago, I thought it would have been for 6 weeks only. I hate winter, I hate cold…I am a summer person and I need the sun (I’m italian, after all!)..My friend proposed me to get some experience in chocolate making and, as I had just come back from Australia and I had no specific plans, I decided to come over. Surprisingly, I loved it right away…there is a very positive felling here, people is lovely and friendly and the weather is not even that horrible (just a bit).

So I have decided to stay, “settle down” and enjoy a good quality life.

This opportunity in Paris comes unexpected and I hope it will bring a lot into my life.

We had a goodbye party the other day..I wanted to take pictures of the food I prepared but I ended up baking a million pizzas and by the time I remembered to take my camera it was all gone!

We spent a lovely afternoon in the garden, the sun was there too for the occasion..Lots of eating, lots of drinking and playing this strange swedish game where you have to throw sticks around an surprisingly no one gets hurt.

For dessert, I tried to make lemon posset and it turned out really delicious. I served it with the berries of the garden (yes, this is Sweden) and it looked so pretty!

Unfortunately I couldn’t take a picture of that either because it literally disappeared in a second!

Then I made a white chocolate cake with lime and homemade blackberry jam….so good!

Well people, I guess this is it…next stop Italy for a couple of weeks and then…see you in Paris!

Good bye Sweden, I will miss you!

A moveable feast

I spent a few days in Paris for a job trial (yes, there’s going to be BIG news soon)..and when in Paris one MUST find the time to eat desserts. And chocolates. And cake. And croissants. Unfortunately I have been really busy with the job and I was waking up at 1.30 am (and believe me, that definitely didn’t help) but I still found the time for a thing or two.

This time I even went to check an “english style” cake shop.  I had coffee and cake.. (sorry for the poor quality of the picture).

Yes, it was ok (the decorated cakes were actually really really beautiful) but, you know, I just had to run to stuff my face with chocolates from Patrick Roger.

If you don’t know Patrick Roger, here is what you need to know: 

He is amazing. And if you are not convinced yet, well maybe you need to take a look at this:

I’m sure by now you’re in love. If you like surprising stuff, Patrick Roger is not only amazingly talented, but also totally nuts! So he will surprise you every now and then with a new chocolate sculpture in the window. This time it was hippos, in november it was a gorilla..but such a cool one, I wanted to bring it home with me and hug it.

Last thing you need to know about Patrick Roger is that the staff there is so nice, you want to bring them too back home to hug them.

Next stop was a calorie refill at La Pâtisserie des Rêves:

I think I don’t need to add much more to this picture!! We had hot chocolate and hazelnut praline, Paris- Brest ( amazing),Saint-Honoré (ridiculously good), and a selection of marshmallows ( baby  eau de cologne to give you an example).

Passing by, we stopped by the Patisserie Viennoise

but to be honest it only was because our dinner destination was just in front:

I’m so glad our friends recommend this place! We had galettes (buckwheat crêpes) and cider and they were so good…..SO good!!!

Next time I’ll show you some other amazing pastry shops in Paris, stay tuned and eat more cake!!!

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast