Patisserie, Viennoiserie and Chocolaterie. Alps, France

February 2020

 Patisserie
I love a good choux pastry.  In fact, it’s probably my favourite type of pastry, so any trip to France is a great opportunity for me to get my fix.  It only seemed right to combine it with a French favourite – crème de marron, et voila, you have a Choux Crème Marron.  A sort of chestnut flavoured pastry cream is piped on to a choux dome with a very thin tipped piping bag so it looks like spaghetti.  The slightly crisp, light choux pastry the perfect vehicle for this very sweet with a hint of nuttiness creamy delight.

French meringues are a delight for my palette when it comes to texture – crunchy outside, chewy inside.  Add in the crack of dark chocolate chips and it’s a winner.

Find these at La Rissole, St Martin de Belleville’s village bakery.  They also do a delicious tarte au citron – tangy, sweet and a little bit sticky.





Viennoiserie
I’ve spent a lot of time in French bakeries but never before have I come across a Croix de Savoie.  This crispy croissant cross filled with custard and dusted with sugar is a pastry less sweet but more custard filled than a pain aux raisin.  If, like me, you struggle choosing between a croissant or something with crème patissiere, this is the one for you!


I also hadn’t encountered brioche aux pralines before.  I had high hopes for the crunch of the bright pink, caramelised nuts but they were actually soft and syrupy so didn’t add much to the taste or texture.  They did make it look pretty though.



Another great find is the almond brioche - a softer, gooier version of an almond croissant which complements the crisp almonds on top perfectly. 
Find them at La Rissole bakery.








Homemade chocolate bars
The La Rissole bakery doubles up as a chocolaterie, making monster chocolate bars.  If you’re in need of a chocolate fix, this is your place.  Mars bar-like with milk chocolate ganache, salted caramel cremeux, puffed rice and little crunchy shards of pate sucree generously enrobed in milk chocolate, this is a chocolate bar to be eaten across several sittings.



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