My top 10 all-time favorite sweets in Paris

Though, I think you’d agree, this is an unfair list. An impossible task. There is no limit to the to-die-for deliciousness on every block in Paris. To try to select only 10 is a cruel challenge. But if I had to choose… 10 sweets I wouldn’t want anyone to miss… I would start with:

• A good, ole piping-hot oozing Nutella and banana street crepe.

• La Folie at La Patisserie des Reves: The heft and texture are pure magic. The doughy, whipped brioche is piped full of vanilla pastry cream that has a hint of rum raisin. Topped with praliné crumble and a touch of confectioner’s sugar. Unbelievable.

• The obscenely addictive Praluline from Pralus. Buttery, chewy, crunchy, sweet but a titch savory, caramelized—what doesn’t this beauty have?

• The sweet little strawberry Coeur from Coquelicot. Relatively modest in size—just 4-5 bites—it’s also sweet and fruity and has a pitch-perfect texture that’s both spongy and moist.

• A chocolate éclair from Stohrer. The crisp pastry shell envelopes an uber generous chocolaty custard filling and is slapped with a sweet chocolate glacage. It’s a serious sugar rush in the best way.

• Angelina’s stick-to-your-ribs chocolat chaud. It’s like sipping melted truffles. In a tearoom that Coco Chanel used to frequent.

• Speaking of truffles, Jean-Paul Hevin’s truffles are le mieux. And his mendiants. And his cakes. Hevin = heaven.

• The rice pudding at Chez l’Ami Jean. I never would have thought I’d care a lick about rice pudding. Last year’s dinner at Café Constant made me reconsider. And a later dinner at Chez l’Ami Jean changed everything. Served in a massive bowl with sides of candied granola and salted caramel cream, this is an unforgettable dessert.

• The Plenitude Individuel from Pierre Hermé. While his macarons are, oui, divine, this little cake is transporting. Fluffy chocolate mousse under a dark chocolate shell. Kissed by salted caramel. Adorned with tiles of more chocolate. It’s gorgeous, exquisite and delicious.

• The almond croissant from Boulangerie Julian. When Bennie and I split this, we were giggling in the middle of rue Saint-Honoré. Fresh and flaky, slightly chewy and caramelized at the edges, heavy with almond paste and lightly dusted with powdered sugar and slivered almond. I mean, how can something taste so good??

Chocolat chaud season

Of course it was wonderful to share chocolat chaud with Sylvia and Lionel last month. But one must indulge in Angelina every season.

Ann and I were on the fast track to have pitchers of le chocolat Africain. But then Ann had an idea: should we step up to Jean-Paul Hevin’s new cocoa salon? And see if he was worthy of Le Figaro’s top nod in the city?

Absolutement!

No stranger to this master chocolatier’s phenomenal quality and creativity, I was all too eager.

From the pitcher…

…the pour…

And the verdict? Delish.

Not too thick or chocolaty. Not too rich or sugary. The perfect temperature and a beautiful afternoon treat. But for me, not top-top in this competitive city.

But I’m also not opposed to go back, maybe sit at the counter and watch the chocolabarista at work, mixing in beautiful flavors of matcha, ginger or raspberry.

Fancy new packaging at Jean-Paul Hévin

Is one allowed to have a favorite chocolatier here in Paris? I mean, there are Michel Chadun’s pavés, Jean-Charles Roux’s bourbon truffles and Michel Cluizel’s Single Plantation tablettes. Where to begin?

Moi, I’m a sucker for packaging, so a window like Jean Paul Hevin’s works on me.



After careful consideration—macarons? Tins of chocolate-covered almonds or perles? Boites of bonbons?—I went inside.




Voila, the new packaging. Snazzy silver foil tablettes and bags of bonbons that are good to go.



Tins of truffles and mendiants.


But it’s obviously much more than his slick packaging.

I first bit into a Hévin bouche two years ago, and it was heaven. As are his choco desserts.

Because when it comes to chocolate…




…glorious chocolate…


I think I have to declare Jean Paul Hévin my favorite.

Just for laughs

Ordinarily I would think the chocolate stilettos, cigars and ties that Jean-Paul Hévin creates are so cheesy. Even the chocolate heart. Just give me a tablette, bouchon or bonbon.

And, well, I still do. But I love this guy’s chocolates and cakes so much, he’s such a choco-idol, that he can get away with it.


Even the chocolate iPod that he whipped up (seven years later), for Father’s Day.

Dueling cakes

It’s been sixteen years since I’ve seen my friend Bessie’s cousin, Bessie, but I had the chance to catch up with her this weekend. After her own stint in Paris, she’s living in Switzerland and came to town to visit friends do a little shopping. With a plan for lunch, I suggested that we meet at the salon de thé at Jean-Paul Hevin.

We were modest and French enough with our meals—quiche for Bessie, salad for me, wine for us both. Less so with dessert. It’s a chocolatier, after all—my favorite one at that. We had to have chocolate cake.

For all its poshness, the salon has these weird oversized, laminated menus with pictures and descriptions of the cakes on it—like something you’d see at a carnival. But they were admittedly helpful in narrowing down the selection. From the 30+ varieties of cakes—most of them chocolate-based—Bes chose the Choco Passion, and I went classic with a Chocolat Framboise.

My chocolate-raspberry cake was gorgeous. Layers of fluffy chocolate mousse and dense chocolate cake rested atop a cacao biscuit and beneath a layer of raspberry preserves. But for all its beauty, it lacked that famous je ne sais quoi. It had nothing on Bessie’s Choco Passion.



The Choco Passion was rich and complex, nutty and fruity. A flakey praline base and dark chocolate ganache made for a thick, savory base that was offset with chocolate mousse whipped with tart passionfruit. It had so much depth and was so irresistible, I just wanted to keep sneaking bites of Bessie’s cake. But I figured that wasn’t very French of me.

231, rue Saint-Honoré
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