Macaron Mastery at Pierre Herme

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Paris is home base for a chain of out-of-this-world patisseries launched by arguably the world’s greatest pastry chef, Pierre Herme. The patissier is best known for his macarons, most of which have quite unusual flavor pairings, such as orange, carrot and cinnamon; foie gras and figs; sherry and golden raisins; white truffle and hazelnut; and olive oil and sea salt. Another signature Herme pastry is the 2000-feuille, a more decadent version of the French classic millefeuille or 1000-feuille—a rich dessert made up of layers of stacked puff pastry sheets separated by chocolate, almond cream and hazelnut cream filling. But truth be told, all of Herme’s desserts are delectable. Continue Reading →

Celebrating Christmas in Paris with a Buche de Noel

Homemade Buche

A traditional Christmas dessert served in France is the Buche de Noel, or yule log. Nearly every patisserie in the City of Light offers up their own version of this delicious rolled cake, with some of the most elaborate—and most pricey—coming from such celebrated pastry chefs, chocolatiers and patisseries as Pierre Herme, Laurent Duchene, Christophe Roussel, Jean-Paul Hevin, Dalloyau, Laduree and many more. Continue Reading →