Mornings

Croissants & Pastries

I've eaten my fair share of croissants around the world, but nothing compares to croissants made in France, and more particularly Paris - because that's where I've done most of my research :-).

For the croissant to be great, it has to be slightly crunchy on the outside, but never so soft it's almost soggy to the touch. It has to be filled with air and light, so it's as light as a fairy.

The French butter and flour is the secret [or so I've been told by French pastry chefs in Australia and France] and is difficult to duplicate outside the borders of France. Of course there may be good and bad croissants in Paris, but it's all in the eye [and taste] of the beholder. Visit a few different pastry shops [patisseries] and try different ones until you find YOUR favorite! Yum yum!

PS - it took me a while to do the adventurous thing of dipping my croissant in my strong milky coffee in the morning, but it soon became second nature.

Many countries now serve croissants for lunch, or filled with all manner of things like ham and cheese etc ... but I prefer my croissants plain, or with a little bit of Bonne Maman strawberry jam [never add butter!], I'm not keen on what I call the 'stuffed' croissants.

Pain au Chocolat

On one of my very first breakfasts [petit dejeuner] when I moved to Paris, I was introduced to a heavenly delight - the 'pain au chocolat', which loosely translate to 'bread of chocolate' or 'chocolate bread'.

Wowie zowie - imagine the texture of a croissant, but folded into a different shape after someone has placed one or two streams of chocolate along the centre of the croissant. Oh boy! If you get one of these babies when they're still warm and the chocolate is slightly runny, you'll really think you're in heaven! I found I had to limit myself to one a week because they were soooooo good :-)

Croissant aux Almondes

Almond croissants are another of my favourites - delicious flaky pastry, filled with a taste sensation, a light creamy custard, dusted with icing sugar and toasted slivered almonds.

So yummy!

Paris Brest

Paris-Brest is a pastry which is shaped like a ring, filled with cream, then sprinkled with almonds and the final touch is a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

First created in 1891, the Paris Brest was designed to resemble a bicycle wheel, to commemorate the annual Paris to Brest bike race.

The Parisian pastry chef who came up with the design, had a pātisserie [pastry shop] located along the route of the bicycle race from Paris to Brest. This great reat marketing idea became so popular it is still being baked today, over a hundred years later.

PS - The Paris to Brest bicylcle race was a precursor to the Tour de France which started in 1903.

Buy one today and make a silent toast to all those cyclists - enjoy!

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