The pastry era is well and truly upon us and becoming trendier than ever around Paris... I took a challenge to try as many pastries as I could from some of the new pastry shops in the French capital. One of the new players around Paris is Cyril Lignac, popular from his television shows which have conquered the world. A beautiful and classy pastry shop welcomes you on the corner of Rue de Chaillot and rue Freycinet.
Freshness welcomes you the minute you push the door open. Light colors, wood, numerous black poles suspended from the ceiling and several display fridges showing the chef's creations. Lemon tart, fraisier, Equinox, baba au rum, tarte framboise, gâteau chocolat vanille are some of the famous creations one must try. I also couldn't resist buying the chocolate tablets.
Pain au raisin: a big roll, flaky on the outside and juicy on the inside hosting dried raisins that also feel light like the roll itself. It is fresh, light and airy with an enjoyable cream and a muted sweet taste. Every bite leaves a pleasant after note in the mouth inviting you to have more.
Equinox is the speciality! With a Grey exterior, the cakes look too neat and sophisticated. Grey in color, it seems somehow synthetic, but wait until you taste it. Creamy, rich, complicated... mousse, moist cake and cream with a crunchy biscuit to hold the mix in harmony.
The vanilla chocolate cake is outstanding! Very dark chocolate ganache embraces juicy chocolate mousse spread in layers within the dark chocolate cake. It is a fine dining masterpiece. I loved the intensity, the strength, the flavors and the rich after notes.
Baba au rhum chantilly with bourbon vanilla is rich and decorated with cream on top. Real vanilla, bread that's not chewy or hard textured, a balance and an equilibrium that clearly shows that it was made by a master pastry chef.
Cyril Lignac deserves a visit. His pastry creations are marvelous and very enjoyable.
