An Afternoon Affair To Remember in Paris

"Old Time, that greatest and longest established spinner of all! His factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his hands are mutes" ~ Charles Dickens
Contrary to my leisure days at home, the summer months in Paris were a constant drill of activities, swaying to the momentum of demo classes, practical sessions, practice bakes, catching up on class notes, mentally preparing for the next day's classes (and facing the capricious chef), hanging out at neighborhood cafés in the evenings, tête-a-tête-ing with either Regina or Gabi, my two new but dear friends. While there seemed to have a lot of time in my hands when I was home, there weren't many moments in Paris that I wasn't heading off to meet someone, do something, or be somewhere. Once the excitement of being in a new city waned, there were occasions when the rhythm of the city was simply, well, just overwhelming. I yearned for time to slow down, time to be alone - it seemed that I was often surrounded by people, those I knew and didn't  (think Metro, Paris' famed public subway) - and enjoy the unadulterated bliss of soaking in the pleasures of Paris alone, for the sake of pleasure itself.>/span>Afternoon tea. The tranquil ambience of the salon de thé - the quiet hush, the melodic pouring of exquisite blends into pretty, delicate tea cups, soft murmurs of conversations in the background, a ritual that has never failed to evoke a sense of calm, of indulgence and of opulence.

I loved afternoon tea times at Ladurée, and more specifically,  their salon de thé on Rue Bonaparte in the heart of St. Germain des Pres which I was partial to.  There were always hordes of tourists clicking away on their cameras at the other Ladurée locations; there seemed to be less of them here. But beyond the lack of tourists, the absence of regal French decor and the somewhat odd adaptation of chinoiserie theme

....beyond their elegantly-framed macaron tower storefront

I was partial to Ladurée Bonaparte as it was here that I had the afternoon affair to remember....

an affair with le  St. Honoré Rose-Framboise. 

Ladurée's resplendent take on one of my favorite classics. By far, the best dessert I've had from Ladurée. The best dessert I've had this last trip to Paris. And I've had quite a few great desserts there so you've got to trust me on this.

You've read my encounters with this traditional French pastry and had a glimpse of  the innovative twists some pastry chefs had done to it, but I must say, this St. Honoré is perhaps one of the best interpretation I've come across. Individual serving size of a base layer of slightly underbaked pâte feuilletée  -  I would have preferred it to be more crisp and flaky - topped with intoxicating rose-flavored layers that stir up the senses yet soothe the soul simultaneously. Lightly-scented rose petal crème pâtissière formed the very subtle-flavored first layer, offering center stage to the tangy-sweet raspberry compote in the middle followed by another layer - an ethereal cloud of rose chantilly that had just the right touch of fragrant rose water - you know it's there yet the scent doesn't overpower and finally, topped with a rose-syrup poured fondant (in place of the usual caramel coating). Getting the right consistency for chantilly requires some technique; over-whisk and the cream separates, too warm of a temperature and the cream will fail to rise in volume, and one has to know the amount flavoring, the timing of when to add to make that perfect chantilly. I must say, Ladurée's rose chantilly is what made their St. Honoré Rose-Framboise.  Lastly, mini choux balls circled the pastry, each with a center filling of the same rose petal pastry cream encasing a small dollop of raspberry compote and for final sweet measure, three little raspberries strewn on top of the puffy chantilly cloud. A symphony of texture, flavor and perfume so greatly orchestrated, so well executed, so alluringly luscious. 

I also tried other versions of their St. Honoré  and other rose-scented-flavored creations like Religiuese à la Rose, Ispahan and of course, their macarons but everything seemed pale in comparison to the St. Honoré Rose-Framboise, my afternoon sweet escape in Paris.

Ladurée Bonaparte
21 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
Tel: 01 44 07 64 87
8:30 a.m - 7:30 p.m everyday
8:30 a.m - 8:30 p.m Saturdays; 10:00 am to 7:30 p.m Sundays