The pastries at Claire Damon’s Des Gâteaux et Du Pain are works of art, and I was able to pick up a few of these beauties on a recent visit to Paris. I mentioned in my first post that the shop is beautiful, with the pastries on display like jewelry or treasures in a museum, and I was struck again by the gorgeous presentation when I saw the shop in person again.
I visited Des Gâteaux et Du Pain on my last trip to Paris before the pandemic, and although I honestly wasn’t blown away with what I tried last time, I’m very glad that I visited them again—the pastries I got on this visit were excellent, and I’m already looking forward to the next time I’ll be able to try their products.
On this last visit, I purchased three pastries (Celeste, Kashmir, and Pamplemousse Rosa) and a chausson rhubarbe (rhubarb turnover).
The chausson rhubarbe (3,00 €) is a seasonal variation of their lauded chausson citron, and it consists of caramelized puff pastry with a rhubarb and cream filling. The pastry was crisp and flaky, with a very buttery flavor and smell, but I didn’t love the rhubarb filling, which was slightly soggier than expected and not very sweet. I’ll keep my eye out for the original lemon version or other seasonal variations on my next visit. I was a bigger fan of the pastries that I tried.
The Celeste (7,00 €) is a tart composed of a shortbread base, a cream of almonds from Provence, stewed mango pieces, a light vanilla cream, and a thin veil of mango. It’s very tasty and very mango-forward. I liked it quite a bit, especially the textural contrast between the crisp shortbread, light cream, and the thin slice of mango on top. I definitely recommend this for mango fans.
The Kashmir (7,30 €) is a blend of saffron, orange, and vanilla. The base is a soft almond biscuit topped with an organic Italian orange compote, saffron crème brûlée, Madagascan vanilla mousse, and cubes of Deglet Noor dates. I loved the vanilla mousse and the subtle saffron flavor in the crème. I found the date pieces slightly overpowering when I encountered them, so I didn’t think it was as balanced as the Celeste, but this was still very tasty (and slightly on the sweeter side compared to the other two pastries).
The name of the pastry refers both to the Led Zeppelin song and to the region of the Indian subcontinent known for its saffron. The saffron used in this pastry is sourced from France (grown in the Vaucluse and Gâtinais regions).
The Pamplemousse Rosa (7,30 €) is exactly as its name describes: grapefruit and rose. It consists of a soft rose-flavored rice flour biscuit base, Corsican grapefruit cream and segments, and an airy mousse perfumed with rose de Grasse. Component-wise this seemed the simplest of the three pastries I tried, but it was actually my favorite: the rose mousse was very light and airy, with a noticeable but not overwhelming rose flavor that is balanced by the acidity and slight bitterness of the grapefruit filling. I’m not usually the biggest fan of rose, but I really enjoyed and was impressed with this pastry.
Des Gâteaux et Du Pain
63 Bd Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France
89 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris, France
Instagram @desgateauxetdupain.clairedamon
https://www.desgateauxetdupain.com/
Will Travel for Snacks 