Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Éclair Researches

What is an éclair anyway?

It looks much like a straightened-out glazed, cream-filled donut flattened a bit on top.

Wikipedia says otherwise - a delicate pastry made with choux paste and filled with crème pâtissière (pastry cream or custard) and then topped with (often but not always) chocolate icing.

dark forest green éclairs???My curiosity was piqued by Sadaharu Aoki's Matcha-green éclairs. I'm 'chicken' when it comes to dark green unrelated to pistachio. Fauchon's iconic symbol must be the éclair!

They are celebrating their 120th year in the food business. Their colors are black and white along with hot pink and deep fushia.

Eclair

These superb éclairs au café at the Patisserie Cador are more traditional. They reside in the perfect Louis XVI-style salon de thé just across from the Louvre at 2, rue de l'Admiral Coligny. A French éclair and you can eat in the appropriate setting! Fauchon is celebrating their 120th anniversary

Fauchon's Éclair Aquatique! I love going to the pool and French piscines are the best anywhere, and these remind me of Paris piscines. Eclair

Gérard Mulot can be depended upon for classic French pastries. 76, rue de Seine in the 6th is open at 6:30 AM and on Mondays when most Paris patisseries are fermé (closed). You can not go wrong here.

Green is the hot color in Paris this trip and especially in the patisseries. I love the way the pistachio nut (or the coffee bean) is planted neatly on top at Jean-Pierre Carton on 6, Rue de Buci, so there's no question what's inside.

éclair is the Fr. word for lightening. It's believed the pastry got its name because of the sheen when coated with confectioner's glaze. Antonin Carême (1784-1833), had much to do with developing French pastry and recipes. The "Paris Pastry Marathon", if such a thing existed, would beat out New York in a heartbeat. There seems to be a running battle who can come up with the most creative pastries in Paris. It would be fun to be a bystander at this marathon.

BONJOUR Paris ECLAIRS!

32 comments:

  1. Oooo lala! Tres jolie! Thank you once again for the wonderful visions ..mmmmmmmm

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  2. Anonymous9:22 AM

    hum que ça donne envie un éclair, moi j'adore les éclairs au café, un vrai régal. J'ai même ma patisserie préférée pour acheter mon éclair.

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  3. I gain ten pounds every time I visit your blog.

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  4. Thank you, Carol, I have drooled all over the keyboard again. What a mess! And now I need to go to the gym to work off this post. I think I am developing a virtual eating disorder. I'll eat dis order of chocolate and dis order of eclairs and...

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  5. Anonymous10:25 AM

    I had no idea there are so many varieties of eclair's! I just finished 'Cooking for Kings', what a delight! I love your poster too - different then the link, is it old? You always have such delicious posts... my tummy is growling...

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  6. Too delicious, must eat...

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  7. Anonymous10:56 AM

    The variety, the colors, the flavors! It's all too much to take in before lunch...I LOVE eclairs.
    Thank you
    DTG

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  8. OH MY GOSH!!! AN ECLAIR BY ANY NAME IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST DELICIOUS DECADENT DELIGHTS I'VE EVER HAD THE SUPREME PLEASURE OF EATING!! NEXT TO CANNOLI -- THESE ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES -- NEXT TO FRUIT TARTS, NEXT TO CHEESCAKE, NEXT TO ... YEP, POUNDAGE ADDED WHENEVER I DROOL OVER YOUR ENTRIES! WOW!

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  9. Anonymous11:36 AM

    I found you through Blogs of Note. What a treat! I can practically taste these eclaires! Love the watercolor too.
    Kriss

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  10. Dear Carol,
    C'est clair qu'il manqueait Cador...Aprés une visite à Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois et...comme vouleverser un jour ordinaire en un jour extraordinaire.
    Tout si jolie,comme d'habitude.
    Ciao,cara
    Smila

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  11. Anonymous11:44 AM

    Wonderful images--they bring back memories of my sister and me as young kids--we made eclairs once, and we ate them all the same day. It was absolutely decadent, but they were scrumptious...

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  12. Anonymous11:46 AM

    Oh my, just looking at this puts me in a sugar coma, especially for the girl I am, in love with éclairs!!!!

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  13. Ahhh Fauchon's *drool*
    Will be visiting Paris a week Saturday and Fauchon's will be one of my first stops, and as to the green eclairs ...it could very well be flavoured with green tea. I had one of Aoki's green cakes last time I was in Paris and it was green from the tea.

    Love teh blog and your photo's and water colours are wonderful

    Lea

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  14. Anonymous1:03 PM

    Thanks for the tea touches. By the way, matcha is the ground tea used in japanese tea ceremony. It has escaped the bowl some years ago and can be found everywhere.

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  15. Anonymous1:57 PM

    I absolutely love your posts. They are utterly inspiring.

    If I'm feeling crappy, I just visit Paris Breakfasts and immediately feel better...

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  16. Your blog is nearly eeeevil in it's decadence! Oh my! What amazing eclairs. What incredible and awe-inspiring chocolates. What engaging watercolors. I feel stuffed to the brim with delights.

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  17. Anonymous3:19 PM

    Luckily I've just eaten a fresh pastry made by my little "chef", if not I would have run out in search for one of your eclaires......

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  18. this entry makes me drool, i can't wait to revisit paris and gain another 10 pounds!

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  19. I would eat them all.
    Blue frosting
    green pastry
    chocolate filling
    sprinkles
    low cal
    high fat
    famous and not famous
    fauchon and monoprix
    and if you do not stop showing such goodies on your blog
    i will eat the computer soon too!
    ps Love the book links you added to this post!!

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  20. These images remind me of the markets/shops in Rue Daguerre ( off Ave Du Maine, Montparnasse.)
    I ate the best eclair there...
    And of my time in Paris....

    Sigh

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  21. Anonymous6:15 PM

    I would love to visit Paris. That food had my mouth watering. It's just so expensive for me right now.

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  22. I just would like you know that all these photos are calorie-free here and don't cost zip either.

    Mostly I just admired or leché le vitrines as the French inelegantly call window shopping.

    So R.Chunn, Lin & Peter, you can look sans guilt.

    I think I may be more into the visual/aesthetic experience than tasting except for Pralus chocolat...

    It's true I do drool over other's food photos like crazy, but here these are mostly eye candy for me.

    And true, a wave of weakness can come over me when I take a pastry out of the box for the still life setup and sometimes..well more than I care to admit I lose it and have gobbled up the still life item tout suite!

    These are beautiful perishable objects with no shelflife what so ever. They deserve to be admired and enjoyed if only vicariously. And they do remind us of places we've been or would like to visit...

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  23. I was in Paris and Versailles earlier this month. The Boulanger Patisserie in Versailles had the best eclairs! I ate pistachio, and it was exquisite! I will be posting photos of them later on in my travel saga..

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  24. Gorgeous eclairs! I love the finishing touches on these delights.
    I have coffee to go with these eclairs at my spot. Alas... Not in as pretty a cup as your's though...

    Congratulations on the blogger notice. I can't say I'm surprised. I've been telling everyone about it too!

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  25. I will say it again,
    I love what you have to say.

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  26. i love paris, i love desserts, and i love art. in fact, i miss paris quite terribly. this blog does that to you :)

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  27. wow! i'm so amazed with the photos. i am hungry all of a sudden eventhough i find it hard pronouncing the italic words (--,)

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  28. I think your paintings capture the light of Paris just right. Not so easy with water colours..

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  29. I've adored éclairs especially the coffee ones since I was a little girl. I'm drooling now. LOL!

    Crème pâtissière is 'custard' - not 'whipped cream', never.

    I've never seen - even less tasted those beautiful coloured ones. Must do so as I can.

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  30. mm eclairs...

    I bought a caramel one from Fauchon in September - and really didn't like it! I found it too salty.

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  31. Anonymous7:34 AM

    after painting and photographing [thanks] all those eclairs, i hope you did find time to eat one!

    entirely not like a doughnut - airy decadent pastry, not doughnut comfort cake-meets-batter... passing the cake shop today will be hard.

    i'm a lover of repetition, so thanks for the wonderful photo compositions.

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  32. Anonymous6:41 AM

    Eclairs as vectors!
    I love the way these are all going in different directions..
    An eclair would make a nice pointer for the professor too.
    Why not?

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