Laduree Week 1

It's currently 1:15 am on  Saturday morning in Paris.  I'd like to say I am just getting home from having dinner and drinks at some fabulous restaurant in Paris, but I'm sitting on the couch trying to stay awake for a few more hours even thought I spent all last week in the south of France trying to fast forward my internal clock.  Now I'm  trying to turn it back.  No, it hasn't been so bad that I am returning to the US immediately, but I'll explain shortly.  First I'm going to continue to write in my struggle to stay awake after another busy day on my feet in the underground Kitchen of Laduree at 75 rue de Champs-Elysees.

So much to tell!  First I'm sorry that there will be no photos of the kitchen and what I am doing at Laduree.  As much I would love to share, there is a time and place for everything, and this kitchen is not the place for taking photos and looking even more like an American Tourist.  I wouldn't even have the time to take photos, so I will try my best to convey all the mental images in my mind.  Really though, after just 4 days my head is over flowing with images of lovely pastries, industrial size portions of Creme patisserie, and the boys piping chartreuse strands of meringue into dizzying spirals over and over and over again onto plaques before sending them off to the oven.

I'm struggling to organize my thoughts because it really is overwhelming to be working in such a space.  There are at least 40+ young and energetic patissiers working in these kitchens (that seemed like a maze on my first day, but I've finally got it mapped out in my mind, I think).   I arrived at 8am on Tuesday morning and presented my convention de stage. Someone was summoned from the kitchens to direct me and I was led down the back winding staircase from the main offices to the basement kitchens.  I was introduced to several people, asked if I had a uniform and then shown the changing room and given a locker.  After changing, Raphaele (female) gave me a quick tour of the kitchens and brief explanations of each station, introducing me to the team members as well, all in rapid fire French.  What have I gotten myself into?  My head was already spinning.

I was then left to work with Desiree, a young lady from Venezuela.  When she started to speak English to me, I felt a guilty sense of relief.  I know I am in a French kitchen.....but they talk so fast, and I still know too little. Desiree is in charge of preparing the Verrines for Le Bar.  They are beautiful short, tumbler like glasses filled with yummy stuff.  Chocolate Intensement, Mont Blanc, A Rose and Framboise mini St Honore and another with Framboise and puff pastry as well.  I helped with these and then we prepared the Fraisier cake.  This is similar to the Poem cake I made in school, and a very popular pastry here in France.  It usually consists of a two layers of thin genoise cake with Kirsch creme and fresh Strawberries in between and it cut so that you see the strawberries facing out on the sides.  Laduree's uses Creme Pistache (a pistachio flavored creme) instead.  This is a flavor combination you find in several of their other pastries as well.

My Poem Cake from School

After finishing the Fraisier, Desiree and I moved into the other kitchen and helped with pouring a liquid citrus coulis into flex molds with candied citrus rind to make filling layers for the citron meringue cake.  I filled enough molds to fill an entire rolling bakers rack and then rolled it into the large refrigerator.  Then it was time for lunch.

Lunch, like in most kitchens, is provided for you and you eat with your team.  Laduree is no exception.  The food is good and basic, but always very French; baguette, lots of cheese and the occasional saucisson or pate.  However, the one thing I wish was not pointed out to me is the refrigerator in the corner of the of the lunch room.  It really is an evil thing.  Inside are poor little pastries that did not sell and are still consumable, but not sellable, and they are free for the eating during lunch time.  I tried to tell myself on my first day, I would only indulge once a week.  For instance; Mondays, it would be a good way to start off the week.  But then I reasoned today that I had worked hard and it was Friday, I deserved a little treat for the start of my weekend.  I'm so in trouble (and Romain is very jealous).

After lunch it was back to the kitchen where the pace picked up considerably.  Everyone wanted to finish and get out on time.  I frosted a gazillion Rose cupcakes and helped with a few other tasks before 5:30-6pm when the cleaning madness began.  I arrived home around 7pm, I think, and actually felt pretty energized for having worked all day.

My coworkers seem nice.  There are people from everywhere: Venezuela, Turkey, Martinique, different areas of France, and one gal who was born in Peru but has lived just about everywhere else.  Some speak English well, others none.  I appreciate the ones who do speak English and jump in to explain things to me when I'm lost, but I also enjoy the challenge of trying to communicate with the ones who don't speak English at all.  The lead chef in the kitchen told me straight away he was only going to speak French with me (he knows a little English) explaining I am in a French Kitchen, in France, blah, blah.  Oui, I understand, but everyone talks so fast!  My biggest fear, especially after having a harder day today, is that people will get frustrated with the language barrier and not want to have me working under them.  I know I get a little frustrated.  I just want them to know, I am here to work, here to learn, just because I may not always understand every word they say, I understand what they are doing.  If anyone knows of a faster way to learn French then working in a kitchen and living in Paris, please tell me.  Thanks!

On Tuesday I was lucky to have Ingrid (the citizen of the world) give me another tour of the kitchens in English, and explain my schedule to me.  The kitchens are divided into several stations: Entremets, Verrines, Tour, Bandes, and Decor.  Over the next 2 1/2 months I will work my way through each area in about 2 week stints.  This week I was working in Entremets.  Entremets prepares a lot of the bits and pieces for the larger pastries, cakes and some individuals.  I piped meringues, made cremes and coulis, and prepped cupcakes with them.  I spent the first half of today working in Bandes.  I helped fill the choux puffs for the Religieuse (like a double cream puff, that is supposed to look like a nun).  The Bandes team also prepares the individual desserts that involve mousses and chocolate, ect. 

The different departments have different start times.  This week I started work at 9am and finished at 6 with the Entremets team.  Now the explanation for why I am staying up so late.  I am leaving the Entremets team for now and will return to them later, well the morning team that is.  Starting Sunday evening at 10:30pm I join the Entremets Nuit Team for 2 weeks.  I will be working 10:30pm to 6:30am (though Desiree says the often finish later than 6:30....).  I can't say I'm really looking forward to it, but it is part of the training and thankfully for only 2 weeks (hopefully not more later).  It is the reality of this business.  But on the other hand, thanks to a nifty law in France, I cannot be scheduled to work weekends since I am an "intern".  That was a luxury I didn't even have in the US!

It's now 2:20am Paris time.  I'm really trying to make it till 3am.  Thank goodness Redbull is available in France, otherwise I'm not sure how I am going to make it the next 2 weeks.  It's not likely you will hear much from me during those 2 weeks.  They say what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.  I'm hoping for the later, and that I'm not too tired to still practice my French, a la Rosetta stone.

Here I Go Again.

Hello from Paris.  Time has flown by again and here I am back in the city of Food, and most particularly PASTRY!.   I was quite busy leading up to my departure from the US.  Packing for 3 months abroad is not easy.  My cookware and other belongings that could not come with me had to be sent off to storage or loaned out to eager friends. 

Before packing everything up, I did a fair amount of baking.  I made a lovely Lemon Raspberry Charlotte for my good friend Chef Chudy.  It was a surprise birthday cake for his girlfriend.  I've made this cake on a few other occassions for him, and he is quite a fan.  I'm really loving making my own Lady Fingers (or Biscuit a cuillere as the French call them) and my love affair with the Charlotte continues...

I spent the last few months living with a lovely lady and her 7 year old son as a kind of live-in babysitter and all around helper.  There was no keeping a secret of what my day job was from her friends, and so it was requested that we have a dessert party.  I gladly agreed; it would give me a chance to practice a few desserts I hadn't made in a while before I departed for Paris.  I went all out and with inspiration from JJ, I hand rolled all the apples for the Brown Butter Apple Tart to look like little roses.  I thought it turned out looking a little like worms instead, but everyone seemed impressed. 

The menu for the evening also included: Tarte au Citron, Rum Pastry Creme filled Cream Puffs, Moelleux au Chocolat, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and my favorite savory tart of Tomatoes, Olives, Brie and fresh herbes.   There were not many leftovers, and I was feeling very over sugared, but very pleased with my execution of the desserts and delivery. 

After the party, I hosted a small bake sale to raise some extra money for my plane ticket to Paris.  I made over 100 Buckeyes, 100 Whiskey Truffles, 12 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies and 3 Dozen Madeleines.  I think I may have a calling for the mail order business.  Or next time if I have more time, I'll open the sale up to more people.  With one week left in Boston, I took a break from cooking and focused on my summer.

I arrived in Paris last Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning Romain and I headed to the south of France for a little vacation.  A few days to help me adjust to the 6 hour time change and prepare myself for my exciting internship. We drank Rose, ate lots of fresh seafood and lots of specialties of Provence, (some really yummy Olive Tapenade) and I got to see the Mediterannean Sea for the first time and dip my toes in too.

So after about two weeks break from the kitchen, I'm ready to dive in.  Tomorrow morning I start my internship at Laduree.  I have my uniform, my shoes, my notebook, sharpie and my French Dictionary.....am I forgetting anything?   Wish me luck!

Grown Up Tastes

Fresh Rhubarb

I may have mentioned it before and I will mention again, and some of you may be surprised: I was quite the picky eater as a child.  Ask my mother and she will confirm it.  I can name on long list of items that probably many young kids are not big fans of: Lima beans, Brussel Sprouts, Spinach (maybe it had to do with the color green?).  It almost seems the better it was for me, the more I rejected it.  The idea of eating asparagus was appalling to me; Mushrooms, meh!  Then my mother tried to sneak Tofu into stirfrys, and Swiss chard into fritters.  I remember more than one night sitting at the kitchen table staring into a plate of long since gone cold veggies, wishing I had laser vision and could magically transport them to the trash or make them disappear while my parents weren't looking. 

My how things have changed.  It started slowly, probably when I was in college.  One day the idea of a spinach quiche sounded amazingly alluring.  Pizza arrived with Mushrooms and it was too much a bother to pick them off, and well they kinda tasted good.  Somehow Tofu, Asparagus and Brussel Sprouts have sneaked into my diet as well, along with Sushi and some other things I swore I'd never eat as a child. As I get older, I become more and more of an adventurous eater, but there are no worries that I'll be putting that guy (Andrew Zimmerm?) on the travel channel out of business anytime soon.

It's a shame looking back on my childhood that I turned my nose up at so many great veggies, some of them even grown by my mother on our own land; a luxury in this day and age.  There were some veggies procured from our garden that I adored: fresh juicy tomatoes, Sweet corn, Zuchinni and Yellow Squash.  My mother also grew Rhubarb.  However I always kinda of thought of the Rhubarb as an accident plant.  It wasn't really in the garden; it grew in an old location closer to the driveway, next to the propane take for the house.  Since my mother once had me collect Dandelion heads to put in fritters, I thought maybe this poor plant had just grown up there and my mother decided to use it.  Rhubarb Cobbler or Crisp seemed to be the main use of this strange, reddish celery looking plant (and I didn't like celery either).  Sometimes it would be mixed with other fruits like Strawberries.  I would eat it because, well it was a dessert, but was never really sure if I liked it or not.  It was odd to me, sweet and yet sour.

 Rhubarb and Tea Tart from Mariage Freres

Last March when visiting Paris, I saw Rhubarb being used a lot, including Rhubarb yogurt in the grocery store.  Its seems to be quite a popular flavor in France.  Romain and I had brunch at the Tea Salon, Mariage Freres, during my visit.  Our brunch included our choice of dessert from the dessert display.  Our waiter had us walk over to the display and he went through describing each item.  One dessert choice was a tart with Rhubarb and Tea. It had a nice crumbly topping and flecks of little dried blue flowers from the tea. Romain immediately chose this dessert.  I took a slice of tart with caramelized pastry creme and fresh berries.  I asked Romain about the Rhubarb, he said it was something he really liked, and especially in a crumble.  I tried a bite of the tart and it was really good. 

 Rhubarb Crumble made for Le Cafe du Commerce

Last summer we made a Rhubarb crumble as the dessert du jour one day.  I love the rosy shade of pink the Rhubarb becomes when it is baked.  The crumble looked fantastic and I'm sure it was a hit at Le Cafe du Commerce, but I didn't try any of it that day.  I kept seeing Rhubarb in the markets and meaning to buy some to make a crumble at home....  Last week on a trip to Russo's in Watertown, I finally bought some Rhubarb.  The vibrant red stalks are hard to miss or ignore.  I brought them home and a few days later I made my crumble.  

 Crumble Ready for the Oven

Here is how I made it.  First I cut the stalks into small bite size pieces and tossed them with a few tablespoons of sugar.  I then set them aside.  I prepared a crumble topping with equal portions of Flour, Sugar and butter and then added some old fashioned oats.  (meanwhile thinking I should take measurements so I can recreate this later....).  I then divided the Rhubarb up into two oven proof ramekins. I had only bought a few stalks, so I had just enough for two.  I used my hands to break the butter up into the flour and sugar till it looked like coarse crumbs and then stirred in the oats, and then generously spread it over the top of the ramekins.  The crumbles baked at 350 for about 25 mins till the Rhubarb was soft and bubbly.  I barely let them cool before I dug into to one.  It amazes me how something so simple can be so good and comforting, and I immediately regretted not buying more Rhubarb.   The stalks often catch my eye in the produce section at work now, and all I can  think about is crumble.

Mmmmmmm, Delicious

I'm very happy for Rhubarb to join the ranks of Spinach and Tofu in the list of things I now like to eat as a grown up, I'm sorry I shunned it in the past.  Today I found a great recipe in the Boston Globe today for a savory use of Rhubarb I am eager to try.  However until I find a good recipe for poor Lima beans, they are  staying put in the dislike catagory, sorry.

Playing Chef- Crepe Night

 The Remains of the Meal

A common misconception about chefs is that once we are done with our work day, we don't want to cook/bake ect.  Chefs are known for eating out quite a bit, but its usually because we are foodies, and not so much due to laziness.  However I am not claiming I have never come home from work and just ordered a pizza....it also helps that I live in close proximity to some decent and inexpensive places to eat.  What comes after work? Play time.  The first sentence then should be: after working, a chef no longer wants to cook/bake what others want them to make, it is now the time for them to cook/bake whatever it is the chef wants to make (assuming you are not the head chef of your own restaurant/cafe, ect and are calling the shots-ah luxury). 

Sunday night dinners started out as burger nights with my roommates at my last apartment.  Then it morphed into dinners of other types of food, and inviting whomever was able to join us.  But once you start getting more "chefs" involved, it quickly becomes more complex.  Menus are planned, drink pairings are discussed, and of course their has to be delicious appetizers to start.   I have always been a fan of having regular and frequent dinner gatherings; planned or impromptu.  Nothing makes me happier then mixing good friends and good food.  If I could be paid to nothing but plan and host dinner parties like this, well I'd be a pretty darn happy person.

This past Sunday night dinner started out as an innocent, hey lets get together at G's house, oh and I invited, M, J, and T as well.  Fine. 
"What are we having?" 
"Well G and I decided it would be fun to have brunch for dinner."
"That is a fantastic idea!  Oh we have to go get that cheese I was telling you about."
The J says  he wants crepes and remembers that I have a crepe pan as well and the plan begins to snowball. This is why I love having so many chef friends, we are all so food crazy in ways only other food crazy people can understand. 

After trips to the cheese, grocery and liqour stores, a series of phone calls to plan who was bringing what, we gathered at G's to start the crepe making madness. We were all very excited.  Here was our menu (items followed by the contributing chef)

Lovely Hummus and chips - Amanda
Selles-sur-Cher Chevre with Pepper water crackers- Jenni
Fruit Salad of fresh Papaya, grapes and Kiwi with fresh Key Lime juice- Amanda
Sesame seed crepes with Duck Confit and Garlicky Asian veggies- Justin
Buckwheat crepes with Black Forest Ham and Emmenthal Cheese- Jenni
Buckwheat crepes with White Beans, Collard Greens and Sun-dried Tomatoes- Gwen
Home made Smoked Salmon-Amanda
Served with Bloody Marys, English and French Cider
Best Hostess-Gwen

Justin's Work Space for Making the Asian Duck Confit Crepes

 Amanda's Tastey Fruit Salad

The four of us worked quite efficiently in the tiny apartment kitchen.  J and I manned the stove, A and G made some strong Bloody Marys.  We talked about food as we prepared our dinner, compared notes on crepe recipes and cooking techniques.  Once everything was finished cooking, plated and the table was set, we sat down for a well-deserved and even more anticipated dinner.  It was awesome.

Crepe Making Action 

 

We had all the fixings for some lovely dessert crepes.  I had candied some kumquats and squeezed some juice from a Blood Orange to make a version of Crepes Suzette. Amanda brought the requisite Nutella, but we were just too full to even think about dessert after.  So we sat and finished the cider, talked for a bit and then all headed home to our beds because we were very tired.  Playing chef was fun, now it was time to get some sleep before going back to our very busy jobs working as chefs.

Of course we've already started talking about next Sunday's dinner.  A few of us will be quite busy and not sure if we will have time or energy to cook next week, but that is why I have a good pizza place number stored in my phone.  Or maybe we'll just go out. 

Easter Bread- The Harting Family Tradition

 Dying the Easter Eggs

I got a little spoiled having not worked full-time for over a year.  Going to school and working at places like Sur La Table and Crema Cafe certainly took enough hours, but it didn't feel so much like work, and I felt like I had a little more time for myself.  Now I am committed to 40 hours a week at Whole Foods, and while my job is fun and coworkers are great...it still feels like work.  It probably has a lot to do with the getting up at 5am each morning and that I'm not exactly practicing my art in the way I want just yet.  But I am being patient and happy to be employed by a great company.

The one of the biggest problems with not having time is, my blog gets neglected.  I have plenty of wonderful desserts and stories to share with you, but keep finding other things to do then post them.  While I was in Paris I ate a lot of great food and even made a few things as well.  As promised here is the post on the "famed" Easter Bread.

The Famed Easter Bread

The Easter Bread Traditions started in my family over 40 years ago.  My mother found a recipe in a Good Housekeeping magazine in 1963 for an "Easter Egg Twist".  She clipped it out, but didn't actually make the recipe till the following year.  It must have been so good, that she continued to make it every year right before Easter, with only a few exceptions. (I was born on Good Friday, so my oldest sister baked the bread that year.) The usual routine went like this: we would start making the bread on Thursday or Friday before Easter.  The small kids would help with coloring the eggs.  There were rules, we could dye the eggs any way we wanted, but only "normal" colored eggs  (ie red, blue, green, ect) were allowed into the bread.  Normally my mother encouraged creativity, but not when it came to her Easter Bread.  If you were capable, you got to help with the mixing of the dough, kneading and rolling it out.  My mom made a lot of bread, but Easter bread was unique because it was lightly sweet and had lemon zest in it.  To this day, the fresh smell of lemon zest reminds me of Easter Bread.

Making Easter Bread was an all day affair.  We made enough to cover several baking sheets, and the house always smelled heavenly after.  Then the torturous waiting began.  Once it was baked and cooled, it was wrapped in tin foil and we were not allowed to eat it till after the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night or Easter morning.  It was almost worse then waiting for Christmas gifts.  Easter morning would come and no one stayed in bed late.  If you got up early enough, you could have a few slices before leaving for church. Once we returned home, it was a free for all.  Then the next few days we'd nibble on the remaining bits as breakfast, lunch or just a snack. 

I was in college when I made Easter Bread by myself for the first time.  I talked it up to my roommates, telling them the history of the delicious bread.  I didn't need to say much, the smell coming from the oven was enough to convince them this bread was special.  Once it was done baking, I did something completely scandalous, my roommates and I tore into the bread as it was still warm from the oven.  Easter Bread that you have waited to eat for several days is very delicious.  Easter Bread fresh from the oven is out of this WORLD!  Soft, sweet and just enough lemon to give it a bright flavor; I was ruined.  This year I was a little more disciplined.  I did not eat Easter Bread till the day after I made it, though it took all my reserve to not eat it straight from the oven again as the aroma filled the apartment.

I almost feared my made-in-Paris Easter Bread was going to have to be "sans oeufs".  The first grocery store I went to did not have food coloring.  I visited 2 more stores before I found them just as I was about to give up.  I also could not find colored sugar for sprinkling on top, but that wasn't such a big problem: I made my own. Later in the week I did find colored sugars at the Gallery Lafayette's Epicerie.  (Note to self for future adventures in Paris.)  They could have also been found at Mora, but I didn't make it there during this trip. I found myself sounding just like my mother when it came to dying the eggs because someone wanted to make crazy colored eggs.  I said, that is fine, but only the normal colored ones go into the bread.....

Easter bread is essentially an enriched yeast bread.  You start by hydrating the yeast and then adding a little flour and letting is sit.  In the meantime you cream butter with sugar and add some lemon zest and a little lemon juice.   Then the two mixtures are combined together with more flour to make a workable dough.  Let the dough rest till it has doubled in size and then you can shape it.  The original recipe instructed you to make braids (hence the Twist in the title) and then twist the braids around the colored eggs to make a wreath like shape.  Let it rest again till doubled in size and then brush with a milk and egg yolk wash and sprinkle with colored sugar.

  Stages of Making Easter Bread

Ready for the Oven!

If you'd like the recipe....well you'll have to ask my Mom, she guards it closely, it is a family tradition after all. 

Paris, encore.

As my plane descended to Charles De Gualle airport last Thursday, I had the feeling of coming home.  It's comforting to take a vacation in a familiar place.  I didn't have any grand plans of seeing this museum or eating at that restaurant....just a week to relax, see some friends and be with one very special person.  But I'd be lying if I said I didn't have anything planned.

 Fraise-Pistache St. Honore from Laduree

On Friday morning Romain and I set out to the Champs Elysees to pay a visit to Laduree.  This was not just a visit to buy macarons either; I had a rendez-vous.  I met with the head chef of Laduree to sign a convention de stage and set the dates for my 3 month internship at the famed Patisserie.  I am going back to Paris this summer to work at a world-renowned Patisserie! I was super giddy after my meeting; I practically floated out of the building and down the street before I remembered I wanted to actually go into the store to buy a treat.  So of course we went back.  I needed to see what I will be helping make this summer too. 

Laduree cookbook I received as a birthday gift, to help me prepare for this summer

It was a great way to start off my week in Paris.  The rest of my visit was filled with great dinners, lots of walking and stopping to stare into Patisserie and Boulangerie shop windows, watching a rugby game at the Stade de France, and a trying out Romain's new kitchen and microwave/oven combo.  On Wednesday before I left I had a great opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen at Restaurant Jean.

I stumbled upon Jean by internet search.  Its a cozy restaurant in the 9th arrondissement not to far from Romain's apartment.  The restaurant has a Michelin star and an American pastry chef!  I spent the early half of the day following Alison Johnson (the American pastry chef) around the petite cuisine at Jean and trying to be helpful and not get in her way.  I got to taste some of her lovely desserts and see the flawless artistic presentation of the dishes.  I was thrilled to see her command of her space and her attention to the last minute detail; her passion for her job is obvious.  I felt like a clumsy ameature next to her, but she is a lot of what I aspire to be.  She also became a pastry chef as a career change when she was about my age. She moved to France without knowing the language fluenty. Now she works for a wonderful restaurant making fantastic desserts and speaks French beautifully.

Palais Royal Jardin (2010)

Later on Wednesday Romain and I walked through the Palais Royal Jardin.  The trees were just starting to get some leaves and the intoxicating smell of hyacinths filled the air.  The jardin was rather full with people sitting and enjoying the flowers and the fresh spring air.  It was a great vacation and I was sad to leave Paris once again, but it was easier knowing I would be home again soon and for longer.  I came back to Boston feeling like my batteries had been recharged. Now just a few short weeks to prepare for my next big adventure.

Spring has arrived in Paris

April in Paris

Photos of the Palais Royal Jardin, Paris

I'm once again sitting in Boston Logan Airport; I'm off to Paris for a visit.  It's just over a year since my first visit.  I'm hoping this time since I'm there in April and not March, there will be a few more flowers and maybe some leaves starting to appear on the trees.  I have other hopes as well for this trip...but those can't be shared yet.

April means other things as well.  Easter falls in April this year, as well as my birthday and 2 of my brothers.  I will be celebrating my 30th in Paris.  My brother Philip lives in Massachusetts as well and his birthday falls the day before mine, my brother Mark's birthday falls 2 days after mine, but they are both older than me.  I had dinner plans with Philip and his Fiance Anne for last Saturday.  I realized while I was at work that morning, that I would be missing his birthday while I was on this trip, and I really wanted to do something nice for him. (We have a long standing of tradition of celebrating our birthdays together if possible)  I started doing a mental scan of cake ideas as I continued my work.  By the time I was ready to leave for the day, I had decided on a recipe from school, but with a few adjustments.  I had to scurry home and get moving to have it ready before meeting them for dinner.

Philip is not a big fan of cake, he will openly admit this.  He will also tell you the exception to this rule is my cakes.  My idea was not so cakey afterall.  A light flourless Hazelnut Dacqouise with bits of Dark Chocolate, and a hint of orange zest.  The Dacqouise was topped with thin layer of Orange Creme Brulee followed by a generous layer of Milk Chocolate Mousse and finished with a Dark Chocolate Ganache and thin slivers of candied Orange rind.  It was not bad for having put it together in just under 3 1/2 hours.  Philip was pleasantly surprised and he and everyone else who joined us really enjoyed the cake.  In the midst of the lighting of candles and singing the traditional birthday song, I forgot to take pictures of the cake before we demolished it. Maybe next time...

Birthdays require birthday cake or a yummy mousse cake; and in my family Easter also gets its own special treat as well: Easter Bread.  I won't go into too much detail right now, but I am planning to make some while in Paris to share with Romain and friends.  I'll post more about it and try not to forget the photos!

Time to board my flight.  Je vais a Paris encore! 

A bientot!