Stohrer's wells of love

So much sugar today...I made a stop by Stohrer, a patisserie in the deuxieme (2nd). Apparently it was founded in the late 1700's by the royal patissier, or the guy who was the head pastry chef for the king of France (Louis XV at the time). The exterior is so old-school and the interior has a few gorgeous murals. They have savory dishes on the right side of the store but I was there to get a sugar high. And see, there's a line out the door!

They still sell some of the same pastries they did back in the 1700's (recipe wise that is). And so today I got their specialty, puit d'amour or "well of love" and because I couldn't resist (and cause I've never tried one), a kouing amann which translates to "butter cake" in Breton. 

The puit d'amour is essentially a cylinder made out of puff pastry (the well), filled with pastry cream and topped with some caramel. Pastry cream + caramel most definitely = love, at least in this case. And the kouing amann? Well that was like eating a whole stick of butter and a cup of sugar, but in the best sense. Its essentially the same type of dough as a croissant, but it has a ton more sugar and butter as each time you fold the dough, you fold in more sugar and butter. And again, SUGAR AND BUTTER. Dorie Greenspan explains it best. But the best part about it is the doughy chewy center. Yum! I left half of it for tomorrow but it took a lot of willpower.

Oh, but for dinner I had some cous cous with merguez sausage and a bit of harissa. Since I have no desire (nor time) to make anything complicated, I'm going to be doing only quick, simple and delicious things that I can easily make for one.

Update: I finished the kouing amann this morning. Still flaky and delicious.