Sugar rush

I have a dryer that does what its supposed to do! Dry! And the washer washes! Although I'm not sure why it takes it 2.5 hours to wash, and then 2 hours to dry...Regardless, I am so happy I can finally do laundy....thankfully I have so many clothes that I wasn't in much danger but I was running low on the necessities and was starting to take pieces from the "nice lingerie" stash. TMI? Sorry, its all the sugar talking.

How much sugar did I have today? A lot. And probably double that amount of butter. I pastry-shop hopped (similar to bar hopping, minus the alcohol, plus the baked goods). The list had 14 places on it. We got through probably 8. Its a lot harder than it sounds, and the thing is, everything was super close. You're never really more than 5 minutes away from the onset of diabetes around here.

I started by getting a few of my favorite croissants from Le Moulin de Rosa, which used to be an Au Levain de Marais. I thought it still was but apparently I've been mistaking this whole time. 

First official stop: Gerard Mulot. Their store in the 6th is much prettier and probably twice as large, but what do I care when their passion fruit basil macaron is so good? The caramel wasn't bad either. 

And next, a test of my favorite croissant. The real Au Levain de Marais, just a few blocks down. 

They were fresh out of the oven (literally, we had to wait). I don't know if it was because they were hot and the flavor hadn't settled in yet, but I wasn't that impressed. I need to try them again when they're not SO fresh.

Then on to La Fougasse. I'd read a lot about it and heard good things. Their tarts are really pretty. I wanted to get a sable, which apparently come out of the oven on huge cookie sheets before they cut them into squares and top with some jam. But, unfortunately, they were out. So I got a Magellan, a lime-infused chocolate and hazelnut layer cake. I love anything with lime zest, it gives it a certain something which you can't place if you've never had it, since it doesn't really taste like lime. Reminds me of my fresh blueberry lime bars...so good! We also had a St. Tropezienne which is two slices of brioche sandwiched by mousseline cream (super thick) and topped with powdered sugar.

This is the caramel eclair from Jacques Genin, a really famous chocolatier who is even more famous for his caramels. 

Textbook-perfect but, unfortunately, I still don't really like eclairs. There's just something very very cloying about them, and this is coming from someone with a pretty big sweet tooth. And of course, I couldn't leave without buying some of the caramels! Last time I only got a bag of plain caramels, this time I snuck in a few mango-passionfruit ones. Oh so good!

We also stopped by Maison Brocco on Place de Republique but please, don't bother. I was way underwhelmed by their chouquettes (way too egg-y) and madeleines. Not even worth a picture.

By then I was entering into a sugar coma and looking at my list I became a little disappointed - there was no way we were getting through it. After break, featuring the most awful mojito I had ever tasted, the last patisserie was Pain de Sucre. Their tarts are beautiful, incorporating not only fruit but also herbs! But I was there for one thing - to try their guimauves (marshmallows), which are stacked in large glass jars. 

I remembered the marshmallow JP and I had at L'Assiette Champenoise. It was bubblegum flavored but so good. These? Really pretty, but such a disappointment, even though the flavors seemed promising (cassis and caramel). Maybe I just don't like French marshmallows. But I'm more than willing to give Pain de Sucre a second chance for their verrines and tarts.

We finished at Pozzetto (again...but I didn't have anything there). Now I have to go tackle the other half of my list...