Friday, August 14, 2009

Patisseries Religieuse


Laduree's Religieuse Cassis VioletteAfter much research, I wanted to share with you my observation: the French are obsessed with puffy, airy things...
Firstly patisserie Religieuse- made of puff or pate chou pastry - really 2 cream puffs, one sitting on top of the other and filled with flavored pastry cream. The Religieuse got it's name from it's violet-colored icing matching the cardinal's robes.
There's a long tradition of "puffy" cuisine in France. Here a soup en croute..hidden under pâte feuilletée. Plus profiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, beignets, eclairs, gougères
Height seems to be a desirable thing in France..
Not to be left out of the picture, French painters love to paint these puffy creations, like Manet's "La Brioche."
Manet was inspired by Chardin's "Brioche" in the Louvre
As well as what appreared on his dinner table...
And where would we be without airy, bubbly, fizzy French Champagne???
Another example of the French propensity for puffery - Marie Antoinette had a very puffy hairdo...
The master of puffy dresses = Christian Lacroix, French of course.
Here's an exam on French pastry !
You'll find out if French patisserie is

Your cup of tea/votre tasse de thé
and if you have CHEF potential!

Bonjour Pouffismo !

27 comments:

  1. nancy in Savannah9:09 AM

    I thinkk Religieuse is feminine, and refers to the top-heavy veils and headpieces worn by nuns in the old days.

    nancy in Savannah

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  2. Oh, those Religieuses are so lovely. As is your blog!

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  3. Ah Ha! you did not take the chef test at the end of the post!!

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  5. A beautiful post as always :)
    And as always, you've made my mouth water!
    I love the comparison of the patisserie Religieuse and the Christian Lacroix dress. He MUST have had it in mind!

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  6. Anonymous10:51 AM

    Bonjour! I hope you don't mind but I ran off like Burglar Bill with a couple of your photos from Gerard Mulot, as I wanted to feature his cakes on my blog but couldn't find any other nice ones online. I will take them down immediately and without the slightest bit of grumbling if that is a problem!

    I credited you, of course! :)

    This is a lovely post by the way!

    Melanie x

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  7. Usually I just look at your blog but today I .. have .. to say something ...

    Oh My God ... I LOVE Eclairs and well your photos today ... All I can say is ... Thank You ... You Made My Day ... My Week ...

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  8. Presque, mais non ! Le livre à mon chevet est
    "Desserts décadents : Recettes du château
    Vaux-le-Vicomte" ; Je vous remercie vraiment de cette référence.

    Happy weekend!
    Emilie

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  9. Oh I love puffy, airy things!

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  10. Oh my favorites!! Les religieuses! LOL. They do like to make an event out of simple little things don't they?
    Smiling here.
    What fun.:)
    Love the little pooch too.

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  11. Well, now I took the test and according to my score Patisserie knowledge is not my cup of tea. I will try again later.

    n

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  12. Great selection of photos and paintings. Beautiful!

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  13. Lovely, Carol--back to your desserts, eh!? Looks delicious. Have a great weekend.

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  14. I scored 4 points out of 10...I'm not saying it's because I could not understand most of the choices...no, I prefer to believe I must RESEARCH closely...a la Paris Breakfasts.....if I am to improve my score...and perhaps my attitude!

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  15. I love all French, all puffy and all airy. That's why I'll be celebrating my b-day in a Parisian park this noon with some bubbly beverage!

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  16. FoodWalker6:08 AM

    I must say this is one of my favorite PBs to date. Bravo.

    Ann

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  17. There is nothing better than a bit of puff...Have a wonderful weekend, xv.

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  18. Anonymous12:12 PM

    Beautiful watercolors as usual...*sigh*

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  19. I am new blogging and loving it! I think I really need to visit you for real in Paris. I have the biggest, hugest sweet tooth or teeth. Everything looks so beautiful and yummy. Actually, in San Francisco we have some great places to get great pasteries. Sweetness to you. Dogwood

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  20. I really must try and make one of these one day. So lovely!

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  21. C'est Magnifique! The French really know how to add flair to anything, right?

    http://roseintheslowlane.blogspot.com

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  22. I took the quiz and got a score of 6. I had to guess the answers partly from not knowing the trivia, and partly from not knowing French.
    Thanks for the fun link and as always, for the lovely pictures :)

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  23. je suis un chef! I got eight out of ten. But I disagree with some of the answers. For example, I learned in high school that the pastry Paris-Brest was invented by the chef on board the railroad from Paris to Brest. (This always caused great sniggers in my all-girl classroom).
    As for les Religieuses....Cardinals are never women, and nuns never wear purple, so I don't get the color connections, but they do look like nuns headpieces.
    Wish I had some now!
    nancy

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  24. Humm... Un Saint Honoré...

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  25. Humm... Un Saint Honoré...

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  26. Anonymous3:08 AM

    Lovely, beautiful blog...
    but Nancy in Savannah was actually close to the truth...and the chef test gives further support. "Religieuse" refers to a nun, and "la robe des religieuses" refers to the traditional nun's habit/dress (frequently black, as is the frosting of many pastry "religieuses"), not to a cardinal's robe.

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  27. Un bien joli billet très agréable à parcourir, et une citation que j'avais loupée ! Un grand merci à toi et vive la brioche et les religieuses !!
    hé hé hé !
    biz'
    Lilizen

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