Thursday, July 25, 2013

La Cerise sur le Gateau

Thanks Rachel! My better half stood at my elbow and hollered STOP before it was too late.
The beginning - I always dive right in to any big area of RED, like eating dessert first. So hard to resist...
An earlier version.
First go including both cherry desserts but maybe too complicated? You tell me.
The suspect in question - la Lipstick Cerise from Des Gateau et du Pain, 63 bd Pasteur 75015 Metro Pasteur
En famille in the jewel case...
La maman Lipstick Cerise...
I got a Saint Honore Pistache Griotte that traveled on the way home. How to design desserts that ne bouge pas/don't move in the box? Patisserie des Reves has them nailed down with little pink stakes that keep the pastries in their place!
Inside:pate sable, pate a choux, compote de griotte, crème onctueuse a la pate de pistache, Chantilly a la pistache - a very delicate and in fact light dessert with hints of pistachio and the surprise of cherry preserve inside. Delish even if it did go slip, sliding away.
Le 'lipstick' dome was more intense, more cherry. The base was delightfully croquant/croustillant à la cassonade. On top, crème légère fouettée au kirsh, compotée de cerises et griottes mi cuites, crème onctueuse à la vanilla.
A few blocks away Herme's cherry tarte/crumble also with pistachios.
I painted it a few years ago...
At Maison Pichard a classic clafoutis - we're having this for lunch today. Basically a good handful of fresh cherries thrown into a flan base - perhaps the truest cherry dessert.
You can not avoid the cherries in all the marches ripe and ready to gobble and I haven't.
I thought la Princesse would be cherry through and through. It was not. Still a delicious light meringue-almond crunchy dome. A true example of 'La cerise sur la gateaux'/"the icing on the cake". Just decoration. A bit misleading in my opinion...
Will we eat our clafoutis on cherry china today? I'm always flirting with this pattern from Comptoir de Famille.
Paris' patisseries are mostly closing end of this week or beginning of next, so I've been tearing around gathering up the spoils while they are there to be enjoyed. Whatever will I paint in Aout/August?
A petite Solde next week of the watercolor demos on Etsy!

27 comments:

  1. Oh Carol, it's bedtime stateside. Oh well, maybe I can dream of the pastries.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How do you not weigh 300lbs?
    These are absolute heaven!
    Cerise sur la Gateau????????
    Sweet dreams to all! (It's almost 10PM here)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Err...these are very light and very, very small.
      You can hardly see them.
      US cupcakes and muffins are MUCH bigger!

      Delete
  3. Anonymous1:41 AM

    Cakes and watercolor lessons all in one.
    Like!
    Myrna

    ReplyDelete
  4. Crazy about the aquarelles and Comptoir De Famille..My friend enjoyed the store in Paris..she said I found a store you would love..:)
    If you have flirtde tehre is no way they will resist you forever. o cute..and timeless..
    Downtown this AM..hopefully maybe w/ a glass of wine at 5 an art lesson:)
    I made a cherry almond cake yesterday..and thought every cherry was indeed a heart..et toi..tu vois des coeurs aussi.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The colors combined with your light hearted style bring pleasure to my mornings. Thank you!
    Gayle

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful RED color! Carol, do you scan your painting or photograph them? I have a Cannon scanner. The color comes out distorted. When I photograph in natural light the color stay true but the whole picture is too dark.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I use my iPad mini for everything, though my Canon scanner works a dream but I never have time and the image is HUGE

      Delete
  7. Such delicious images! You inspired me to save the almost shriveled pound of cherries in my fridge from a certain fate by making a clafoutis. I didn't realize it was such an easy dessert to throw together! Cheers. x Katie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bravo Katie!
      The clafoutis was delicious at lunch...could not stop eating it!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous11:22 AM

    beautiful! I love the teapot watercolor too!
    Chef Ann

    ReplyDelete
  9. A most unique dessert -- I'm thinking I like my red in the fruit and not on the icing! Wonder if it comes off your teeth or you walk around red all the time... Sigh.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no...it's just a thin gelatinized coating with Kirsh in it.
      No red dye on your teeth!

      Delete
  10. Since you asked, I prefer the one with the two pastries. The pistachio looks very, very good! I like cherries, but the red coating always looks too much like "candy apple red!" The other with just the cherry on the top is appealing as well!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I, too, like the one with the two pastries & don't think it's too much at all - the pistache softens the brightness of the red and makes it look more inviting.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous1:21 PM

    Unbelievable photos! I have spent a lot of time in Paris over the years but I have never seen pâtisseries like these...except when I went looking for Angelina's last visit.
    It would be worth a trip to Paris to do nothing else but roam around the pâtisseries.
    La cerise sur le gateau
    Les cerises sur les gateaux. :-)
    Such a wonderful blog. If the pâtisseries are all closing for the summer weeks maybe you could do the fromageries. Gwendoline in Australia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Gwendoline in Australia!
      It turns out there are still many patisseries open during August so all is not lost thank goodness ;))

      Delete
  13. Anonymous1:33 PM

    This is one of my favorites...you stopped in time...fab...
    Lynne

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous1:54 PM

    Thanks...so beautiful and so tempting!
    Helene

    ReplyDelete
  15. Delightful, just delightful. Your sketches are a treat! Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You dodged a bullet! I am so relieved to hear there are patisseries open during August...had always heard Paris shuts down in August.
    I have erroneously imagined these desserts to be rather large...please include a fork or spoon some time for scale. Don't want my eyes getting too big for my stomach. (As if that were possible!)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, wonderful! and love the teapot and crumble older painting, too, Carol. have a great weekend--your reds are killer!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love the paintings and the colors are lovely. I really love the cherry pattern china too. I would flirt with them to if I were there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lipstick cherry? Love it! Looks absolutely delicious, fun and my idea of a perfect base if it's croustillant. Want! Want! Again, your watercolours are just spot on, Carol. J xo

    ReplyDelete
  20. I didn't get my fill of pastry while we were in Paris recently, and this makes me wish for more. Beautiful watercolors of gorgeous dessert! I'm inspired to do something with the cherries I have in the fridge now.

    ReplyDelete
  21. You had me worried with the summer closings! I'm glad you will have some still to get you through. Berthillon was closed the last time we tried to visit, I still can't quite believe that the best icecream shop in the world closes for the hottest part of summer. I didn't make it to Des Gateau et du Pain either, but did my best to eat my way through the entire range at Patisserie des Reves. We mainly found the yellow cherries so gobbled kilos of those.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wonderful, wonderful color on this post. Heaven! Bonjour aujourd'hui, :-) Karen

    ReplyDelete

Love hearing from you