Caramels at Le Bonbon au Palais

On Wednesday I needed a pick me up.

Is there a better place than Le Bonbon au Palais when your spirits need raising? 19, rue Monge 75005

Plus it turns out Le Bonbon is a one-stop-shop for a vast variety of caramels. How did I miss this? Go spoil yourself.

I caught owner Georges Marques in the midst of giving a lecon on caramel lollipops. I did not know that the very best sucettes/lollies, Les Niniches come from the Quiberon in Brittany. How did I miss this?

Georges is a big fan of Les Caramels d'Isigny.

"Normandy has the best butter you know", he told me.

Then of course there are the caramels from Brittany where the fabulous sel de Guerande is harvested. Georges reminded me that Henri Le Roux invented this heavenly sauce, caramel au beurre sale, in 1977. Did you know that 'soft' caramels are the hot trend these days? I suppose it is nice to keep all your teeth in your mouth. How thoughtful of the confiseries. Georges prefers the traditional harder/dur caramels but offers both in his shop.

The newest kid on the block at Le Bonbon au Palais - caramel au beurre salé guimauves/marshmallows. Woo woo

I'm a fan of these because you can buy just one and get 4 bites out of it. They're an 1 1/2" square but they do not come from Caramel land in the North West (Brittany or Normandy) sadly.

I was eager to try out this creme de Caramel a la Fleur de sel from Breizh /Brittany (a hotbed of crepes and caramel). I must go there soon!

Back in the reseach lab this tasty sauce passed the 'Standing Spoon' test with flying colors. Not a good thing it turns out. I prefer my sauce liquidy like Le Roux' (sans Almonds) or Frederic Cassel's.

Here's something I haven't seen before - nougat CBS!?

La piece de resistance in Georges eyes is this well kept secret caramel of Nevers, Le Negus.

Surprisingly, it's a hard candy. But let it rest in your mouth. Once the outer shell dissolves, inside awaits a chunk of very soft out-of-this-world caramel. TDF (to die for).

The tin is traditional old French candy style and worth hanging on to (designed in 1904). You'll only find this candy at 2-3 places in Paris by the way. I dated a guy from Nevers for 2 1/2 years in NYC and he never once mentioned this candy from his home town. I'm making up for lost time hanging out at Le Bonbon surely...

Do visit French candy websites online. Every single one of them has a 'historie' tab with loads of fun info on how they started, where and when like Maison Armorine.

Les Caramels d'Isigny has this fab map of all the caramels and flavors in France. An essential reference for caramel lovers. They say Arabs invented caramel in the year 1000. Who knew?

If caramels are not your thing I'm sure Georges will find something else for you to taste like dents de l'ours/ or bears teeth - pistachio and melon marzipan with a chocolate almond on top.

Next week the Salon du Chocolat opens on Wednesday at Porte de Versailles. Georges is head of the new Forum de la Confiserie at the show - a separate floor on the rez-de chausée. Please stop by and say Bonjour if you go.

I shall be coloring my hair caramel au beurre sale especially for the show. Why not? If you can't make it to the Salon please stop by Le Bonbon. Say you're from PB & you'll get extra tastes I bet 👍

Berthillon

Another twist of fate...I was on the Ile St.-Louis this morning. Does one really have a choice? Berthillon beckons.

And of course Caramel au beurre sale AKA CBS.
 

But wait. No Caramel au beurre salé today. Flavors are changed daily. I was not prepared for this!
 

There IS Caramel Nougatine the server suggests.
 

Oh no...but on second thought this is Berthillon who can do no wrong where ice cream or caramel is concerned.
 

So I throw caution to the wind and get the Caramel Nougatine which turns out to be just fine. OK maybe more than fine. Terrific! Frankly I can't even tell the difference.
 

It seems Berthillon can do no wrong when it comes to anything caramelized like these little chocolate-covered caramel pops. I had to buy one to use as a prop in today's watercolor except I ate it...just now. Uh oh
 

These caramelized apple tartelettes with salted butter are absolutely fab I promise you. I bought one of these. I just ate it too.
 

I did NOT buy their highly reknown tarte Tatin. I would have but I ran out of money thank gawd!
 

I've been eye-balling their tarte tatin for years the way some men ogle women. So far I've resisted but who knows when the day will come and resistance will give way.
 

A gentle hint PBers. If you are going to shoot inside a shop do buy something for heavens sake. It makes it so much easier.
 

Berthillon definitely fits into the oldie-worldie category of patisserie traditionnelle.
 

They have a lovely tea salon you might not know about.
The fact is that Berthillon's single dips are about the size of a golf ball. I did have just enough change to go back and get a second Caramel Nougatine cone. Besides there was no line. Besides one must take advantage of opportunity when it knocks no? It helps if you're good at rationalizing in Paris...or maybe it doesn't.