Desperately Seeking Paris Chocolate Bunnies

For most of March I’ve been haunting Paris chocolate shops. Nice work if you can get it 😀

Doing intense research 🔬 for the March Paris letter.

Les Deux Abeilles 🐝 with Jill Colonna

 

Yesterday I met up with Jill of Mad About Macarons fame at Les Deux Abeilles 🐝 Have you been?

For afternoon tea 🫖 again.

Mado À Paris Tea with Jill Colonna & Solli, Madeleine Map

 I came to Paris a macaron person, but evolved into a madeleine person. They‘re my go-to snack when I need a quick bite.

Yesterday I took Jill Colonna and Solli_food to a fav tea ☕️ salon, Mado À Paris for afternoon tea 🫖 

Teatime in Paris! - Almond Financier Teacakes with Jill Colonna

Last Thursday I had a house call from TEATIME IN PARIS cookbook author, Jill Colonna of Mad About Macarons fame.

It's not because I painted her Paris pastry map endpapers, but I love ❤️ this cookbook.

Jill knows all the little tips and secrets to making baking easy for idiots like moi. I can't even ice a cake, though I can paint one and eat it.

I will be making almond financiers while Jill gives instructions. 

1st things first. 

Weigh out the ingredients on my balance (scale).

Only a few days later I spotted this adorable ladybug balance in Pylones window. 

Drool.

Next make the 'beurre noisette' (burnt butter). 

A few days ago I overheard French girls chatting in Galeries Lafayette by the Liberté pastry counter, 

"Oh you must taste my financiers! You brown the butter first. Then they're divine, best ever!"

I reported back to Jill only to find out we were going to do the same thing. The recipe is on page 31.

Jill said when the butter begins to 'chirp' it's done. 

Who knew?

I had big plans to add in apricot jam, honey, raspberries, lemon zest, you name it into the financiers. Hmm..

I feel if you happen to have a French whip among your kitchen equipment you should use it. When in France as they say.

Jill said a plain old spoon 🥄  would do fine.

Financiers are mostly ground almonds with just a 1/4 of regular flour. Is there anything you cannot add lemon zest to? Next time I'll use two lemons 🍋 (untreated please).

The batter rests and cool on my roof.

Time to fill the flexipan molds. No butter required. Yay! 

Jill said, lose the spatula 😳

Drop in the dough with either a pastry bag or 2 🥄🥄 spoons.
Jill says, “it is NOT OK to eat the raw dough.”

Who says? I've been doing it since I was a kid and nothing's happened. OK, its why I don't bake much. Eating uncooked dough doesn't leave very many financiers.

I wish I'd gotten a shot of Jill's face 😨 when I liberally threw the almond slivers helter-skelter on top. Ha!

I did not have a nice flat baking pan for my tiny oven. 

Jill said just fold over several layers of tin foil and use as a base.

Do you like my appropriate knife & fork rug?

Aren't they gorge? I had no clue I could bake but Jill's Teatime in Paris makes it easy to make real French pastry. 

If I can do it, you can too.

Frankly I'd recommend losing the raspberries, pretty as they are. The cakes were too moist in my opinion. Just almond slivers on top make for a crunchier crust. I like the mini 'gold brick' size best. You eat more cake and feel less guilty👍

I felt obliged to taste Angelina's financier the other day for comparison. Heavy and a tad soggy. 

Much easier to make them using Jill's recipe!

Here's the Special Offer!

The first 5 buyers of Jill's book on Amazon get the Paris tea Salon map sent to them.

Buy the book and subscribe to the Paris letters or maps (6-12 months) + an original watercolor of Jill's financiers + the tea salon map.

Next batch of almond financiers will go to Ms. Piggy who lives in a houseboat on the other side of the Seine.

Jill Colonna Teatime in Paris, Treize, Flower fleuriste

Yesterday was Jill's book signing for her lovely new Teatime in Paris - a DYI to all the secrets of Parisian pastry making you've always dreamed of.

Here is Jill showing off the endpapers I painted for her delightful book.

Naturally I had to eat every illustrated pastry to get the inner essence.

The macarons were overflowing, all made by Jill (of the famous Mad About Macarons cook book).

Remember a few weeks ago Jill personally gave me choux-making lessons? Voila!

Jill is like a Humming bird. Impossible to catch on film. Here her divinely rosy macarons.

Did I say we gathered at Treize - A Baker's Dozen, tucked away in a courtyard at 16, rue des Saint Peres 75007
Owned by top baker formerly of Sugar Plum Cake Shop, Southerner Laurel Sanderson is noted for her divine carrot cake. She gives cooking lessons along with serving up lunch and brunch. Reservations are recommended.

My eye was caught by this flower crown on the wall of Treize. Laurel says she exchanges cakes for flowers at the shop next door. I went to explore.

Cosy and intimate is Treize. Do try it next time in Paris.

The corridor out to the street is guarded by a Marie-Antoinette milkmaid.

Look in the chandelier shop on your right as you exit the cour.

These hidden corridors full of treasures are so Paris.

On to No.14 rue des Saint Peres.

Bowers of old-fashioned bouquets at Flower.

Visiting this Parisian fleurist is another must-do.

Old-fashioned note cards to go in your luscious bouquet!
Top that.

At last the flower crowns hanging on a Burgundy jacquard wall.

Vogue online, just the other day, did a history of flower crowns.
   Few accessories have aroused such commentary, for and against, than the flower crown, so trendy of late among the neo-hippie festival crowd. Despite detractors, these decorative headpieces, whose history in mythology and art can be traced back to ancient civilizations, show no signs of fading from favor. Not only was actress Fan Bingbing a flower-crowned vision on the red carpet at Cannes this week, but, thanks to a new exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden, Fridamania (appreciation of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, who often wore flowers in her hair) is raging.

It’s a look that has roots. In agrarian societies, tied to the land and the seasons, flower crowns had great symbolic meaning. Worn for practical and ceremonial reasons, they could illustrate status and accomplishment (Olympic olive wreaths).

These FLOWER bouquets...

Look like they stepped out of this Giverny plate painted by Fabrice Moireau at china house, Gien just around the corner on 13, rue Jacob. Do explore these little streets in quartier Saint Germain for lots of delicious surprises.
Get Jill's book & DYI!

Paris Flower shops letter.

I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. 

Sign up to receive whimsical treasures in your mail.

Thanks for reading PB ❤️

☕️ If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a KO-FI here  ☕️  ❤️ Thank you so much!

Rue Cremieux, 5 Great Paris-Brest, Boulangerie BO, Jill Colonna Bakes Choux,Arom, Paint a tulip

Yesterday was perfect to go exploring.

Solli said I  must go to rue Cremieux,75012, just 18 minutes walk from my house thanks to Google Maps.

Paris has quite a few of these hidden enclaves. You feel you landed in a French country lane like Le Vieux Belleville and rue des Thermopolyes to name a few.

All exploring should include a little snacking no?

Paris By Mouth announced on Tuesday the 5 Great Paris-Brest to be found in Paris.

Fortunately Boulangerie BO, 85 bis rue de Charenton, 75012, #3 winner in the contest is just 15 minutes walk from rue Cremieux.

Baking choux at Jill Colonna's house on Tuesday makes tasting all choux obligatory doesn't it? Note the crumbly, crunchy topping on this delicious winner.

'Craquelin' is popular in Paris patisseries.

Jill calls it 'crumble topping' made from salted butter, flour and light brown sugar.

It adds zing to the plainest choux surface.

Bear is Very fond of it.

The coffee pastry cream is nice too. Soon you can make your own when Jill's Teatime In Paris comes out in May/June.(page 72)

Back to exploring the 12th. Arom, 73 Avenue Ledru-Rollin, is a divine fleurist, perfect if you're getting married. Ballerina Marie-Agnes Gilot buys her bouquets 💐  here.

Wonderful tulips

I thought I'd give you a tulip painting demo in case you'd like to DIY.

I started out using a photograph, making a value study with the help of app My Sketch. I wasn't happy with any of these, so tossed them into the circular file.

Best to work from life directly,

Drawing the contours with a Japanese Pentel Waterbrush.

Then just adding loose washes of color

on top of color

I'm never satisfied so I redraw it again.

Voila. Your turn.