Laduree on the Champs Elysees. Cliche, I know. Deserving of an eye-roll, but scoff all you want - you can't make this experience any less magical. We've earned it anyway, this desserts-instead-of-dinner, after a long climb up the Arc de Triomphe.
My favorite is the Ispahan. A giant macaron that melts into air, filled with sweet rose petal cream that coalesces under fresh raspberries. That alone would be enough, but then there are bright splashes lychee that add so much.
Millefeuille Vanille is a classic, and I've heard it's one of the most difficult desserts to make. It's thousands of flaky pastry layers, stacked with alternating plops of pudding-thick vanilla cream, soft as plush.
The Tarte Passion Framboise has a dense crust, cupping firm cream and raspberries with a lightly tangy passion fruit finish.
All this goes with the Marie-Antoinette Tea. The base is Chinese black tea, laced with the flowery fragrance of rose petals, perked up with a touch of citrus and slightly sweetened and smoothed by a bit of honey.
It doesn't seem like a lot, but these delights will fill you fast. Still, we opt for a sizeable box of macarons to go. The only thing better than dessert-for-dinner is dessert-for-breakfast, after all.
The flavors are plenty, and though simple, they are fabulous. Their shells shatter at the lightest touch, into float-apart fragments, soft shards the instantly melt into spun sugar. We get almost every flavor.
Salt tempers sugar upon a thick, almost-custard filling that doesn’t get the least bit sticky in the Fleur de Sel Caramel. The Rose is light with a cool cream, delicate like dewdrops on petals. The Fleur d’Oranger is a very sweet citrus, and the Lime Basil is a bit more tangy with an herby hint. The Cherry is filled with a luxurious jelly, and the Raspberry is the same. Chocolat Noisette is rich, Pistache is nutty and light, and the Lavender Vanilla is like eating perfume...the most delicious perfume.
I LOVE Laduree. I don't care if it's a chain, I don't care if it's everywhere. It was special and exceptional when it first came out, and it absolutely is. Their desserts are still delicious, and there's a good reason they've remained relevant after all these years. And I plan to revisit as many times as I possibly can!
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