Ladurée :: Cup Cake Pistache
By Paris Patisseries in Laduree
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Situated right at the corner of Rue Bonaparte and Rue Jacob, Ladurée is the one pastry shop I pass on my way to . . . everywhere. Whether I’m headed to Androuet for cheese, the Tuileries gardens for a stroll, the Seine for wistful gazing, or just out for my morning croissant, it seems like I am always going past this place. Granted, I refuse to get my morning croissant anywhere but Ladurée itself, so its omnipresence is a self-imposed burden, just as I’m forced to constantly stare at their endless rows of millefeuilles, macarons, religieues, tartes, assorted entremets and . . . what?! . . . cupcakes?! Ladurée sells cupcakes? Yes, but technically the little placard in front of them says “Cup Cake”. I think simply writing “cupcake” would be considered brutish and offensively American. When asking for one, I’m also compelled to pronounce it with a French accent so that they understand what I’m requesting – “kehup cay-kuhhh.”
As you can tell by the photos, these pretty much give every American cupcake a spanking and a few slaps across the face. The French are not to be outdone. This isn’t your average Betty Crocker white cake mix topped with Duncan Hines frosting. Nor is it the absolutely disgusting variety sold by the recent wave of cupcake merchants across America. Using essentially the same cake for all your 50 varieties and then topping it with a bunch of obscenely over-flavored and over-sugared whipped fat is a stateside phenomenon whose appeal is lost on me. Instead, Ladurée starts the piece with quite possibly the most perfect cherry half nature ever created – one so amazing that its pit has morphed into an iridescent pistachio. I have no doubt it had been harvested that morning from the enchanted forest Ladurée tends in Avignon.
Directly under the magical cherry, we have a swirl of pistachio crème, atop pistachio fondant’ish icing, resting on yet more pistachio crème – all of which is there to protect a delicate cake and a brilliantly-red pâte of cherries. The total effect? Well, to borrow a term coined by James Lipton, one could say it is absolutely scrumtrulescent. I’ve never had a better cupcake . . . excuse me . . . “Cup Cake” in my life. Apparently Ladurée’s skill extends well beyond traditional French classics.
The photo above can attest to the actual need of the cup for structural support. I had the little lady refrigerated before slicing, and this state of collapse was the second pass with the knife. Regardless, it goes without saying that this should be a required experience for anyone thinking of starting a cupcake business. If you can approximate it, perhaps you, too, can charge the equivalent of about $7. The rest of us can just enjoy the new level to which our humble cupcake has been elevated.
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