When I was planning my pastry adventures last winter, before the blog started, Jean-Paul Hévin was at the top of my list of patisseries to catalog. The year prior, JPH had been a highlight of my dessert and chocolate romp around the City of Lights. But I also knew a hefty cacao treat from Monsieur Hévin could actually foil a romp and turn it more into a languid and sluggish chocolate-addled mosey. There I’d be, panting along la Rue Saint-Honoré, my belly swollen and weighted with a fine 70% creation. Or, more likely, swollen and weighted with several of his finest creations. The point is that I knew JPH could be dangerous, chocoholic that I am. So I had to be very selective about not only what I purchased but how often I visited his shop. And since I usually visited at least 2 patisseries every day, if not more, I always made him the final stop on my way home. He might have otherwise derailed the day’s plans.

Now, on my first return revisit to Hévin, I snagged his Tonka, Choco’in and this exquisite Chocolat Framboise. It just looked way too tempting to pass up. It also appeared very heavy, so I was a little concerned about whether I could stomach it and the rest along with the Ladurée goodies I’d just purchased. It turns out I could, because the Chocolat Framboise here was actually much less dense than it appears. And the taste? Well . . .

Exceptional. I don’t think I ever had any chocolate mousse or chocolate gateau at Hévin that ever came up short, and this was among the finest of the bunch. Its composition is actually super simple: almond-chocolate gateau/biscuit, raspberry confiture, chocolate mousse and a fresh raspberry to top it all off. My initial taste factored in all the layers together, so it was the expected blend of tender gateau, prominent cacao tones and tart/sweet raspberry . . . but there was an extra acidic/red fruit kick I was not expecting. So I sampled just the gateau and mousse, being careful to leave out any of the fruit, and I got hit by that same fruity, cheek-tingling zip. Either Monsieur Hévin had woven-in some raspberry with the mousse/gateau, or he’d made a genius-level chocolate selection for those elements – one that would possess raspberry tones without any actual raspberry. And it’s this latter possibility to which I am inclined. He’s one of the two patissiers in the city I know of that not only could do it but would do it.

Treats like this are what always made JPH so amazing. When most shops would just do Valrhona everything and toss in some raspberries, to pull off something like this, Hévin took the time to marry all the elements without any such shortcuts. And, again, for as pronounced as these tones were, the overall piece was so light, making something so seemingly over-ample actually be squarely in the Goldilocks zone of portioning.

So, yes, if you love raspberries and love chocolate, you should enjoy this. And if you love raspberries, love chocolate, and “understand” chocolate, this will dazzle you. Of course, if you’re in that latter camp, you most definitelty need to walk up to Rue Gomboust, to Hugo & Victor, and have their Hugo Chocolat. Together with JPH’s Chocolat Framboise here, they are perhaps the two smartest chocolate patisseries in Paris.

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