Un Dimanche à Paris :: Tartelette Framboise-Estragon
By Paris Pâtisseries in Pastry Reviews, Un Dimanche à Paris
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My friend Julie asked me the other day what my first stop would be once I got back to Paris. My reply was of course that I would head straight to Un Dimanche à Paris for a candied clementine and some hot chocolate. I’ll probably be “forced” to indulge in a pastry or five there, as well. With chef pâtissier Quentin Bailly recently being named the captain of France’s World Cup pastry team, my guess is that the case of goodies is going to be in even higher gear than ever. I’ll be helpless to resist.
After my visit to Un Dimanche, I’ll deinfitely have to run to Le Bonbon au Palais to pick up the two dozen coquelicot marshmallows I plan to pre-order (not kidding), as well as some salted butter pralines and various other bags of candies/confections I’ve come to know and love. Then I’m going to walk back to Un Dimanche for another quick hot chocolate and some pastries to eat later that evening. After months of starving myself here in the States, moderation is going to be out the window. And one of the pastries I’m sure to pick up is the subject of today’s review, the Tartlette Framboise-Estragon.
Lest you think “estragon” is the French word for “estrogen” (and who could blame you?), it’s actually their term for tarragon. Why infuse tarragon in a white chocolate ganache, then pair that with raspberry confit and a sweet pâte sablée croustillante? Because it’s delicious. Sure, tarragon is almost always a savory flavoring, but in the ganache it adds a sweet anise-like quality that can’t help but be loved.
Take a bite, and the pâte sablée crumbles less like a cookie and more like a delicate sandcastle of tastiness. Savor that sensation in the fleeting moments before the ganache slips unctuously across your tongue – unleashing its light tarragon perfume – and the sweet tang of the raspberry confit springs to life. Not only is the raspberry a flavor explosion in itself, but it seems to amplify and highlight the magic of the sablée and ganache, bringing it all together as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Before you can even ask the tartelette how it got so tasty, the last remaining bites of it softly whisper, “Shhh…we know. We know. Just devour us.”
This tartelette is one of the main reasons why I love Un Dimanche as much as I do. The form is fun, a little more complicated than your average raspberry tarte(lette), and a little off-beat – without being weird or awkward. The use of tarragon infused white chocolate is not only inventive, but it totally works on the palate. And the sablée kicks in the third part of the trifecta of excellence – unconventionally sweet and with a marvelous texture. I guess there’s a reason Quentin was named captain of the World Cup team.
Don’t you just want to lick the raspberry confit right off the screen?! It’s silly how awesome it and the whole tartelette is.
So, yes, absolutely grab a Tartelette Framboise-Estragon from Un Dimanche. And make sure to snag a bunch of macarons, a candied clementine, a few pastries for the road and some hot chocolate. You might have to budget two or three visits just to fit it all in. But since it’s right across the Odéon metro, it’s a convenient place to stop at almost any time of day for a sweet fix.
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