Ladurée :: La Fraise Ladurée
By Paris Pâtisseries in Laduree, Pastry Reviews
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Happy Valentine’s (one day early) everyone! I had a difficult time deciding what the most appropriate pastry to share today would be. It ultimately came down to La Fraise here and Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan, but since I’m a bit partial to La Fraise, you get this one now and the Ispahan on Friday. So look forward to a PH piece full of raspberries and rose cream, in just a few days. And, hey, two beloved pastries in one week . . . lucky you.
I have to admit that when I first saw La Fraise I thought it was a bit of a gimmick. Beatifully done, of course, but the probability of it amounting to form over substance seemed incredibly high. At the same time, it was such a fun and clever idea – and one I couldn’t imagine any other pâtisserie doing – that I had to have it boxed up right away. So what did I think once I tore in and ravaged the piece in its entirety? Well . . .
La Fraise is an excellent pastry. The bulk of it is a simply awesome strawberry crème mousseline. Quite firm and dense, as mousseline will be, it had a delicate light sweetness and exploded with strawberry tones. The inner layers of strawberry confit, too, were more than a little expressive of their luscious strawberry notes – and much more tart than sweet. Perfect. You can truly taste the fruit without having it muddled by an overload of sugar. Last but not least was the coconut biscuit. Bringing a needed switch-up to the gooey textures of the mousseline and confit, it also added just the perfect hint of coconut flavor. The net effect of La Fraise was that of a wonderfully filling, smooth strawberry extravaganza with wafts of coconut goodness. Loved it.
Ladurée scores a few bonus points here for some very well-applied “seeds”. While you know I’ve had issues with the precision of their work in the past, La Fraise was very cleanly done. The marzipan stem, as well, was handled fairly well.
Check this out – alternating bands of strawberry mousseline, strawberry confit, and coconut biscuit. There should probably be a country that adopts this as their flag. Wouldn’t you agree?
So, yes, absolutely grab La Fraise. I believe it will come back to the Ladurée case in May, so you’re just a few months away from being able to indulge in its delights. Until then, you can always pick up any of the other dozen goodies I always recommend at Ladurée: Réligieuse Rose, Tarte Tatin, Harmonie, Divin, Macaron Fleur d’Oranger, and on-and-on. Oh, and make sure to check back here on Friday, when I whip out Pierre Hermé’s famous Ispahan, which not too coincidentally debuted at Ladurée back when he was the chef pâtissier there.
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