[Paris] Pierre Hermé – Fetish Ispahan

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Pierre Hermé

Add: 72 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Hours: 10am~7pm (7:30pm on Thu-Fri, 8pm on Sat)
Website: www.pierreherme.com
Price: €4.50~7.30/individual dessert
Visited on: Nov 2013

On my first day in Paris, I religiously trekked over to Pierre Hermé’s boutique on rue Bonaparte to have a taste of his legendary creation – Ispahan. Conjured up by the famed chef during his days at Ladurée, Ispahan is two pieces of rose macaron biscuits sandwiching rose petal cream, whole raspberries, and litchis. If you like the sound of this, then you absolutely must visit his boutique RIGHT NOW, because ’tis the season of Fetish Ispahan, during which you can taste 21 different interpretations of this flavor combination, and it ends in just…one week!

Here’s the original Ispahan (€7) for those who haven’t met this charmer yet.

And yes, 21 interpretations of Ispahan including tart, choux, mille feuille, croissant, macaron, sablé, tea, jam, nougat, caramel, etc., and even a recipe book. The choices were tough to make, but these were what I came home with.

First of all, Choux Ispahan (€7). The choux pastry is baked with a layer of crumble, which provides a satisfying crunch at the bite. It’s filled with a light rose mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries, and litchis. Lovely.

Next, Mille Feuille Ispahan (€7), with caramelized puff pastry sandwiching rose mascarpone cream, raspberry and litchi compote. The thin layer of raspberry and litchi compote was just right – not too strong, not too sweet – and balances well with the cream and the crunchy puff pastry.

Then there’s Cheesecake Ispahan (€7), which is pâte sablée topped with a moist cake soaked in raspberry syrup, a tender rose and raspberry cheesecake, a thin layer of raspberryand litchi compote, and lastly a light cream of rose-flavoured cream cheese. Creamy but not too rich. The top layer of cream cheese is slightly salted to highlight and sweetness of other ingredients.

During Pierre Herme’s Fetish Baba back in March, I’ve tried his Baba Ispahan (€7), which is a brioche soaked in a raspberry syrup flavored with wild raspberry eau-de-vie, then topped with rose mascarpone cream and fresh litchis and raspberries. I wasn’t a big fan, but then again I never really liked baba in general.

Something I do enjoy, on the other hand, is Croissant Ispahan (€2.10), which is available all year and not just during Fetish Ispahan. I’d already talked about this here, but for those who haven’t heard, this is a croissant with rose-flavored almond paste, raspberry litchi compote, then topped off with rosewater glaze and a sprinkling of small raspberry pieces. It’s quite sweet and is more like a dessert rather than a breakfast item, but hear me, it’s good.

There’s also Confiture Ispahan (€10.50 ), with is a jam made of two layers: at the bottom is litchi jam flavored with rose, and on top is raspberry jam. The recipe is from Pierre Hermé, but the production is done by Christine Ferber a.k.a. the queen of confiture, and this is absolutely worth a try.

Cake Ispahan (€12), perfect for tea time. It’s an almond pound cake with rose and small pieces of raspberry, but alas no litchi flavor in this one.

Likewise for the Sablé Ispahan (€12).

Haven’t had enough of rose + raspberry + litchi? Go have a look yourself, but hurry up as Fetish Ispahan ends on December 6th. 1 more week left, on y va!