Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Carl Marletti
Add: 51 Rue Censier, 75005 Paris
Tel: 01 43 31 68 12
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 10am~8pm [Sun] 10am~1:30pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.carlmarletti.com
Price: €4.2~5.5
Visited on: Nov 2012
In Carl Marletti’s small and only boutique, jewel-like pastries spread out in neat and seemingly endless rows. Oh, it’s simply impossible for me to decide which of these beauties to pick! If you are like me, ask the friendly store staff for explanations, and be prepared to come back multiple times to try them all.
If this Marie-Antoinette (€5.10) reminds you of Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan, you are most certainly right. The two are similar in construction – both are macarons sandwiching fresh raspberries and rose cream – but Marie-Antoinette is composed of raspberry (instead of rose) macarons, lacks the lychee flavor in Ispahan, and has an extra dose of raspberry in the form of confit.
Lily Valley (€4.90), an eye-catching tower of purple, has all the components of a Saint Honoré, except everything – from the cream inside the mini choux puff pastry to the spiral of Chantilly cream to the sugar garnish – is violet-flavored. This is one of Carl Marletti’s most famous creations, and though I personally don’t like pastries with this much cream, it still is worth trying especially for those who are fans of violet.
My favorite among the trio of desserts I tried today was Montblanc (€5.50), which, as you can clearly remark, looks nothing like the typical version. Instead of a wild tangle of thin chestnut strands piled high, Carl Marletti’s Montblanc is a clean-cut rectangle composed of the lightest chestnut mousse punctuated with candied chestnut bits. Sitting on a hazelnut dacquoise biscuit and topped with Mascarpone vanilla cream, the ensemble is airy and harmonious, with a smooth and resonating flavor. Love.
I’ve already tasted a good selection of desserts from Carl Marletti – Le Censier, Sablé Frambroise, Tarte Citron, Tarte aux Figues, and Eclair Vanille – but there’s still so much more to sample. If only this boutique were closer to home…
