[Paris] Jacques Genin (2)

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Jacques Genin

Add: 133 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 77 29 01
Hours: Tue-Sun 11am~7pm (8pm on Sat, closed on Mon)
Website: jacquesgenin.fr
Price: [desserts] €6.50~13 [drinks] €4.50~11.00
Tasted on: Sep 2013

I could hardly believe it myself. I had been living in Paris for over a year, yet I hadn’t tasted Jacques Genin’s famous Paris-Brest. It’s not that I don’t frequent his shop – I’d already been there 5 or 6 times – it’s just that ever since Genin has cut down his pastry production (details here), the offerings at his salon de thé have been elusive. You are likely to see mille feuille and tarte au citron (both are must-tries, by the way) on the menu, but items like Paris-Brest are not always there.

On my visit last week, however, I actually had a chance to try some of these rarer items – and not just one, but three! We managed to get Paris-Brest, cheesecake, and l’éphémère on the table, in the addition to the frequently-seen mille feuille and tarte citron.

Since I’ve already raved about the mille feuille and tarte au citron in a previous post, let’s go straight for the Paris-Brest (€8). What it is: a ring of choux pastry studded with crunchy hazelnuts, sandwiching swirls of gorgeous hazelnut praline cream. Holy, moly, heavenly – I was not disappointed despite ultra high expectation. It’s not too sweet or overly rich, but the serving is generous so sharing is recommended.

Equally worth a try is the Cheesecake (€8). Fresh, light, fluffy, and supremely aromatic (lord knows how many vanilla beans went in this). Again, very generous portion, sharing recommended.

Lastly, l’éphémère (€8), a chocolate mousse cake with a thin, crunchy bottom of praliné. Strong, concentrated chocolate flavor, and not at all too sweet.

To be able to taste so many untried pastries from Jacques Genin really made the day bright and lovely. Did Genin up his pastry production, or was this pure luck? I guess we will find out on the next visit…