March 17, 2008
Kouign Amann etc.
I'm sure there are people out there who step inside a new pastry shop, glance at the display, order what they want, and walk out. I have no idea how they do it.
Take, for instance, Philippe Conticini's recently opened boutique, which I visited last month, before I left for Australia. It is a tiny thing, just a small room with stone walls, a wooden door, and a window that looks out onto Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine, one of the prettiest squares in Paris (for best effect, visit on a weekday afternoon in early February, when you have the whole place to yourself).
For those of you who went "huh?" when I mentioned Conticini's name in the previous paragraph, let's just say he is a prominent French pastry chef who used to work at La Table d'Anvers, at Pétrossian, and at the legendary but sadly defunct Pâtisserie Peltier. He has published a number of books
(We interrupt this program to rant about these clunky all-Flash websites that are annoying to navigate and impossible to link to, that throw animated things in your face and unwanted sound effects in your ears, and are so difficult for the owner to maintain that the information is instantly stale. Anything's better than no website, but still, a little simplicity -- not to mention humility -- never did anyone any harm.)
Exceptions Gourmandes is also the name of the shop Conticini has just opened in the Marais. To people who are interested in such things, it is a momentous event, for this is the first time* his stuff is made available to the general public since Peltier closed a few years ago. And it is only the dawn of a new era, as there is talk of him opening another, larger pastry shop this October, which, in Parisian parlance, means sometime before 2012.
But this new boutique is tiny, as we've established. It is tastefully sparse -- a dark wood counter by the window, a few shelves along each wall, a table at the back -- and it holds, all in all, a relatively narrow range of products, from which it would have been easy to choose, you'd think.
There was nougat and pain d'épice, there were individually wrapped caramels and variously flavored pâtes à tartiner (sweet spreads), there were thick sablés (butter cookies) made with Isigny butter, financiers and spéculoos -- all goods that can be safely transported from the lab where they're made (the boutique has no kitchen) and, more importantly, can be eaten out of hand easily, while sitting on a bench beneath the trees, a few steps outside the shop.
And, incredibly enough, those are all things I dearly love. I would have bought one of each if I'd listened to my heart, but that is not a viable strategy in the long run (I currently have six pastry shops on my to-visit list) and the Voice of Reason said, "Thou shalt limit thyself to three items."
So I got a box of eight macarons ("Hah!" I said to the Voice of Reason), a kouign amann (this butter-rich, flaky, caramelized confection from Brittany**), and a piece of chocolat au marteau (a large slab of chocolate from which a section is broken off with a hammer).
The macarons came in eight different flavors -- that day: vanilla, raspberry, lemon, chocolate, pistachio/caramel, walnut/coffee, salted butter caramel, coconut/caramel -- and among those, the lemon and walnut/coffee were the unexpected winners. They were a tad too sweet for my taste, as is often the case with macarons, but technically impeccable. (They were also a bit banged up from my carrying them in and out of fitting rooms and on the bike ride home, but that's hardly Monsieur Conticini's fault.)
When the time came to taste the kouign amann, I had a bad feeling. I knew it was bizarrely shaped -- it rose very high, whereas the typical kouign amann is a flat disk, like the Earth -- and this unusual figure was part of the reason why I'd wanted to give it a try, but I hadn't expected it to be so light, almost as if it was a hollow shell. I sliced it in two with a bread knife and indeed, the inside had large pockets of air, and looked nothing like the typical kouign amann. My heart sank.
My heart sank, but not my appetite; the proof of the kouign is in the eating. I took a bite -- I had to open my jaw very very wide to manage a top-to-bottom bite, much like with burgers -- and smiled with relief. It was simply a mislabelling issue: this was not a kouign amann at all, but rather an outstanding brioche feuilletée (brioche dough that's been rolled over itself into several layers, so it becomes flaky like puff pastry), buttery and flavorful, its bottom enameled with a crackly layer of extra thin caramel.
But the real champion was, indubitably, the chocolat au marteau. I am a supporter of unconventional chocolate formats -- the thickness and shape of a piece of chocolate has noticeable effects on the taste experience -- and anything that requires a hammer to serve gets my vote, but this slab was really something: very thick, very dark, and very studded with roasted and caramelized nuts, it offered a superb mix of smooth and crunchy, of sweet and aromatic and nutty, and just enough bitter to keep you on your toes.
Take a look at what Pierre and David sampled on their visits. The offerings seem to vary slightly from one day to the next, so repeat visits are in order, and I've read the plan is to sell ice cream as well, later in the spring, I imagine (the French eat ice cream only when it's warm; odd, I know).
* Not counting the few special events he's been involved with since then, such as La Table Nutella in 2005.
** In the Breton language, kouign means cake or brioche, amann means butter, and you can probably get away with pronouncing it queen-ah-man. I've never made kouign amann myself, but David offers a recipe.
Exceptions Gourmandes / map it!
4 place du Marché Sainte-Catherine, 75004 Paris
Mon-Sat 11am-1pm and 2pm-7pm
01 42 77 16 50
Never miss a recipe!
Sign up for the Chocolate & Zucchini newsletter to receive monthly news and a digest of recent entries.
Print me! | 
Send by email
| 
Comments (56)
Permalink |
French version
| Posted by clotilde in
Desserts & Sweets
- Paris City Guide
Oh Clotilde! You know not what you do. Remember, oh so long ago, when you blogged about canneles? I had never had one. They're very difficult to find in the U.S. But I said to myself, I must have one!
At last I found them at Boulette's Larder in San Francisco (where I live).
Now I will be searching the city for Kouign Amann. Have it I must!
Posted by The Window Seat on March 17, 2008 9:19 PMOh no! You mean I spent the better part of a day the other week wandering around the Marais in total ignorance of this place's existence?? Ah well, something to put on the list for next time... (Although I must admit I had the same thought as you when I saw the photo and the caption. That doesn't look like any kouign-amann I've ever seen!)
Posted by Rachel on March 17, 2008 9:30 PMYou're better than I to actually impose some limits on what you can buy. We'll turn our heads that the box of macarons was 8 somethings :) I'd be curious about the caramels - I can't get enough of french caramel.
Posted by Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy on March 17, 2008 9:50 PMThe voice of reason is very overrated. I just told mine "hah!" as well and had ice cream for lunch. Wonderful honey-lavender ice cream from Ici in Berkeley. The voice of reason has no place there.
Posted by paperbackwriter on March 17, 2008 10:31 PMI was buying a kouign amman every couple of days from Pierre Hermé when in Paris in November and really got addicted to it. I tried a flatter one bought at the Marché Richard Lenoir. I wish that it can be found in San Francisco. Windowseat, please post here at C&Z if you are successful in locating them!
When you wrote about canneles, I looked for it as well. Every Thursday at the Farmer's Market at the Galleria (between Post and Sutter), The Bay Bread Company sells them and other french goodies.
It's good to know about Conticini - will definitely go there the next time I'm in Paris (if the dollar ever stops going down).
Posted by Lilia on March 17, 2008 10:52 PMAbout those flashed-out sites that immediately make you jump for the "mute" button? Word.
Posted by Katie on March 17, 2008 11:17 PMWonderful and saliva inducing post as usual :) I have a question: how much is not speaking French a barrier between me and all those delicious things in the shop?
Posted by Sara on March 17, 2008 11:26 PMEverything sounds delicious Clotilde but the chocolat au marteau sounds intriguing. I think it would be my favourite too.
Posted by barbara on March 17, 2008 11:27 PMseems I've actually tasted the paragraph beginning: But the real champion was...sara, language is no barrier when it comes to pastry!
Posted by Joan on March 18, 2008 2:23 AMooh le chocolat au marteau! miam!
Posted by marie on March 18, 2008 5:48 AMencore merci ;)
Since I live in Michigan I figure it will be pretty hard for me to find a bakery that sells kougin amann. Is it easy to make at home?
Posted by Mackenzie on March 18, 2008 5:57 AMOK, now I'm hungry. And longing for Paris.
Ditto on the all-Flash sites. They're not entertaining and certainly not useful. They're very much akin to companies that make you go through 20 different phone menus with annoying music just to find out some simple piece of information.
Posted by Kitt on March 18, 2008 6:26 AMI've never heard of a kouign amann but it looks pretty good, but I want some chocolat au marteau! That looks delightful. My mouth literally just wet itself.
I want some chocolat au marteau! That looks awesome.
Posted by Nick on March 18, 2008 7:51 AMVoice of reason? Hah! Hammers are good for other things than serving up good chocolate ;)
Posted by Jesper on March 18, 2008 9:06 AMSara - As long as you use the basic phrases of politeness (bonjour, s'il vous plait, merci, au revoir), the rest of the dialogue can be all pointing and nodding!
Mackenzie - Making kouign amann is a rather involved process (that's probably why bakeries outside of Brittany are not tripping over themselves to sell it) but if you'd like to give it a try, David has a recipe. (Note that the quality of the butter you use is instrumental.)
Posted by clotilde on March 18, 2008 10:38 AMVoilà une adresse à ne pas manquer lors de mon prochain passage à Paris!
Posted by Flo Bretzel on March 18, 2008 10:46 AMIt never occurred to me to eat pain d'épices for breakfast. I buy little heartshaped ones from my local lady and serve floating on custard/crème anglaise.
Posted by Susan on March 18, 2008 2:14 PMIf only I'd noticed on the weekend you have a recipe for speculoos - would have gone perfectly with my champagne rhubarb and blood orange syllabub.
Those macarons are very pretty and much less luridly coloured than many you see.
Sara - I would second that you don't need much French in a pâtissier - smiling and pointing are pretty standard ways of communicating in such places. A few politenesses as Clothilde suggests and if you are feeling game, that ever useful phrase 'je voudrais' (then point) or if you feel the need to go the extra mile 'puis-je avoir' (then smile and point).
I adore Kouign Amann. If I could, I would eat one every single day until I die.
Posted by Cafe Johnsonia on March 18, 2008 3:02 PMGreat post! Thanks for the link to David's recipe for Kouign Amann. Since I don't see myself getting to Paris any time soon (sigh), I'll be making this at home.
Eileen
Posted by Eileen on March 18, 2008 3:03 PMMiam, miam, je sais où je vais aller me promener le week-end prochain!! Merci pour cette bonne adresse!
Bravo pour tes apparitions dans Elle à Table et Elle! ;-)
Posted by Anne on March 18, 2008 4:26 PMAre you sure this patisserie is mistaken in what it's calling a kouign amann? I'd be interested were you to investigate further and report back.
I followed David Lebovitiz's recipe last winter with mixed results and have yet to try again. However, when image-googling the name of the pastry, the majority of photos are show a multi-layered, or tiered, buttery, caramelized cake vs. the kind of lovely, coiled pastry you documented during a trip to St.-Malou. Online recipes differ radically, especially since some can be made lickety-split. However, my research suggests that Lebovitz and Martha Stewart both are rather faithful to French tradition in time-consuming recipes that essentially require you to make a "rough" puff pastry with lots and lots of granulated sugar folded into the dough. Martha Stewart's small, individual cakes resemble the item you photograph here whereas the coiled, flaky pastry you link seems to be shaped from something closer to a true puff-pastry dough.
Posted by Elizabeth on March 18, 2008 5:34 PMI can never make a decision in a pastry shop either. Politics, yes. Shoes, yes.
Never, ever with pastries. And what's the harm in that?
Posted by Liz on March 18, 2008 6:38 PMElizabeth - David's recipe is indeed faithful to the classic style, as pictured here. The coiled shape I shot in Saint-Malo is less frequent, but I've seen it done that way in other places in Brittany.
My point was that the traditional kouign amann is always flat and galette-shaped, and it never ever is a leavened dough with air pockets in it, unlike a brioches feuilletées or this pastry.
Posted by clotilde on March 18, 2008 8:16 PMI used to work at a Belgian Patisserie and two of my all time favourite things to indulge on were kouign amman and speculoos. I'd forgotten how much I loved k.a. until I read this! Yum!
Posted by carolyn on March 18, 2008 10:19 PMI am quite blessed that there are no good pastry shops here in Baltimore as pastry is my passion and I would be as fat as a house if I had unlimited access to fine quality pastries such as those you mention!
Posted by emmak on March 18, 2008 10:47 PMYummm. I would buy the place out! I have an awful decision maker about everything in life. But when it comes to pastry, it's not too hard. Just take one of each!
Sues
Posted by Sues is not Martha on March 18, 2008 10:50 PMFélicitations pour Elle!
Posted by Eliz on March 18, 2008 11:44 PMTop la classe une page dans ELLE!
Et toutes ces petites adresses à recommander j'ai bien apprécié!
Hey Clotilde! I don't know if you've heard, but your blog is #38 on the list of the world's 50 most powerful blogs. Congrats!
Posted by Danni on March 19, 2008 3:14 AMThank you for David's recipe.
Posted by chocolat on March 19, 2008 10:56 AMChocolat of Cookinginrome
Sara, I taught my husband how to order pastries and sent him on his way. The woman at the shop was very kind as he bungled it all up. He tried, I think that was worth more than anything.
Wonderful post as usual! I'm almost there.
Posted by Erin on March 19, 2008 12:06 PMI love Kouigh Aman, and it is the only pastry, thank you for reminding me to have one next time I am in Bretagne, this weekend! tell you about it!
Congratulations for being number 38 of the 50 most powerful blogs.
Posted by nabila on March 19, 2008 12:37 PMLet me tell you something: I am a Kouign Amann lover. Years ago; i confess to my friend how fond i was of This wonderful cake from Bretagne.
Few months later she paid me a visit with 5 Kouign Amann in her luggage.
I ate the cake for days and weeks until i got sick.
I couldn't help stealing in the fridge like a thief late at night.
Kouign Amann what should i do with you?
Same for Macaron....
Posted by willykean on March 19, 2008 3:06 PMJust to jump in here, after reading this delicious write-up, I think I need to get back over there myself. And to the person inquiring, yes, they speak English in the shop. Although not as good as Clotilde!
Regarding the Kouign Amann recipe, although I provided step-by-step photos, and successfully made the recipe numerous times, people reported either it was too hard, or, curiously, too soft. (The difference is kinda interesting!) My suspicion is the difference between French and American butter and flour may be the culprit.
I'm having someone in the US test the recipe using ingredients there and will report back. And if anyone made, or is making it, and has a photo and wants to send it my way, I'm interested in seeing it.
Posted by David on March 19, 2008 3:19 PMThanks for the link to les mangues italiennes; I've bookmarked it, it's great!
And Philippe Conticini's place will get a visit very early in our next Paris idyll.
Posted by shelli on March 20, 2008 2:36 AMThanks, Clotilde. Like Shelli I'll make a beeline for the Kouign Amann...maybe right from Roissy airport.
Posted by Cara on March 20, 2008 4:36 PMHow lucky am I to live around the corner from this tiny shop? I went two days ago to try the kouign amann, and it was heavenly, as were the macarons. Today I went back to sample more and was surprised to see that they had no pastries, just macarons and the nougat, etc. Everything there is so wonderful, I hope for the best -it's just so tucked away there, maybe hard for people to see and so they might not carry the pastries every day? A good enough excuse as any to keep going every day until I find out. ;)
Posted by jessica on March 20, 2008 8:42 PMC'est une adresse à se damner, et je ne sais jamais, non plus, entrer dans un endroit pareil sans hésiter pendant quelques minutes...
Posted by Natalia on March 20, 2008 11:11 PMChocolat au marteau!
You've renewed my resolve to save up for another trip to Paris.
And did I notice someone say you have a recipe for speculoos around here? I'm off to search... I spent 18 months as a misionary in Belgium and northern France, and I miss speculoos!
Posted by TARA on March 21, 2008 5:43 AMNot only do the French not eat ice cream in odd seasons, but you don't eat it at odd times, either! When I was living in Montpellier, I once sat down at an outdoor cafe at eleven in the morning and saw ice cream on the menu (which for some reason, I wanted). The server gave me an odd look and informed me that "on ne doit pas commander la glace à onze heures"... then I asked if I could order a glass of Muscat so early and he said "Certainly!" (with another odd look). À chacun son goût, I suppose ;-)
Posted by Judith on March 22, 2008 4:10 AMOh, I'm not even going to look at the recipes, I eat too much already. Such nice looking, and divine tasting, by all accounts, pastries would never survive long in my house.
Posted by Hobbit Gourmand on March 22, 2008 10:59 AMMackenzie, if you are anywhere near Ann Arbor in Michigan, you can certainly buy it at one of the shops in downtown.
I am sincerely impressed by the 8 flavors of macaroons... and inspired!
Posted by Nikki on March 23, 2008 2:08 PMSo happy you went! I love, love, love Conticini's work - and really hope his October 08 opening does not translate to 2012. I want one of his buche de noel this year! At Peltier he made these very sleek, futuristic, cream and silver, bullet-train-shaped buches.
Posted by Louisa on March 24, 2008 3:15 PMThis looks very similar to a cinnamon crunch bagel I tried last week. Of course the bagel was nothing like this on the inside. Sounds delicious!
Posted by J.F. on March 24, 2008 6:38 PMoh, wonderful-I am there! If anyone knows of a place in Denver to get any decent Frnech pastries, would they give a shout? My mouth is just watering with these descriptions!
Posted by Rebecca on March 25, 2008 12:30 AMRecently given your book from a dear friend and friend of yours, Taina. I love it!
Posted by patricia on March 25, 2008 11:31 AMMy husband grew up in France and he will really appreciate all the recipes!
Merci!
Patricia
For anyone in the Boston area, you can find a great pain d'epice at the High Rise Bakeries in Cambridge or at their booths at the local farmer's markets in season. At least I think it's great - it's the only one I've ever had.
Posted by Aaron Kagan on March 25, 2008 5:37 PMI decided to find this place on Saturday and see if it's as good as you claim. I got lost in the Marais, which isn't at all a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and finally found it right before closing. Thank you! I got one of each of the eight flavors of macaron, pain d'epice, and of course a kouign amman. Never again will I eat one of those questionably colorful macarons from other stores. I wouldn't have normally tried a kouign amman since it doesn't have any chocolate. But that caramelized sugar crust on the bottom took it from good to great! I only wish I had had the will power to save it to eat with tea instead of on the spot in the place. Merci bien encore!
Posted by Sarah on March 25, 2008 6:21 PMLove your opening line about pastry shops. As a hugely indecisive person myself, I don't know how they do it either!
Posted by Hillary on March 25, 2008 10:43 PMSounds like not only a delicious experience but a visual feast.
Posted by Yoli on March 25, 2008 11:47 PMMmm, lucky I am in Australia and can't pop in to sample everything, I'm sure I would have to buy a bigger size in clothes! The flash website has gone, domain not renewed, what does that say? I am a webdesigner, I create all-Flash websites but ony when I have been unsuccessful at talking the client out of it.
Posted by Kerri on April 2, 2008 6:39 AMThat kouign amann you describe sounds like the way they are in Tokyo at Lenotre and other bakeries. I like them, whatever they are. But if you get them right out of the oven, they are a bit custardy inside and are even better. Since the bakers let them cool off in the pans before putting them out, you need to ask then when they will be done and then request that they give you a hot one. They collapse on themselves if not allowed to cool, which is why they don't sell them that way, but they taste wonderful.
For cannele I recommend the same thing: Get one from the baker half-raw right out of the pan.
Posted by Mark on April 2, 2008 8:52 AMMy response to the indecision is to buy far more than I should and go home and spend the afternoon slowly tasting each delicious morsel.
The Kouign Amann at Chez Michel was the cap on a delightful meal back in January.
Posted by Leah on April 2, 2008 11:09 AMGoodness, this is *so* close to my work... are you telling me that from now on I'll have to resist to both Mulot and Conticini ? - sigh - :-)
Posted by Adélie on April 2, 2008 11:52 PMKouigh Aman....I found them in a tiny little bakery in Montreal. Yeah!
Posted by Alice on April 3, 2008 6:05 PMle Kouign amann (gateau au beurre et au sucre) est un gateau qui a été créé par un patissier de Concarneau il y a environ 110 ans on en trouve de très bons à Quiberon dans le Morbihan (BRETAGNE). C'était autrefois un gateau de fête que l'on servait dans lse mariages il faut le manger tiède et frais du jour
Posted by yves on April 18, 2008 6:39 PMthey have amazing Kouign amann at a restaurant in Los Angeles called BLD - they serve them warmed. The ultimate treat any time of day.
Posted by artichokey on April 30, 2008 3:02 AMPrivacy. The email addresses you enter will not be used for any other purpose than the sending of this message.