Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Laduree's Sucre


Laduree's Sucre

Sucre is a sweet "little gem" of a book. 
It's from my favorite Parisian Patisseire Laduree

I have a sweet spot for anything Laduree.  Laduree is always one of my first stops whenever I visit Paris. 

Sucre is a book to treasure.  It comes presented in a Laduree trademark pastel green box wrapped inside lavender tissue paper. The book's covering is a soft pastel green velvet with gilded pages. Oui, it's quite regal! 

Sucre is like a present when you open it for the first time.

My book was a present to myself for my birthday last month.  I found my copy at the charming San Francisco boutique, Nest.  You may be able to find it online or you may just have to hop a flight to Paris and pick one up!

Sucre

Sucre in French translates to sugar in English. 

Sucre features 100 sweet recipes from Laduree Pastry Chef, Phillipe Andrieu.  The book was originally only available in French.  Merci Laduree for making it available in English!

Bilingual food and travel writer, Kerrin Rousset translated the book to English.  I wonder how long that actually took her?  You can read more about it on her blog

Sucre is filled with perfect photographs so sweetly styled.  They will certainly make you crave Laduree's  sweet pastries.  I'm not sure if I will actually ever try to "whip" up any of it's recipes.  In my opinion...the book is perfect "eye candy" just sitting on my cocktail table!

So here's a petite peak inside Sucre for you:

Pyramid of Macaroons

The book begins with the story of Laduree

In 1862 Louis Ernest Laduree opened his bakery in the heart of Paris at 16 rue Royal

You can still visit this original location today as well as other locations in Paris.  The first French macaron I ever had was at the Laduree salon on the Champs Elysees.  It was love at first bite!


Macaron Amande
(Almond Macaron)

What would a Laduree book be without their world famous macarons? 

 Luckily for us, the first section in the book is Les Macarons.   There are recipes for:  Macarons Amande, Chocolat, Citron and Framboise.  The latter three just so happen to be a few of my husband and my favorite flavors!


Cake au Citon
(Lemon Cake)

Laduree's Cake au Citron looks like a perfect tea cake to me! 

It features a lemon cake batter with a lemon syrup and lemon glaze over it.  I think this would be lovely to pair at tea time with Laduree's Earl Grey tea


Financiers

I think Financiers are perfectly suited for a cup of tea!

I've made Financiers before.  They are similar to Madeleines.

These little tea cakes are called financiers because their traditional rectangular bar shape resemble little bars of gold!  Sur La Table now carries (online only) a mini financier mold made in France. 


So Treat Yourself!

This book makes a lovely present to yourself and anyone who loves:
 Laduree, Tea Time, Baking and French Sweet Treats. 

 I hope you treat yourself to Sucre!

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