Mini-cakes of gold

There seems to be a reason why I’m always drawn to staying in the Latin Quarter in Paris. While it is close to the sights and the Seine, it is also home to several food markets and fabulous boulangeries. So on our recent trip, it just so happened that our rented apartment was located just around the corner from rue Monge, the location of one of Paris’ premier bakers, Eric Kayser. With stores all over town, his original store is located on this street; in fact, he has 2 stores almost adjacent to each other, one of which is an organic bakery.

Muji dog couldn't wait either....

It was a regular breakfast stop of ours and as we joined the queue (& there was ALWAYS a queue here), we deliberated over what to have. There are an amazing array of breads full of different fruits & grains - the pain aux figues was incredible (check out Oswego Tea’s review of it here), the croissants buttery & crisp. But the mini financiers were a revelation! These little almond tea cakes were originally created for financiers in the late nineteenth century and were baked in little rectangular pans to resemble bars of gold! You can still see these versions at patisseries all over the place. Eric Kayser had 3 mini versions in semi-hemispherical shapes…almond, pistachio & chocolate (above). I just couldn’t resist & needed to try all 3!

They were buttery, nutty, chewy morsels of cakey heaven! I could compare them to friands, but that wouldn’t do them justice (& I’m not a big fan of them anyway). These little financiers were in a class of their own. There’s no way you can stop at 1, so we didn’t….they were only bite-size after all! N

Maison Kayser
8 rue Monge & 14 rue Monge (Organic)
75005 Paris
Metro: Maubert-Mutualite
Open: 8 rue Monge – Wed-Sun 7am-8.30pm. 14 rue Monge – Tues-Sun 7am-8.15pm