Paris New York

Today we continue to go through the sweet side of the menu of Dominique Ansel Bakery.  Go here for part I.

Paris-New York: Mr Ansel’s take on Paris-Brest features a split ring of choux pastry filled with chocolate ganache, peanut butter ganache, peanut butter cream, and caramel.  If the Mini-Me cake is a chocolate lover’s dream, then the Paris-New York is for peanut butter lovers.  The pastry is light and is used primarily as a (GDS) -that’s a ganache delivery system.  Why order it? If you like peanut butter and dark chocolate it’s a no brainer.  Ansel on the Paris-New York “a twist on the Paris-Brest, a pate a choux pastry usually filled with hazelnut cream. I call mine the Paris-New York and used chocolate, caramel, and peanuts as my flavors. Can you tell where I got my inspiration from? It’s the ingredients you’ll find inside a Snicker’s bar, my favorite candy bar.”

Cross section of Paris-New York

Cinnamon Roll: Why anyone would order a cinnamon roll at DAB is beyond me.  Not that it wasn’t tasty because it was. It’s just that with so many other incredible pastries to choose from, only the most unadventurous and very risk-averse should even consider this.  Allowances made for children (or adults) who are obsessed with cinnamon rolls (I’m sure there’s a website somewhere).  Note to the Cinnamon Roll Association: please don’t send letters.  Why order it? Hmm, I guess to see how one of best pastry chefs in NYC makes a cinnamon roll?

Gâteau Battu: The gateau battu is like a giant slice of brioche.  Anything that would taste good on a plain brioche would be perfect on top of the gateau–jelly, butter, peanut butter, etc.  The flavor and texture remind  me a little of a less sweet challah bread.  Why order it? You need a break from all the sweet but aren’t ready to admit you are moving on to savory.  Ansel on the Gâteau Battu: “similar to a brioche, but much lighter and fluffier, from my hometown of Picardy. You bake it in a mold that looks like a chef’s hat, so it’s a very signature shape.”

Pain Au Chocolat: Perhaps no other pastry is as an important barometer of the class of a French baker then the Pain Au Chocolate.  The good news is Mr. Ansel’s are superb.  They are thin on the chocolate content but have a perfect and beautiful-to-look-at, spiraled crust.  I guess there must be something about Spring Street–currently the street with the two best pain au chocolats and croissants in NYC.  Why order it? This is one thing you can purchase day after day!

Other items – Macarons: The macarons from DAB are quite good.  I recommend the lemon and the chocolate.  Unlike some other bakeries he makes them in small amounts and if they run out, that’s it!    This is preferable to making tons of them and keeping them for days until the unpopular flavors get stale.

Mini-Me’s: The flavored meringue drops that dot some of the pastry are also available separately.  I recommend the peppermint, lemon or blueberry.  These would make a great party or wedding favor.  Ansel on the Mini-Me’s: “Then there are some little creations of my own. I love the Mini-Me’s. They are short for “Miniature Meringues” and come in lots of colors and flavors. What’s fun is that there are at least 8 ways to eat them: add them into hot chocolate, drop them into breakfast cereal, use them as ice cream toppings, the list goes on.”

Hazelnut brittle (yes it's as good as you think)

Hazelnut Brittle: Another great stocking stuffer.  The hazelnuts in this brittle are incredibly flavorful.  Note: If you decide to buy  this as a gift it’s best to purchase two so you can eat one on the way home.

Rice crispy made with Valrhona Caramelia

Rice Crispy: Like Jacques Torres’ corn flakes this sure-to-please gift uses Valrhona Caramelia–a milk chocolate caramel delicacy.

I asked Mr Ansel what signature product his bakery will be known for in 5 years?  Ansel: “I don’t know.  New Yorkers will have to tell me! So much work goes into every product that comes out of the kitchen – even the savory sandwiches is carefully sampled and tweaked. They are all my children – how can I play favorites?

Also check out Blondie and Brownie’s “Eating everything at Dominique Ansel Bakery“.

Dominique Ansel Bakery is located on 189 Spring Street (Sullivan).  Their website is here.  Part I of this story is here.  Follow DessertBuzz on Twitter.

World class canneles from Dominique Ansel Bakery

The recent trend in New York City restaurants and bakeries is to offer one thing and (hopefully) do it really well.  See Puddin’ on St. Marks.  But what if a bakery opens up and kills it in multiple categories?  Well, after my third visit I have even more conviction that Dominique Ansel Bakery is the best new bakery in Manhattan in a long time.  They have a number of best-in-class pastry from the canneles to the kouign amann (dubbed the next big thing by pastry chef and instructor Francisco Migoya) to special eclairs.  Let’s take a walk through the sweet side of the menu.

Kouign amann from Dominique Ansel Bakery

Kouign Amann: Confession time for the editor.  I had never heard of a “kouign amann” before September when Ansel and some other high-credibility chefs started talking about them at his bakery.  I’ve now eaten two or three so I consider myself an expert (I kid!) You don’t need 17 years of pasty experience to know when you taste something special.  Here’s a video of  Ansel in action creating the pastry. The best description of what a Kouign Amann is can be found on David Lebovitz’s blog.  Why order it? Because it’s like a great croissant with a “perfectly-caramelized melange of butter, sugar, and salt” and in the words of David Byrne nothing is better than that.

Special addition black and white eclair with dual fillings

Black and White Eclair: Dominique Ansel in not from New York but he shows he has learned a bit about what New Yorkers’ like by offering a classic French pastry that evokes the iconic NYC black and white cookie.  The glaze is half dark chocolate and half white chocolate and one side of the éclair is filled with chocolate cream, the other with vanilla cream.

Inside the black and white eclair

The thing about eclairs is that I suspect most people have never tried a really good one.  I have memories of  the eclairs they sold at Twin Donut in New York in the early 80’s.  This is a place where on any given day there might be three homeless guys sharing a cruller and smoking cigarettes at their table.  Why order it? There are only 1 or two other places in NYC to get an eclair this good.

Canneles: Crispy on the outside custardy on the inside

Canneles: Without a doubt the best I have tasted in NYC.  They feature a dark, crisp and perfectly caramelized exterior and a  super-moist interior.  The custard-like-inside has plenty of flavor too owing to the liberal use of  rum in the recipe.  Read more about canneles along with some great photos here.  Why order it? Transport yourself to Bordeaux for only $3.

Mini me dark chocolate cake

Mini-Me Chocolate Cake: With all due respect to Verne Troyer this is the best incarnation of Mini-me.   The “Mini Me” meringue-topped chocolate cake is served from a case but it might as well be a made-to-order plated dessert.  It has a perfect blend of flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and a dark chocolate glaze.  Toasted meringue “mini-me” twists on top (available for purchase separately)  finish off the dessert.  Despite all the chocolate it’s still  not too sweet!  Why order it? If you’re a chocolate lover–stop contemplating and get it.

Visit us again tomorrow for Part II: Paris-New York, Gâteau Battu, and an interview with the man himself.

Paris New York

Dominique Ansel Bakery is located on 189 Spring Street (Sullivan).  Their website is here.

Follow DessertBuzz on Twitter.

Peanut chocolate chip cookie from two little red hens bakery

Here’s the thing with cookies:  Even the not-so-special ones are pretty damn good.  If a bakery has high turnover even pedestrian cookies are often really good.  After all, the main ingredients are butter, sugar, flour and perhaps some type of chocolate, peanut butter or other type of candy chip.  Ben and Jerry’s already proved with their cookie dough flavors that you don’t even need to bake these ingredients for them to taste good.

So how does a bakery distinguish itself from all the others and deliver a cookie that stands above the crowd?  Truthfully, I don’t know, but I do know that Two Little Red Hens has some of the best cookies in New York.  They might not be as talked about as  Levain or Jacques Torres but that’s only because their tiny bakery is all the way up on 2nd Ave and 86 St.

The peanut chocolate chip cookie is slightly crisp around the outside and softer and cake-like on the inside with an awesome peanut flavor and nice big square chunks of chocolate.  For peanut and peanut butter lovers, this cookie is a “must eat” right behind the Bouchon Bakery nutter butter.

Pumpkin spice scone from two little red hens bakery in NYC

Next up was the seasonal pumpkin spice scone.  I was mentally prepared for a letdown after the cookies but the scone was every bit as good as the cookie.

Don’t be turned off by the scone’s huge size.  Instead, just think of it as a good value. The first thing you’ll notice is all the great spice flavors inside.  Then, you taste the bits of Cranberry and pumpkin.  The texture reminded me of banana bread.   It’s also very moist.  And this moistness is all the more amazing given that it was 2:00 p.m.  when I purchased my scone.  That means if you get there early in the morning you’ll have an even fresher product than I did.  Look for more Two Little Red Hens reviews soon.

Recommended: Any of the cookies but especially the Peanut Chocolate Chip and the Pumpkin Spice Scone.

Two Little Red Hens bakery  is located at 1652 2nd Ave (86th St.)

Their website is here.

Could these be the best croissants and pain au chocolats in New York? Who the hell knows. In my opinion, yes.

The pictures really say more about how good they are than my clunky descriptions ever could. I’ll just add that in comparison to Zabars they more than hold their own.

Zabar’s has two different croissant offerings: One that’s flown in from France every day which has just as good flavor but not the texture of the Bouley Bakery product. The other, which is house made, is also very good but is too soggy with butter for my liking. Only City Bakery comes close with a great texture in a less buttery croissant.

Bouley Bakery is here.  Tomorrow, we talk scones. Blue Ribbon and Bouley scones.