Technically this blog was created to post recipes from recipe books; however, when I made Jacquy’s éclairs, I knew I had to create my own, and I’ll tell you why! Éclairs originated in France, and when my best friend and I went to Paris, they were one of the mandatory pastries I had on our list to try. I had seen nothing but the most beautiful éclairs from L’Éclair de Génie and was SO EXCITED when we finally located their shop after what felt like forever trying to find it! The shop we went to was located inside a building with no signs! My excitement couldn’t be contained when we not only found L’Éclair de Génie but also Pierre Hermé in the same place! Macarons are a…

Technically, the next recipe in The Art of French Pastry is puff pastry; however, as it is going to be used four times in other recipes in this book, I decided on skipping it. It is very time consuming, and I didn’t want to waste it. Plus, the next recipe is éclairs ♥︎ I grew up on éclairs. At least, I thought I did. I thought Long Johns were éclairs. We got those from the local gas station all the time as kids. Little did I know….Long Johns are actually long rectangular donuts made with yeast dough and fried. They’re usually filled with bavarian cream or a very sweet frosting. Éclairs are made with non-yeast leavened dough (pâte à choux) and baked. They’re primarily filled with pastry cream but I’ve…

I have made salambos twice. Once in 2017, when I originally started baking through The Art of French Pastry and the second being now. The difference between how my recipes turned out is crazy-it’s amazing how much I’ve learned in the past two years on my own! I decided to keep pictures from each day to show a bad batch and a good batch. Difficulty in 2017: 4/5, purely because it was the first time I made pâte à choux AND pastry cream AND caramel…and I had to make the caramel twice… Difficulty now: 2/5, this recipe came together so much easier the second time. Granted, there were two years in between, but I think it helped I had made them before. Taste in 2017: 3/5.…