Parisian women are slim and health-conscious, but they're also gourmets who enjoy the pleasures of the table, provided they consume them in moderation. In any case, traditional patisserie is on the rise, with the cream puffs of yesteryear as the main protagonists... One of the bakeries specializing in this mini-gourmet is the legendary Popelini: here's its unusual story...
Popelini...
To revive the chou, a French pastry treasure that has fallen into oblivion, and reinvent this great classic through four collections: that's the promise Lauren Koumetz made when she created Popelini, the place to buy fantastic cream puffs, right here in Paris.
Everyone has their own little madeleine de Proust. And Lauren's eyes sparkle when she remembers the cream puffs she enjoyed with her grandmother on Wednesday afternoons.
First sensations, first loves, patisserie, a blend of velvet and crunch, simplicity and mystery, became her passion. Laurent discovered the art of goldsmithing in the workshops of Lette, a company specialized in macaroons and founded by his father in California. It was the early 2000s. This soft, almond paste-based pastry was a hit.
But her studies led her to another passion, high jewelry, within the marketing department of Van Cleef & Arpels. Her approach to luxury, however, did not allow her to forget her sin of gluttony and her desire to create her own company. Why not create a line of gourmet products, crafted like jewelry and capable of satisfying every craving? The idea: small cream puffs, then out of fashion.
In the course of his research, he came across the name Popelini, creator of choux pastry and official chef to Catherine de Médicis. A round, musical name that smells of Italy. The uncontrollable call of precious stones led him to discover a small boutique in his native Marais, no bigger than a pocket handkerchief, which Laurent transformed into a sober, elegant jewelry box.
The mini-laboratory at the back of the store is in full swing for the six months leading up to the opening. Searching for the best raw materials, the right combinations, the perfect harmony of flavors, the right balance between the delicate dry dough and the cream.... Today, three bakeries pay tribute to this little delicacy... And soon a fourth will open its doors in the Saint Germain des Prés district.
The cream puffs: 30 grams of joy and voluptuousness
Beneath a dome of colored icing, choux pastry is supple, airy and light, enveloped in a crisp shortbread crust of brown sugar and butter. Beneath this crunchy envelope, the fat of a pastry cream and the tenderness of a dry pastry in which candied fruit, crunchy crumbs and chocolate drown... An explosion of flavors. Flawless. A mouthful of luxury. For everyone.
Delicate, they come in nine fixed flavors, five others for each new collection (spring-summer and autumn-winter), and a surprise flavor for each month.
In all, Popelini cream puffs offer a range of twenty-nine different colors and flavors. It is very difficult to make, as the choux pastry is quite temperamental and requires a terrible feat of strength on the part of the pastry chef. That's why each éclair is unique, every time it's baked.
It's precisely because it's made by hand that Popelini's chou à la crème is made entirely from handmade ingredients: milk chocolate, caramel, praline, coffee cream with roasted beans, ground and pressed through a sieve, lemons squeezed one by one... The ingredients are selected from the very best, such as Thiecerlin rose water, l'Or des Près fresh cream, Valrhona chocolate and natural colorants. Luxury in a mouthful... Popelini cream puffs are carefully lined up in a simple yet precious kraft paper box, for the pleasure of the eye and the presentation. When the sand-colored box is opened, these surprises explode in a burst of colorful fireworks. Jewelry in the shape of cream puffs to share in good company. For Valentine's Day, the Popelini cabbage is transformed into a delicate caramelized apple to munch on with your loved one. For Easter, it satisfies every chocolate whim...
Photos: Popelini @ courtesy of Popelini
