7 things to eat in a boulangerie (French bakery)

Today, I would like to talk to you about a legendary place, where your most forbidden dreams become reality. A place of sweet delicacies that will take over your senses, and from which you will never want to leave once you've been drawn in by the colours and the scents that float on the air, through the streets and up to your house. I am talking about Le Boulangerie.

You could not enter a better boulangerie: the inviting prices and your stomach will not let you rest until you, out of your own control, order a delicious chocolate croissant for 90 cents. Here are my seven "coup de coeur" ("cooked", "loves", aka things you can't miss):

1. La tartelette alla framboise (raspberry tart)

Starting with this beautiful shortcrust tart with cream and raspberries, my favorite. It costs... around €4. 80, but in some places such as Paula and La Brioche Dorée, especially in the suburbs, it can cost only €2. 80!

2. La baguette

French bread has that little something extra, starting with baguettes. Nature (normal), aux grains (with seeds), aux céréales (with grains), with poppy seeds or with black bread dough, you will always make a winning decision on what bread to eat. People don't actually hold it under their arm, and they do eat it at home. Sometimes I saw people on the bus with 30 baguettes altogether... and I assure you that they would last, French bread can sometimes last for up to a week. Do you want to feel truly French? Give your baguette a nice "croque": remove the tip of your loaf of bread and eat it when you return home.

Price: from 70 cents upwards!

3. Viennoiserie (pastries)

Do you want to start the day well, or do you face a long and exhausting day at work? Do you want to fuel your mind whilst you study, or calm your fiery spirits while you wait for your train on a strike day? These small delicacies of butter and sugar are what you need. Viennoiserie is a term that refers to five types of pastry in particular: croissants, pain au chocolat, pain au raisin, chausson aux pommes, brioche à la cannelle (croissants, chocolate croissants, raisin croissants and apple saccottini, cinnamon bun), united by the same characteristic: you will taste the sweetness of the (1kg block of) butter that melts in your mouth, together with the various layers of dough. All the better if they're served hot.

Price: the average is €1. 20 for one! Often combined in the menus, "couleur avec café ou cappuccino" (250 ml en France), a pasty and a coffee or cappucino for 3 euros!

4. Macaron

I have to admit that I'm not crazy for these almond paste sweets, they are definitely too sweet for me. However, they are typical. In any case, the couple I tried, I tried... with raspberry (of course) and Early Grey tea.

Price: from €1. 80 to €3. 50 each

5. Tarte au flan (flan)

This puff pastry tart with milk and eggs has the consistency of a pudding, crème caramel or flan. A good slice will serve as a snack, but I don't recommend eating it as a dessert at the end of a meal because it will make your stomach want to explode!

Price: from €2. 50 to €4 a slice

6. Tarte au citron méringuée (lemon meringue pie)

I love it. It is a pie with a pastry base covered with curls of lemon meringue cream and torche with a flame. The same warning as for the tarte au flan: not for after meals!

Price: from €2. 50 to €4 per slice (or per tart, if they are portioned like the raspberry tarts).

7. L’éclair

This is basically a nice, elongated profiterole, filled with cream and garnished with colourful icing. The most common is the one stuffed with chocolate, but I have also seen one filled with pistachio, hazelnut, raspberry, lemon and banana. Yum!

Price: from €1. 50 to €3.

What can I say... indulge yourself!

Bon appetit!

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