Images

How to spend a day in Paris with a sweet tooth

How to spend a day in Paris with a sweet tooth

A list of some of the best desserts (and some savouries) to grab on the go in the city of love.
Updated 01 Feb, 2025

It is difficult for a true connoisseur of food to be choosy when it comes to trying out new cuisines, sampling traditional dishes and doing justice to the palate by not ignoring any treat — sweet or savoury — especially while travelling abroad. I plead guilty on this count. Landing in Paris during the winter vacations, our itinerary was packed.

We had miles to go before we slept — the city of lights was in full bloom, with every nook and corner decorated with fairy lights, shop windows coming alive with colourful displays, and the signature decorations suspended from every other streetlamp in Paris. It was also a tough competition on Christmas tree decorations. Gigantic, gorgeous sparkling fir trees lined famous boulevards, bearing flowers and hanging figurines of fantastical creatures. Trees were lit up at famous high end shopping malls and music playing across the city brought a touch of magic to the French capital.

However, all those decorations are rather meaningless to a foodie unless they’re accompanied by the sight of delicious food. Parisians love to munch at all times, trying out sweet delicacies, drinking espresso and hot chocolate on cold winter evenings, churro and macron bags from food markets clutched in their hands. When in Paris, we decided to do as the Parisians do and check out all the food we could get our hands on.

Kicking it off with French onion soup

The long walk on the Champs-Élysées and window shopping at the multi-storey Galleries Lafayette left us craving a traditional French onion soup to satiate the pangs of a hungry tummy. We found a café that was the perfect spot to step into — a warm and cozy heated environment on a chilly day. The server took 15 minutes to serve our order, which came in a porcelain lion head soup bowl with a warm, sliced French loaf and butter. The crust of the French onion soup was all golden-brown burnt cheese and the crack to cause fissure in the bowl reminded me of crème brûlée.

Boy, oh boy, the first spoon was accompanied by a heaping of caramelised onions, broth, morsels of bread and three cheeses for maximum decadence. It was too good to be true. The toasted French bread with butter slathered all over added to the taste of this classic French delicacy gratinéed to rich, gooey perfection.

The body all warmed up and fed just enough to tantalise the tastebuds, it was the perfect time to embark on a culinary escapade through the Parisian food markets.

The stalls on the food streets were overflowing with local delicacies and fresh produce and seeing epicureans enjoying treats and indulging in deep conversations at small cafés, take-away kiosks and ice-cream parlours was a true delight. The two famous food markets in Paris — the Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges and Marché Bastille — were brimming with a myriad of sweet and savoury items, showcased like the work of a true craftsman.

Cheese galore

Naturally, our first stop without any thought was a cheese shop. Soft, hard, blue-veined and fondue, it was too cheesy a place to describe. There was no doubt left in my mind that cheese plays a central role in the culinary culture of France, as I could see the immense diversity of varieties. Choosing what to buy was a very difficult decision, so I tried to seek some help from the person already digging in the at the charcuterie board. “There are more than 1,200 varieties of cheese; cow, goat or in sheep’s milk! Which ones do you like?” he asked.

Lost in transaction, I ordered brie, roquefort, crottin and ossau-iraty cheeses that came accompanied by bread, nuts and honey. The brie made from cow’s milk had a very creamy texture but mild flavour. As I cut a slice to try, a neighbouring patron instantly suggested I spread it on the crackers in the platter and pair it with a bunch of grapes. This was uncharted territory for me but worth experimenting. Ossau-iraty, which I could not even pronounce, is sheep’s milk cheese. It had a pungent, gamey aroma, melting in the mouth but slightly oily textured.

Last but not least was the goat milk cheese, crottin. Two words for this goat milk cheese — tangy and creamy, striking a perfect balance. It was not too difficult to judge that for French people, cheese is much more than just a food.

Then we were out of the savoury and into the sweets. Our mouthwatering bucket list included macarons, pastries chocolate croissants, crepes, churros, ice-cream and, of course, crème brûlée.

More macarons please!

The first name that comes to mind when you say macarons is undoubtedly Ladurée. Although macarons need no introduction as they are can be found in every nook and corner shop in Paris, this century-old boutique is world famous for its macarons all over the world. Blackcurrant, caramel, lemon, raspberry, chocolate or violet, you name it and they had it. One can eat Ladurée macarons till their teeth rot out of their head!

Two small meringue halves, crafted out of icing sugar and egg whites, and sandwiched together are the main characters of this dessert, coming in different colours and flavours, held together by a delicious ganache. The Ladurée macarons were sinful — a moist centre, crispy shell and sweet filing, irrespective of the flavour you pick.

Paris’ tarts and pastries

Walking into a patisserie was indeed a test of nerves. The colourful, specular array of delicious cakes, pastries and desserts in the vitrine makes you wonder which to point your finger at. It was both the appearance of the desserts as well as some past delectable experiences that forced our minds to stop wandering and make a decision. The short list included éclair, opera cakes, canelé, tarte tatin, pie and tarts all falling in the linage of pastries, some to try and the rest to go.

The citron tart was a crust base filling with lemon making its presence known in every bite. The crust was hard, but soft enough to be sliced smoothly.

The must-have opera cake was just divine. I have tried many an opera cake, but this was a different story altogether. A perfect amalgamation of coffee and chocolate soaked with almond sponge, buttercream and chocolate ganache, topped with rich chocolate that makes your tastebuds tingle. It just slipped away in nanoseconds, leaving the tastebuds crying for more.

The tarte tatin was a new introduction to my palate, although it is the quintessential French upside-down cake with sliced caramelised apples baked in a shortcrust pastry. Since it was served upside down, the caramelised apples made their entry into the mouth first and overpowered the presence of the pastry crust. It was hard to decipher the pastry in totality as the caramelised apples, moist in texture and gooey due to the crust with a hint of sugar, refused to give way to any other flavours.

Washing it down with some coffee

For Parisians, coffee has been in vogue for a good decade. It is not just a drink but a form of art, a true sensory experience and at the same time an indispensable daily habit. It was a big surprise for me not to find a menu at a French bistro. I was told that a French coffee aficionado does not need one as they exactly know what to order.

With that in mind, we started off with a shot of espresso, went on to a full-bodied espresso, café au lait (creamy latte) and also ordered a café crema (cappuccino), the place was a paradise for coffee lovers. The subtle aroma in this cozy milieu, French roasted coffee in colourful mugs, the sound of brewing and grinding of coffee called for nothing more than a novel by your favourite author to go read with it.

The crème de la crème — crème brûlée

If one has still not tasted crème brûlée after being in Paris for more than 24 hours, then it is an unforgiven sin. This classic silky, smooth rich velvety custard topped with a thin pane of crunchy toffee is a must-have. An amalgamation of cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla, the devil is not in the details rather upfront, in the solid brittle crust created by the torch. I was served cold crème brûlée in a standard size ramekin. The two contrasting layers of luscious vanilla cream under a crackly caramelised sugar top was a match made in dessert heaven.

Italian gelato in Paris, France

It was hard to resist a French ice-cream parlour when roaming the streets of Paris. If ice cream is what you seek, Amorino Gelato is the place to be. This French ice cream parlour is well known around Europe as well as in North America with over 200 branches around the world. Their unique selling point is their delicate flower shaped cones with delicately crafted petals that looked like the work of a seasoned florist.

Their menu is now diversified and features their new invention — gelato-filled macarons. Frozen desserts have carved a very powerful impact amongst those with a sweet tooth as the flavours are very creamy, dense and rich. Warm waffles with cream and nuts topping, churros dressed in cinnamon sugar and freshly made Nutella crepes — Paris has a little bit of everything.

Comments

Multani Jan 31, 2025 05:17pm
Will need millions of euros to buy all that and get diabetes, our own sweet dishes are cheaper and better.
Recommend
Gurcharan Gulati Jan 31, 2025 05:22pm
Just superb.
Recommend
Gurcharan Gulati Jan 31, 2025 05:23pm
Just superb.
Recommend
Read All Comments