On October 7, 2024, La Poste will issue a booklet of 12 postage stamps illustrated with iconic French pastries. A gourmet booklet to savor!
Welcome to the world of French pastries! A world of tradition, innovation and excellence to delight your taste buds.
Let's discover the history of some iconic French pastries:
In the 18th century, the rum baba, with an anecdote that promises to leave us gobsmacked! According to legend, the cake was born at the table of the King of Poland, Stanislas Leszczynski. While the emperor was tasting his kouglof, a popular pastry at court, the latter considered the cake too dry. He then decided to sprinkle it with Malaga wine to make it softer. It was in Paris that a pastry chef, Nicolas Stohrer, had the idea of replacing the liqueur with rum. This pastry shop, located on rue Montorgueil in Paris, still exists and offers the original recipe (with Malaga wine), as well as the current recipe.
In 1856, it was Signor Frascati who created the religieuse, an ice cream maker of Neapolitan origin. He offered the customers of his Parisian café this sweet treat, so named because the color of the choux buns was reminiscent of the dresses of the nuns in the convents. It was an immediate success!
In 1909, the founders of the Paris-Brest bicycle race asked a pastry chef, Louis Durand, to create a cake in honor of this race at the beginning of the 20th century. This is why this pastry looks like a bicycle wheel. The Durand pastry shop still exists in Maisons-Laffitte (78) and you can still find the authentic Paris-Brest there.
In 1955, the opera was created in 1955 by Cyriaque Gavillon. His wife, Andrée, came up with the name "opéra" because she thought the smooth, ebony-colored surface of the cake resembled the stage floor of the Paris Opera. Cyriaque Gavillon worked for Dalloyau, the famous pastry chef-caterer.
Enjoy!
