When it comes to dessert, the French are fans of outsourcing. And that’s no surprise, given what’s on offer at even the most bog standard of French boulangeries. Walk through the door, and you’re likely to encounter no shortage of beautiful cakes, from glazed individual éclairs to shining fruit tarts perfect for sharing. And should you choose, instead, a pâtisserie specialized in dessert, the ambiance may well remind you of a jewelry store, albeit with far more affordable prices.
Unlike in the U.S., there’s no shame in buying pastries rather than making them, in France. On the contrary. If anything, buying in your dessert shows that you know where to go, that you’re familiar with the best artisans. It’s part of the ceremony of service: to open the white box, revealing the perfect cakes within, undamaged thanks to the careful foresight of the vendeuse, who will often add a roll of tape to the bottom of each pastry’s golden cardboard base to keep it from slipping and sliding on the way home.
I love this little touch, not just because of how well it does its job, but also because it provides eye-opening insight into the way in which the French typically consume their pastries. While these days, you’ll sometimes see someone quaffing an éclair or a slice of flan pâtissier on the go, for the most part, French pastries are designed to be enjoyed on a plate, with a fork.
For visitors to Paris, this cultural norm can render pastry shops a bit unapproachable, seeing as few of them have tables. A few days ago, I watched from inside le Blainville as a group of tourists opened their takeaway bag from French Bastards hovering over one of the cafés empty outdoor tables. Despite the inclement weather, the servers understandably quickly banished them. And recently, when some friends were in town, I gamely took them to Pain Pain, not having realized that they recently did away with their small dining area in favor of an espresso bar.
All this to say, when you find a pastry shop that doesn’t just make delicious cakes but allows you to enjoy them on site, you take notice. And that’s exactly what JojoandCo is offering.
JojoandCo is the brainchild of Johanna Roques, who “reconverted” to pastry after 20 years as a journalist. Her pastries first came into the limelight via a stand at the 12th arrondissement’s Marché d’Aligre, and these days, she offers a wide range of choices in the heart of the Marais.
I was particularly besotted by this pastry case, and not just because of the variety in terms of flavors. A trend governing Parisian pastry of late has been to master just one form and vary the flavors, often according to the seasons. Matthieu Carlin’s “fingers” at Butterfly Pâtisserie, the tartlets at aptly named Tartelettes, the cream puffs at Les Choupettes de Chouchou, and, to a certain extent, the gluten-free entremets at Sucré Coeur are all examples of this déclinaison-based style. But at JojoandCo, we were blessed with no fewer than a dozen options offering a range of textures and techniques: classic flan pâtissier flavored with chocolate or on-trend pistachio, multi-textured entremets, puffy choux, or burnished-based tartlets. We dithered quite a bit before choosing two to try.
The clementine-saffron tart (7.20) featured a deeply bronzed pastry shell filled with an almond cream infused with clementine zest. A clementine, vanilla, and saffron confit and a clementine gel made with agar-agar were settled on top. The whole tart was then crowned with a saffron-tea infused ganache montée, a technique that seems to be growing in popularity thanks to its stability, and finished with a clementine supreme.
I adore anything almond- or citrus-based, so I was quite enticed by the idea of this tartlet. And it was indeed lovely, with a subtle saffron aroma and a lovely wintery dose of clementine. The muscavado sugar in the pastry base lent a lovely caramelized touch. I nevertheless found it perhaps a bit floral for my liking; the delicate clementine and saffron aromas might have benefitted from the bitterness of orange or the acidity of lemon. (My better half disagrees, and she’s the pastry chef, so perhaps this can be taken with a grain of salt.)
Despite my long-standing love of chestnut-flavored sweets, I’ll admit I was surprised to find myself even more won over by the chestnut, blackcurrant, and hojicha charlotte (7.20). Typically, I have a hard time with pastries that are too soft-on-soft – it’s the same reason I don’t like French soup. I like to chew my food. But this one surprised me with its lovely balance of not only textures but flavors.
I was thrilled to find that beneath that generous layer of chestnut ganache montée, the pastry is actually built on a base of gluten-free chestnut shortbread. Chestnut genoise is then layered with blackcurrant confit and smoky hojicha tea whipped cream. The whole thing is topped with shards of confit chestnut, a classic of French Christmastime that I would happily eat all year long.
Chestnut can be a bit of a divisive ingredient for some who didn’t grow up with it, but there’s something about the savory, nutty, starchy quality that I really enjoy, and it’s perfect in this cake, playing well with the acidity of the blackcurrant. And the subtle smokiness from the tea really pushes things to the next level.
The offerings here change with the seasons, though there are a few stalwarts. Any chocolate fans will likely be won over by the alluring Tarte Chocolat Grand-Mère, with cooca in many textures. I, meanwhile, have got my eye on the house signature: a lemon-basil tartlet.
These pastries would have been worth the stop even if you couldn’t dine in, but the on-site tables, to my mind, make it a must.
JojoandCo Pâtisserie – 37, rue du roi de Sicile, 75004