New York: Maison Kayser

Even though it was the weekend before her finals, my sister came to join me in New York last week.  While I was attending the conference and Nana was at work, my sister studied in Nana's apartment.

Friday night was our grand girls' night in.  Nana had made picadillo (which we struggled with defrosting) and we demolished all of it while watching "North and South" (Mr. Thornton!) and wearing facial masks.  In case you're wondering, that's the proper way to do a girls' night in.

"North and South" is four hours long, but we fast forwarded through the less exciting parts, rewinded to re-watch the juicy bits, and somehow managed to finish the entire thing in two and a half.  Boo yah.

After all the picadillo was gone, Nana busted out the box of pastries she bought on her way home from work.  She'd been telling me about the new French bakery that was to die for since my arrival and presented the box from Maison Kayser with a flourish:


Okay, maybe there was no flourish.  Maybe all the excitement was on my end.

Anyway, in her attempt to have us try as many things as possible, Nana bought way too many sweets for three people and we loved every second of it.

First there was the pistachio eclair:


I've never been a huge fan of eclairs and I wasn't too impressed with this one:


The pistachio flavor was too...absent for me.

The pastry itself was a bit stale from sitting in the fridge, but that's not Maison Kayser's fault.  Maybe I would have enjoyed the chocolate eclair more if it'd been fresh:


I guess I'll have to go back to New York to try another one to find out:


The real stars of the show were these little darlings:


Now prepare yourself for pictures of half-wrecked cakes.  It won't be pretty.

The chocolate mousse cake with coffee glaze was heaven in my mouth:


So creamy and rich and decadent and holy cow was it delicious.

The lemon tart was my favorite (but only by a close margin because all the other cakes were amazing too):


Tart and bright.  So good.

The chocolate mouse cake was oh-so-lovely and the passionfruit center added an unexpected tangy twist:


The St. Honore was subtly sweet and a good contrast to the decadence of the chocolate mousse cakes:


Eclairs aside, everything else was simply perfection.  The presentation, the texture, the taste...all spot on.  Ideal for a pick-me-up, a gift of appreciation, or, of course, a girls' night in.  Just accept the fact that you can't be counting calories when you're indulging.  Pick what little cake(s) catches your fancy, commit to the potential weight gain, grab a glass of milk, and enjoy!

It's probably a good thing Maison Kayser hasn't opened a store in California.  I have enough temptation in my life as it is.

And for those of you who haven't watched "North and South" yet, DO IT NOW.  Or this weekend.  Or as soon as you can.  He's waiting for you:


Oh, mama!


Maison Kayser
1294 3rd Ave 74th St
New York, NY 10021
(212) 744-3100
http://www.maison-kayser-usa.com/

Comments

Popular Posts

FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURES ON INSTAGRAM!