Gateau battu, literally "beaten cake" a specialty from the northern region of France is my new favorite thing.
It鈥檚 like a brioche but better. Just slightly more cake-like, it鈥檚 more tender and sweeter than the average brioche, making it perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Luckily it also happens to be the specialty of Picardy, the town where Dominique Ansel is from and it鈥檚 featured at his new patisserie, Dominique Ansel Bakery, in Soho.
It鈥檚 always a nice surprise to find really good viennoiserie in New York City. I wasn鈥檛 sure what to expect at this tiny shop, it resembles so many of the bakeries out there that just disguise for a caf茅 and coffee shop. But I was more than delighted with the quality of the baked goods. The battu was excellent as well as the 鈥淒KA鈥 鈥 Dominique鈥檚 kouign-amman, a flaky, caramelized mass of buttery goodness. Kouign is rarely seen around these parts. It鈥檚 a specialty of Breton and its secrets are well kept. It鈥檚 hard to describe, but it鈥檚 like croissant dough, rolled with sugar and baked until crispy on the outside and almost creamy on the inside, a delicious mess of goodness. Trust me, the richness is worthy of the best cardiologist around. I have to say these two items really impressed me.
In my opinion, the real sign of a good pastry chef is the ability and clarity to execute the simple things well. And these simple treats were fantastic and I don鈥檛 take fantastic lightly. I didn鈥檛 grab a canel茅 and now I鈥檓 truly regretting it as I can only imagine that it was also truly great. There is also a case at the bakery dedicated to pastries including tart tatin, 茅clairs, the 鈥淧aris-New York鈥 (a Snickers-like variation on the traditional classic Paris-Brest pastry), bunny cake (a take on carrot cake), 鈥渃otton soft cheesecake鈥 (I have to admit, this feels like it鈥檚 been lost in translation to me) and the 鈥渕ini-me鈥 cake.
I couldn鈥檛 resist the 鈥渕ini-me鈥, it was chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. It was the lightest yet richest combination of chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse. Usually things like that are too rich for me, but this was like eating a cloud of chocolate 鈥 delicate, bittersweet and soft.
My only complaint was the forest of mini meringues it was covered in but they were easily picked off and tossed to the side so as not to interfere with the cake itself. If you are in the mood to try something new and special it鈥檚 worth a trip to Dominique Ansel Bakery. If I ventured to Soho more often I would definitely become a regular.
