Mini Pain au Chocolat by CiÇou

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

The Pain Au Chocolat is a cuboid-shaped viennoiserie sweet roll that is made with yeast-leavened laminated dough, called a pâte feulletée, which is similar to (but not exactly like) a puff pastry. It usually contains one to two pieces or sticks of chocolate inside.

This CiҪou á la Maison special is light, flaky, buttery and sweet, with the chocolate balancing it out with just the perfect amount of tartness.

PREPARATION AND PAIRINGS

A Pain Au Chocolat is a perfect breakfast food. This delicious sweet roll goes great with a hot cup of coffee. The balance between the bitter drink and the sweetness of the viennoiserie will wake you up, and get you ready and raring for the day.

WAR OF WORDS

It would be remiss to talk about the Pain Au Chocolat without mentioning the ongoing naming dispute in France. It’s a chocolate civil war centered on pastry names: Pain Au Chocolat versus Chocolatine.

They’re exactly the same viennoiserie, but with different naming traditions. Chocolatine is what they call this sweet roll in the south-west part of France and in French-speaking Quebec.

A group of members of French Parliament proposed that “chocolatine” be a synonym for “pain au chocolat,” citing historical and cultural reasons. That is, that the original pain au chocolats from August Zang’s Boulangerie Viennoise were called “schokoladencroissant,” which translated to “chocolatine” in French. Southwestern France continued using the word “chocolatine” long after it became nearly indistinguishable to its original form. The proposal was denied, and the impassioned debate still stands.

Storage Instructions

Baked on the morning of your expected delivery day.

Best consumed upon arrival, but you can store it at room temperature for up to two days in their original packaging. For storage up to a week, wrap them in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate. Alternatively, you can freeze your parchment-wrapped viennoiserie in a ziplock bag for up to two weeks.

To refresh refrigerated viennoiserie, preheat your oven to 200°C and place the pastry on a baking tray with a loose covering of foil. Bake for 5-10 minutes (depending on your oven) then allow to cool to desired temperature. The same process applies to frozen viennoiserie. Just thaw them overnight first!