Amen! There is a God - Des Gateaux et du Pain - Paris, France

Here we go again, more cake! But I love it, I can't live without it and I am not ashamed :/.

I think I have a new favourite patisserie in Paris, everythingI have tried from here has been so delightful. I cannot wait to go back. Let me share with you, while you drool over your screen. 

Pistachio Cherry Saint Honore - €6.80

Pistachio cream filled choux pastry surrounded by pistachio chantilly cream nested on top of a shortcrust disc and topped with a stewed cherry.

Not your average saint honore, I really love the contrasting colours of this dessert. For me, I always find pistachio desserts to be quite medicinal tasting, this saint honore was anything but that. It is the best pistachio flavoured dessert I have ever had.

Raspberry Mascarpone Tarts - €6.50

Short crust tart shells filled with almond cream, mascarpone cream and topped with fresh raspberries.

J'adore la Fraise Tart

Cherry Clafoutis

Also offering a range of bread and viennoiseries.  There is something here for everyone, they even have icecream! 

Croissants - €1.50

Todays haul was Calisson (front left) -  sparkling wine blancmange, marzipan and apricot compote on top of a soft biscuit €6.00, a raspberry mascarpone tart and I just had to double up on the saint honore, it is one of my favourite things to eat and I refuse to share!

Finishing off my dessert smorgasboard..

Lipstik Abricot  - €6.50

Vanilla mousse, apricot compote, vanilla cream and almond biscuit 

Such a beautiful and elegant dessert, I was really suprised at how it tasted. So light and delicate, the perfect dessert to end my day.

Check them out [here] or [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Not all Genies Come in Lamps - L'éclaire du Genie - Paris, France

Everyone loves eclairs, everyone but me. I have had quite an issue with the eclair, being I have never had a good one. That was until I heard of this great little eclair haven to visit when in Paris. This was going to be the one, the one to make me love eclairs, I could feel it. 

As soon as I step foot in the door I am in love, these are the most perfect eclairs I have ever seen, almost too good to eat. With such a lovely selection available I change my mind and skip the classic, it's hot outside today so I'm going with the eclair glacé! (glacé means ice cream)

I step outside and unwrap my ice cream as fast as possible, as if there were a golden ticket hidden inside. Take a quick happy snap and devour my treat within minutes. 

Chocolate praline eclair ice cream - €6.50

Raspberry pistachio eclair ice cream - €6.50

A wonderful range of chocolate bars, chocolate covered nuts and spreads. Perfect for taking home and having something on hand to treat yourself with when you need a hit.

Chocolate truffles = Balls of goodness

I'm already planning my next visit, who's coming with?!

Check them out [here] or [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Cone Life! - Gelato & Ice cream - Sangsu, Seoul, South Korea

Gelati Gelati - Sangsu-dong

Tiramisu and salted caramel chocolate (double scoop) - 4,000 won

There is no better way to end my trip to Seoul than with cones of sweet sweet goodness. Gelati Gelati is your typical italian gelateria, with the simplest flavours on offer hidden under silver lids (which I do not like! I eat with my eyes first) the gelato here definitely satisfied my tastebuds on this hot summers day. 

My tiramisu was on point here, probably the best tiramisu gelato I have had and it went so well with the salted caramel chocolate. A match made in heaven. 

Check them out [MAP]

Fell + Cole - Sangsu-dong

Super cute blue box tucked away in the streets of Sangsu-dong. This ice creamery reminded me of an ice box, maybe that was the look they were going for. Gastronomic ice cream made with all natural ingredients in small batches, they also have vegan options too.

With flavours like pineapple cayenne and perilla leaves my mind didn't know what to choose, what ended up on my cone was carrot cake. A flavour I have yet to try in ice cream form but a flavour that is always warming to my tummy.

Boy was I glad I chose this flavour! It actually tasted like I was eating carrot cake, tiny gratings of carrot and pecans. I couldn't get enough, I tried to savour the moment for once and make my ice cream last as long as possible. This is the ultimate ice cream spot for me, I haven't had a flavour this good since.. I really can't remember. Cudos to Fell + Cole!

Carrot cake ice cream (single scoop) - 5,200 won

Raspberry champagne sorbet (single scoop) - 5,200 won 

Ice cream sandwiches

Their cute 60's inspired mod interior.

Check them out [here] or [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Deux Amis Patisserie - Sinsa-dong, Seoul, South Korea

Cake day!

On the walk from the station I crossed numerous patisseries that made my mouth water. However I was determined to stick to my guns and head on over to Deux Amis. 

Some of the cakes and tarts on offer at Deux Amis.

Green tea cake with yuzu cream - 6,500 won

My cake of choice was extremely disappointing. Three layers of dry green tea cake and yuzu cream, with half a layer of azuki bean paste. I'm pretty sure you can tell how dry the cake is by this photo. 

It could have just been my poor choice of cake, though it is a patisserie and nothing on offer should be at this low a standard.

Anyway if you want to check them out [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Looks Can Be Deceiving - Decoa Balim - Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea

I walked past this vintage dessert cafe and instantly thought to myself "what a sweet little cafe, I must try!".

As I walked through the door the owner was taking photos of this gorgeous layer cake, I smiled and thought "this place is perfect!". 

What caught my eye was this sweet little number behind the glass window, the strawberry cheese tart. 

It all went downhill from there.

Strawberry cheese tart

Looks can be deceiving, I was not expecting this tart to taste the way it did.

The tart was filled with whipped cream cheese, which I had never had before nor will I ever have again. I was not a fan of the taste and texture of the filling, the more I ate the more sickened I felt. 

If only they had filled the tart with creme patissiere it would have been a total knock out. The tart shell on the other hand I cannot fault, it was nicely cooked and crumbly.

Cafe latte, Iced mocha and strawberry cheese tart.

This is probably the worst latte I have had on my trip to Seoul. As I was sipping on my latte I noticed something nasty in my mouth, it was burnt milk film! There is nothing worse than burnt milk while having my daily coffee.

The iced mocha, had about five ice cubes in it, so it wasn't even cold. We were sitting outside so it just melted and diluted the mocha. 

You can tell how  disappointed in this place I am right? I had such high hopes.

The exterior

From a glance you would think it looks all vintage and shabby. When I actually sat down and looked around, I realised it was just a hodge podge of mismatched old furniture salvaged from a yard sale.

Nothing vintage about this place, random junk lying around and bad coffee!

Seoul seems to have a huge coffee culture, everywhere you turn there is a cafe, finding a good one on the other hand seems to be a mission. I thought I was going to hit a new spot everyday and drink loads of great coffee. 

To my demise I have only been to a handful of decent cafes.

If you'd like to try your luck at dessert roulette, 

check them out [here]

Betty Jane x

Elk Pancake Cafe - Shinsaibashi (Osaka) + Sanjo & Kawaramachi(Kyoto),Japan

Ok so I've been on break for quite some time now. My apologies but I'm back and am travelling so I am super excited to try whats on offer.

First up is Osaka, Japan! Japan seems to be experiencing  a pancake craze at the moment all I see is pancakes and Aloha Hawaii everywhere, so I jump on the band wagon and get some for dessert. I mean how good can a pancake be?

Pretty good cause I got hooked and tried out all three branches of this joint.

Please excuse my food porn as I can't be bothered carrying my SLR around all the time so I've been using le iphone.

Banana brulee, chocolate & nuts - ¥980

I highly recommend! It was a plate full of 3 pancakes, topped with half a banana which was covered in a thin toffee, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, nuts and chocolate sauce. It was pancake bliss...

Caramel buckwheat galette - ¥680

Get this if you are trying to opt for a "healthier option" it was nice and light and not too sweet.

Honey, apple and pistachio - ¥920

Unfortunately a little dry as it came without any sauce but the flavours had potential.

Totoro latte art - ¥550

Did I mention the Shinsaibashi branch also does super kawaii 3D latte art? Unfortunately I arrived too late and they had stopped doing the 3D art, but they were still accommodating and brought me this. Totoro isn't about to crawl out of my mug but it still did the trick.

Overall cute interior, great coffee and pancakes. The Shinsaibashi branch tasted the best and had the best presentation in my opinion.

Check them out [here]

Betty Jane x

Sweets on the go - Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio

I have a major sweet tooth..it's HUGE. Before leaving Melbourne I had to pick me up a lil' something to take home and indulge. What I love that dessert is such a science and here they totally get that, I'm glad I found a dessert joint that blows me away in every way.

 Thankfully Sweet Studio has amazing options that were packed so well for my departure. Anyone who visit Melbourne please do yourself a favour and visit Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio, its is sheer heaven a mecca for dessert lovers.

Explosive Raspberry Milk Chocolate - $9

raspberry & milk choc mousse/ raspberry custard

raspberry compote/ explosive milk choc chip cookie crumb exaggerated rasp cream/ raspberry marshmallow

milk choc mirror glaze

Chocolate Mandarin Salted Caramel - $9

60% choc mousse/ murray river salted caramel/ 

burnt mandarin cream/ st clements marmalade

aerated choc shortbread/ choc mirror glaze

Pineapple, Mango, Chocolate - $9

coconut sponge/ Mango mousse/ spicy pineapple jam

pineapple cream/ choc mousse/ white choc velvet spray

pineapple jelly/ mango jelly

After devouring all three all I can say is 'I DIE!' the layers, the flavours, the texture, just everything. Yum Yum & Yum!!!!

Check them out [here]

Betty Jane x

Belgious Ice Cream - Barcelona, Spain

An ice cream a day keeps the doctor away..right? 

What a fab little gem we stumbled across the night before we left barcelona! why is life so cruel? best ice cream you will ever taste and its organic too. The trick is to get two flavours that compliment each other so don't just pick your two favourite flavours, be adventurous and try something we don't have at home. Go on..I dare you to try their indian curry flavour ;p

Make sure you stop by and have a little scoop of heaven. 

Check them out [here]

Betty Jane x