Paris' Best Tarts and Sweets

Last Updated:

5/24/2022

While restaurants might be at a standstill, Paris’ pâtisseries have, by no means, stopped churning out fresh batches of colorful tarts. By churning, I mean delicately decorating each individual pastry by hand. It’s true that you can find a delightful tarte aux framboises in just about any corner bakery in Paris, but sometimes you need a little more variety in your life. The following are the best one-of-a-kind tarts and sweets that you have no choice but to travel across Paris (or an ocean, when you can) to try.

A montage of 2 pictures from Parisian Patisserie Maison Aleph. Left: A family of 3 (a mom, a dad, and a young daughter) sits in front of the pastry shop looking at a cellphone. Maison Aleph’s exterior and interior of bright blue tiles can be seen as 2 more people orders inside.
Right: Maison Aleph’s iconic Tarte Grenade & Fleur d’Oranger is pictured here — it is a cake of brown crust, dark jam, and white drops of meringue topped with small slices of cherries. — Top left: Tapisserie Pâtisserie / Top right: Tapisserie Pâtisserie’s Clamatarte by @wennnol
Above left: @sliceofpai / Above right: Maison Aleph’s Tarte Grenade & Fleur d’Oranger by @andrea.brscn

Maison Aleph – Tarte Grenade & Fleur d’Oranger

French pâtisserie meets Middle Eastern tradition at Maison Aleph, where tarts take on the delicate form of little pastry nests. Everything here is an original fusion by baker Myriam Sabet, who combines the flavors of her Syrian childhood with French pastry. In her Tarte Grenade & Fleur d’Oranger, pomegranate confit and orange-infused drops of cream decorate a crispy angel hair base, which, despite the crunch, finds a way to melt in your mouth.

A montage of 2 photos from Parisian Patisserie Le Jardin Sucré. Left: Their famous Tarte Sesame Noir Yuzu — a tart of black crust and white filling and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Right: A picture of their store beside a iron-wrought Parisian building gate. Their walls are painted beige and their lights are warm. You can see the interiors of the bakery along with one of their head bakers inside. — Tarte Sésame Noir Yuzu by Le Jardin Sucré

Le Jardin Sucré – Tarte Sésame Noir Yuzu

Asian flavor is at the heart of Le Jardin Sucré’s most eye-catching pastry. The monochrome tart isn’t anything like you’ve ever tasted before, which is evident by its vegetal charcoal base. Inside, you’ll find a melted heart of praline black sesame cozied between a yuzu mousse on top and a black sesame ganache below—the perfect combinations of sweet, acidic, and nutty.

A montage of 2 pictures from Parisian Patisserie Tapisserie Patisserie. Left: The pastry shop’s store front — a bike is parked in front of a store lit with warm cozy lights as customers order inside. Right: The author holds Tapisserie Patisserie’s iconic Clamatarte in her right hand — it is a tart with brown crust, brown filling topped with white whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon. — Left: Tapisserie Pâtisserie by @super_roxane / Right: Tapisserie Pâtisserie’s Clamatarte by @pineapplefarming

Tapisserie Pâtisserie – Clamatarte

If the image that pops up in your head upon hearing “clamatarte” is something seafood-based, I don’t blame you. Instead, prepare to feast your eyes upon Tapisserie Pâtisserie’s maple syrup tart. The sweet maple filling is balanced perfectly by a dollop of whipped cream that tastes and looks exactly like a cloud. As both a pastry lover and a Canadian, the Clamatarte has my full approval.

A montage of 2 pictures from Parisian Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki Paris. Left: A picture of Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki’s famous Tarte au Caramel Salé Matcha. This tart has a bright green top and brown crusts. Right: A picture of Sadaharu Aoki’s store front with the head chef’s black vintage Volkswagen car parked in front and the head chef sitting inside his store, drinking a cup of tea. 2 ladies are behind the counter full of pastries. — Left: Tarte au Caramel Salé Matcha by @strongbellyflo / Right: @sadaharu_aoki

Sadaharu Aoki – Tarte au Caramel Salé Matcha

If matcha has ever come across as bitter to you, then you have yet to sink your teeth into this French-Japanese tart. A spiral of piped white chocolate matcha cream covers this salted caramel treasure, which really lives up to its name. The salt shines through the waves of sweet to create a strong flavor that will have you eagerly reaching for the next bite.

A montage of 2 pictures from Parisian Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki Paris. Left: The team (of 21 people) poses for the camera in front of the store. The store front reads as “Patisserie Stohrer Maison Fondée en 1730”. Right: Stohrer’s famous Tarte au Citron, a tart in a brown crust and flower shaped white filling, pictured with the backgrounds of the Parisian skyline. — Left: Alexandre Guirkinger / Right: Tarte au Citron by @desserteaseme

Stohrer – Tarte au Citron

Paris’ oldest bakery has been in the game long enough to know that lemon tarts aren’t anything out of the ordinary. But instead of whipping up a simple meringue, Stohrer hands us a tart topped with vanilla lemon confit, creamy lime, and smooth yuzu cream arranged like a flower. This triple-citrus threat adds a fun zing to the classic tarte au citron, making it nothing you’ve ever seen before.

Addresses:

Maison Aleph – 20 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris

Le Jardin Sucré – 156 Rue de Courcelles, 75017 Paris

Tapisserie Pâtisserie – 65 Rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris

Sadaharu Aoki – 35 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris

Stohrer – 51 Rue Montorgueil, 75002 Paris

Left: A picture of Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki’s famous Tarte au Caramel Salé Matcha that has been sliced in the middle to show the caramel filling inside. This tart has a bright green top and brown crusts. The background of this photo are Parisian rooftops, the Eiffel Tower, and the buildings of La Defense. Right: Pictured is a Magnolia tree in full bloom of pink flowers at the Tuilleries Garden and behind it is one of the towers of the Louvre. — Left: Tarte au Caramel Salé Matcha by @desserteaseme / Right: @cestmaikka

WRITTEN BY

Hannah Polinski

Hannah is a Chinese-Canadian writer and photographer currently based in Paris, France. She can be found at your local bakery sampling pastries and baguettes, or else planning her escape from the city to become a yak farmer.