Patisserie 46's éclair: Anatomy of deliciousness

Kei Terauchi

Three dollars for a taste of heaven

​Walking into Patisserie 46 makes even the most resolute person as indecisive as Brett Favre. You'll find elegant pastries featuring seasonal fruits, tarts filled with nuts and creams, macarons, canelés, cookies, and all the viennoiseries, not to mention the savory quiches and breads studded with olives and cured meats.

One luminary in this enticing all-star lineup sits quietly in the middle of the display case: the humble éclair.

Actually, ingenious pastry chef John Kraus's version of this classic French pastry is anything but humble.

Here's the anatomy of its deliciousness.

Kei Terauchi

​The choux pastry of Patisserie 46's éclair is on the sturdier side and has a gentle resilience in its texture. It is crowned with a thin layer of streusel that gives it an enchantingly crumbly top. The chocolate crème pâtissière is rich and somewhere between bittersweet and semisweet. It nestles with a barely detectable touch of caramel, just enough to balance the bitterness of the chocolate with its sweetness.

Instead of the customary fondant that drapes over ordinary éclairs, this one is covered with a thin sheet of top-quality dark chocolate.

Assembled together, the components create a perfectly balanced dessert. At $3 apiece, it's an affordable luxury not to be missed.

PATISSERIE 46
552 Grand Ave. S. Minneapolis
612.354.3257; website