Tuesday 8 November 2011

Ladurée Raspberry-litchi-rose Ispahan


I seem to be going through a Ladurée phase at the moment and luckily my friend’s are more then happy to join me in my current addiction. 
I generally run in, buy a box of macaroons and run out again, but Ladurée at Covent Garden has the seating area upstairs and we can then indulge in these lovely delights and sit in lovely surroundings and eat a little piece of heaven.  
I also bought some delights home as treats and today, as it’s such a horrible, drizzly and very grey day, I have decided to have a bright, colourfull and tasty pick me up (well that is my excuse).
Look at the gorgeous colouring.  So bright and cheerful, tasted darn good too.  I thought at first, hmmm, rose, litchi, raspberries, but it works, it really does and I throughly enjoyed every bite.  The macaroon biscuit of the Ispahan was lovely and chewy and you had the crunch that you get with it, then the taste of rose came through, which was not overpowering and the litchi really came through as an individual flavour and you had this swirl of rose crème nice and thick and held it all together and then you were hit with this sharp, tart taste of the fresh raspberries which I just love.  I always love it when the fruits in desserts are tart, to me that gives it a bit more oompf. 


This dessert is named Ispahan because it’s named after a fancy rose that grows wild in the city of Isfahan in Iran (my father’s home town).   Whenever I smell roses or taste it, it takes me back to my childhood, to my grandfather’s rose garden in Shiraz and also the amazing parks and gardens that I explored as a child in Iran. 
Fancier still is that the guy who invented the Ispahan pastry was none other than Pierre Hermé, from back when he worked at Ladurée.  Interesting bit of info eh...
I want more!!