As I have just passed another anniversary here in Zürich (4 years !), I’ll try not to go on and on about how much I am still in love with this city – during the hot, sunny summers, in the rain, in the snow, in the winter, spring, summer and fall…  But it’s true.  10 years with my husband and it’s like we just met, and 4 years in Zürich and it’s like I just moved here.  I never tire of the picturesque views of the mountains overlooking the lake (my reaction is still to grab my camera); and my eyes still grow wider when I turn the corner of a favorite charming street in the old town.

Best of all, while continuously rediscovering the same pleasures, there is so much to discover for the first time.  There is always something new and different here, be it a music festival, an art exhibit or a funny local holiday.  Or my favorite (but of course), while less frequent, are the sweet happenings.  Ladurée coming to town, Switzerland’s first Salon du Chocolat and a nougat shop, to name three delicious highlights.  And now here’s where you’ll most likely find me … at the new and most certainly improved Café Milchbar, which just (re)opened its doors on June 23rd.

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One of my favorite streets in Paris is rue de Buci in the 6th arrondissement.  I’ve been making a detour there since 1999, when as a student, I would always get a grilled, flattened panini from my panini guy at his little stand, as well as magazines and fun paper accessories at Buci News.  (Both stops are still obligatory whenever I’m in Paris – and the panini is still from the same guy.)  There was another “must” on that street about which I waxed poetic on the blog back in 2008: a certain palmier, or elephant ear, at Bonbonnière de Buci.  I still remember the day a few years ago when I stood, frozen, in front of an empty storefront in disbelief that this little gem of a pâtisserie had closed.

But my palmier is back !  Reborn, in the very same spot, thanks to The Smiths Bakery, a new sweet shop that just opened mid-May.

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It was several years ago when I stumbled on a short film online that was getting quite a buzz amongst Paris lovers and pastry lovers alike.  It was a masterful montage, gorgeous images of colorful pastries in Paris, as well as famous monuments and everyday objects there they appeared to mimic.  I watched with a huge grin from start to finish.  Then I watched it again.  And again.  (Some of you may recall hearing about it on my Paris pastry quiz.)  I can not tell you how many times I ended up watching that inspiring, delicious, feel-good film, but I can say it was the beginning of a wonderful friendship with its creator, graphic designer Susan Hochbaum.  And the discovery of what is now one of my favorite desserts in Paris.

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On my recent ‘Sweet Geneva’ tours, there was certainly a recurring theme.  The window displays of every chocolate shop in town were taken over by soup cauldrons made of chocolate !  Filled with marzipan vegetables and emblazoned with Geneva’s red and yellow coat of arms, you simply couldn’t miss it.  Pots made out of chocolate… in Geneva… that can mean only one thing: la Fête de l’Escalade, bien sûr !

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I recently professed my love (again) for Zürich and before that, for one of my favorite regions in France, Alsace (by the German border).  There’s yet another region in France that holds a spot near and dear to my heart, and that’s the Pays Basque (on the very opposite end of the country by the Spanish border).  While living in Clermont-Ferrand (in the Auvergne) from 2001 to 2002, I spent a week in the French Basque country and was beyond charmed by a culture, cuisine, landscape and language (Euskara) all its own.  Ten years later, I finally returned with my husband and parents, overjoyed to share it all with them.  I returned to the villages I have been thinking about all these years, and brought my taste memories back to life.

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A sweet pilgrimage for a site named, MyKugelhopf ?  That can mean only one place…  Alsace !  This region in France by the German border is known (and disputably so, as all food history goes) as the birthplace of the kugelhopf.  To be even more precise, that would take us to the town of Ribeauvillé, in the heart of Alsatian vineyards. Even though their annual “Fête du Kougelhopf” was unfortunately canceled this year (sadly not enough bakers wanted to participate), I didn’t let that stop me from heading to the source.  Alsace happens to be one of my favorite regions in France.  So when friends from New York told us they had a wedding to attend in Brussels, I jumped at the chance to see them while in Europe and a prime opportunity for them to discover one of my favorite places.  And to track down the best kugelhopf, of course.  I told them to take a train to Strasbourg and we’d pick them up there…

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When I heard about a new sweet shop opening in Zürich, you can imagine how excited I got.  Especially since the name of it had one of my favorite French words: Gourmandises.  You can also imagine my surprise then when I learned that the pastry chefs behind Les Gourmandises de Miyuko were not French, nor Japanese, but Swiss German.  This deserved some investigation…

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Macarons in New York.  Frozen yogurt in Paris. And now… Cupcakes in Zürich.

Melanie Studer, originally from Basel, just opened the very first cupcake shop in the German part of Switzerland. (You can get your fix in the French part here or here.)  Despite having to spell out the word c-u-p-c-a-k-e and explain what it is each time someone calls her, she can’t seem to bake enough.  800 cupcakes left her small, pink shop in Zürich’s old town on opening day.  Having spent several years in the UK with her British boyfriend, tasting the treats at Primrose Bakery and a small, glittery bakery in Covent Gardens, she fell in love with these little cakes and especially their bright colors and fun decorations.

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You may have noticed the buzz about a certain sweet theme lately – on Twitter, Facebook and really all over the internet.  March 20th is an important day after all.  Only once a year do some of the most sought after pastry shops actually hand out free macarons! Aha, an important day for those of us with a (24/7) sweet tooth, that is!   The mastermind behind this Jour du Macaron, none other than Pierre Hermé, will be handing out not one, but three free macarons on Saturday, March 20th in Paris.  If you thought the line was already long at his boutique throughout the year, well just imagine…!  Even more fun, if you can make a stop in all of his six boutiques across the city, getting a card validated at each one (La Carte du Macaron), you’ll be rewarded with a box of 35 macarons at the end. Wow is all I can say to that!

New York City is joining in the festivities this year too, with François Payard at the helm and participating shops including MacarOn Café.  The slogan for Macaron Day NYC… “macaron – the new cupcake” !  I’m just relieved they aren’t calling them macaroons !

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To say that there has been buzz about a certain Paris-Brest in France’s capital is an understatement.  You may already be seeing pink just at the mention of it – which can only mean one thing: You’re familiar with La Pâtisserie des Rêves, Philippe Conticini’s “pastry shop of dreams” that opened in September of 2009.  (Bravo to those of you who correctly identified it in the Paris sweets quiz!)  Ever since the opening, Parisians and visiting foodies have been flocking there to see (and taste) Conticini’s masterful reworking of France’s classic pastries, including the Tarte Tatin, Saint-Honoré, éclair au chocolat and au café… and the Paris-Brest.

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