What Awaits You at The Oldest Chocolate Shop in Paris

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Come with me and discover what awaits you at the oldest chocolate shop in Paris. À La Mère de Famille is, without a doubt, my favorite confiserie in Paris. If you love chocolate then this is the place to be.  There are multiple locations around Paris but my favorite is the original store at 35 rue du Faubourg Montmartre. The façade of this store is a delight to the eye.

But just wait til you step inside!

Inside the store, you will find a little bit of everything.  You can only imagine, I was quickly overwhelmed by the abundant choices that surrounded me. One of the special things about À La Mère de Famille is the variety.

They have confections that represent all regions and departments of France.  Hard candies, caramels, chocolate bars, mendiants, florentines and pâtes de fruits, shall I list more ? I simply can’t go home without a jar of la tart à tatiner (a chocolate spread that is delightful on toast). The list of choices goes on and on !

Let’s do a bit of window shopping, or faire du lèche-vitrines .

In this window we see Calissons from Provence, Pâte d’amande (marzipan shaped fruit) and lovely chocolate coated florentines. Can you guess which are my favorite?

This particular photo has the recipe book  mentioned below! Look closely and you will see the spine of the book.

They even sell confitures, jams.

Rondoudous are scented sugar gels poured into actual sea shells. They are a child’s delight and are licked straight from the shell. The little wagon display was what caught my attention but it was the chocolate pâte à tartiner on the left which I purchased. I love this chocolate spread!

Don’t get me wrong. I like Ladurée, Hermes and Georges Larnicol. Yet another list of  taste-filled places to shop. But À La Mère de Famille is in a league of its own.

In my opinion this is the perfect place to stop with children during an afternoon of sightseeing. Give them free rein to  choose their own treat(s) and enjoy their delight as they peruse all the goodies with you.

History of À La Mère de Famille

This family business began in 1761 as a small corner grocery shop, Maison Bernard. However, the enterprising owner Pierre-Jean Bernard expanded, modernised and added a confectionary counter by 1779. And the rest of the story is history. There is a recipe book which weaves the history of the shop in with their recipes that let you taste some of the delights to be found in their confectionaries.

À La Mère de Famille cookbook

is a treasure trove of history, photographs and easy to follow recipes from the oldest chocolate shop in Paris. Whether you want to learn how to make the three sided Berlingots striped candies which have their origins in the south of France or the orange-chocolate cake that I made today, there are a wide variety of recipes to choose from.

Orange-Chocolate Cake

This Orange-Chocolate Cake couldn’t have been easier to make. I didn’t even need an electric mixer. I’m sure I will make it again (and yet again !) as my chief taste tester loved it. He also suggested I brush a bit of Cointreau over the cake before brushing on the orange syrup. I’m intrigued by that idea !

Finished cake brushed with the orange syrup glaze.

Here is the recipe exactly as written in the cookbook. I will confess to making just one change. I did not have chocolate chips ! How can I have run out ? However, I did have a Lindt Dark Chocolate bar with orange bits. So I carefully cut it into ¼ inch pieces and measured out the needed ½ cup worth. It worked wonderfully !

For the batter 

1 ½ cups sugar

2 oranges, washed

3 eggs

½ cup cream, warmed

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

5 tablespoons of butter, melted

½ cup dark chocolate chips

For the syrup

½ cup water

½ cup sugar

Juice of 2 oranges

Making the Batter

Put the sugar in a large mixing bowl and grate the zest from the oranges into the sugar. This captures the flavorful orange oils. (Reserve the oranges for the syrup.)

The whole kitchen had the aroma of oranges!

Add the eggs to the sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes pale and thick. Add the warm cream and stir to combine. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold to incorporate. Finally, add the melted butter and most of the chocolate chips, reserving a few to decorate the top. Stir to make a smooth, shiny batter.

 Baking

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease and flour, or line with parchment paper, two 6-by-2-inch or a 9-by-4 inch loaf pan(s). Pour the batter into the prepared pan, scatter the reserved chocolate chips over the top and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and make a lengthwise incision in the top using a knife. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and return the cake to the oven to bake for about 35 minutes, or until the blade of a knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake(s).

Remove from the oven, turn the cakes out of the pans, and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Making the Syrup

Juice the reserved oranges. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, water, and orange juice to a boil. Boil until thick and syrupy, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. While the cake and syrup are still warm, use a pastry brush to moisten the cake with all of the syrup, brushing the top, bottom and sides.

-À La Mère de Famille Recipes from the Beloved Parisian Confectioner by Julien Merceron

Before brushing with the orange syrup.

[Note: The recipe is from the cookbook but the images are my own. The link to amazon is an affiliate link from which I earn a token amount.]

À La Mère de Famille Oldest Chocolate Shop in Paris – Locations

Mon histoire d’une recette préféré de ce magasin (en bref) en français…

Pendant plusieurs semaines j’ai eu le temps d’essayer des nouvelles recettes. Aussi, je trouve que je veux cuisiner quand mon esprit est un peu déprimé. Par contre, je ne veux pas ajouter de poids à mon corps. Donc, je bouge plus et mange moins.

Cette fin de semaine, j’ai fait un gâteau d’orange et chocolat que j’ai trouvé dans mon livre « À La mère de famille ». Ce livre est rempli de recettes de cette maison fondée en 1761 en Paris.

Le gâteau était très facile à faire et vraiment délicieux. Il est couvert avec
un sirop d’orange de tous les côtés. Ça marche bien pour le conserver, je pense.

Il y a beaucoup de recettes dans le livre que je n’ai pas l’envie de faire, comme les Berlingots. Mais, il y a aussi d’autres qui semblent très goûtants. Il me plait que l’auteur a inclus l’histoire du magasin tout au long du livre.
« À La mère de famille » est ma confiserie préférée à Paris.

Quand Pierre-Jean Bernard est arrivé en Paris en 1761, il a acheté une petite maison avec un sol en terre battue et il a établi une petite épicerie. En 1779 il a inclus des confiseries. À cette époque l’épicerie appartenait aussi à la guilde des apothicaires. Et, aujourd’hui son magasin prospère encore!

The French section of this article has been reposted at LearnParisianFrench.j-ouellette.com.