PETALING JAYA, Oct 14 — I go weak at the knees when it comes to pretty things. Tiny French cakes especially.
The dainty sweets not only look great but taste exquisite with all the delicate work behind the scenes. As we go through the conditional movement control order (CMCO), part two, I reckon a little sweetness is needed to get through sitting at home again.
A recent Instagram post from Lachér Patisserie to try their tea time treats as a sampler got me online to order two of their tea sets.
From what I read on their website, Lachér Patisserie is run by Pang Yun Kian who ventured into the dessert world in 2010.
He cut his teeth in Singapore, working at hotels such as the Regent, Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Swissôtel by Stamford. Pang was also part of the team that won the Asian Pastry Cup in 2016.
Currently Lachér Patisserie only does online orders, working from a kitchen located in Ara Damansara.
For the petit gateaux, it is only available on Tuesdays and Sundays, where pre-orders need to be placed at least one day in advance before 6pm.
Most of their other items can be ordered for same day delivery, provided orders are placed by 2pm. Delivery or pick up of your orders can be done within a minimum of three hours from the order, provided it is done before their cut-off time of 2pm.
If you're unsure about whether the taste of their bigger-sized sweet creations will suit you, try out the petit gateaux first.
I felt all of the French cakes were executed perfectly with minimal flaws. What I really enjoyed was the contrast of textures in each small creation.
For instance, their tart shells have a cookie-like texture. When bitten into, it has crunch and a slight sweet taste. This contrasts perfectly with the creamy lemon curd and light airy chantilly cream for their citron tart.
That theme of contrasting textures carries through almost all of their petit gateaux as the mousse cakes sit on a biscuit base. Even the Valrhona Caraibe hazelnut praline had a nice crunch from the chocolate nibs and a hazelnut chocolate feuilletine base that you can slowly savour.
I am biased since I love tangy flavours so the kochi yuzu mango tart was a big favourite. Nestled on top of the tart, the highlight is the silky kochi yuzu curd with mango inside. It's just the right balance of tanginess that gives you a refreshing taste.
Another favourite was the simple-looking petit gateau fromage. It's essentially a lemon cheesecake but the richness was well balanced with the distinct lemon taste. Of course, it was made better with the California almond biscuit base.
For your chocolate fix, the Valrhona Caraibe hazelnut praline offers you a lighter taste while the flavours of the raspberry chocolate mousse is more towards the tangy raspberry rather than chocolate.
The two tarts from the teatime treat set were lovely. If you're a nut lover, the crunchy mixed nuts — pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds — mixed with raisins, apricots and cranberries will make you a happy person. For their citron tart, the lemon curd is fine and delicious even though it needs a slightly more tangy kick.
The pistachio raspberry was a treat to eat as inside you get layers of raspberry marmalade that cuts through the sweetness of the pistachio joconde. It is all encased in a pistachio glaze and topped with a piped pistachio cream.
For the salted caramel Saint-Honore, I felt the caramel whip surrounding the choux puff wasn't to my taste. It was a little sweeter than I preferred as I like a slightly more bitter and evident taste of burnt sugar.
The petit gateaux is RM86 for a set of four items. You can choose between two sets, the afternoon treat or the teatime set. Delivery can be arranged at your own cost. You can also do a self pick up from their Ara Damansara premises.
Lachér Patisserie, Eve Suite, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. You can place your order at https://www.lacherpatisserie.com. Instagram: @lacher.patisserie
