Pomme Palais
Must-try: St. Honoré (vanilla puff pastries with house-made caramel on the side)
Located in the New York Palace hotel, this patisserie features sweets from Executive Pastry Chef David Carmichael, including fruit tarts made with seasonal fruit, macarons, cakes and an assortment of éclairs. newyorkpalace.com
La Maison du Chocolat
Must-try: Salvador (dark chocolate ganache with fresh raspberry pulp)
Master Chef Nicolas Cloiseau helms this chocolate wonderland, and each season he dreams up limited edition flavors. This year’s holiday collection, for example, includes Praliné Masquerade (almond praliné with dates) and Clementine Square (purée of candied clementine and orange in a dark chocolate ganache). The process of creating the flavors is a meticulous one. From the idea’s conception to the time the treat hits shelves can take up to two years. Rounds of taste trials are done to get the precise flavor profile intended, and there are around ten recipe variations until the chef has achieved perfection.
Sant Ambroeus
Must-try: Sant Ambroeus (chocolate mousse cake with a chocolate custard center)
With multiple locations across New York City, this restaurant, gelataria and espresso bar has a devoted following. A-listers like Sarah Jessica Parker and Jason Wu frequent the West Village location, and Jake Gyllenhaal is a regular in Soho. santambroeus.com
LadurÉe
Must-try: Blackcurrant Violet macaron
Created in 1862, this Parisian bakery is famous for its macarons, selling around 15,000 per day! Signature flavors include Caramel with Salted Butter, Pistachio, Orange Blossom and Rose. Every season the house also offers limited edition flavors, including Praline Sesame, Cherry Blossom and Rum-Vanilla. laduree.com
Teuscher
Must-try: Champagne Truffles (Dom Perignon champagne cream center surrounded by dark chocolate ganache covered with milk chocolate and dusted with confectioner's sugar)
This Swiss chocolate company was founded more than 70 years ago. The delicious products are prepared in Zurich and flown to all of Teuscher’s stores weekly, but they are always created without the use of preservatives or artificial colors. teuscher.com
Maison Kayser
Must-try: Cardinal (raspberry mousse, crème brûlée center, raspberry biscuit and raspberry glaze)
This French bakery has opened five locations in New York City in just two years, with a sixth slated to open in early November on the Upper West Side. Eric Kayser, who is a fifth-generation baker, will introduce new dessert menu items, including a Tarte Caramel Beurre Salé (salty butter caramel tart with milk chocolate cream) and an Éclair Yuzu (Yuzu éclair topped with a sablé Breton biscuit).maison-kayser.com
Maman
Must-try: Nutty Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookie
This bakery and café is part of a collaboration between Armand Arnal, the head chef at Michelin-starred restaurant La Chassagnette in the South of France, Benjamin Sormonte, a partner at Experimental Group, and Elisa Marshall, a baker, event planner and designer. The combination of their pastries—which are made with locally sourced ingredients—and the décor make their Instagram swoon-worthy. mamannyc.com
Payard
Must-try: Louvre Cake (chocolate mousse and hazelnut mousse layered with a hazelnut dacquoise over a hazelnut wafer covered in a chocolate glaze)
Famed chef François Payard is a third-generation French pastry connoisseur. Before opening his first namesake patisserie in 1997, he cut his teeth at Le Bernardin and later joined Chef Daniel Boulud for the opening of Restaurant Daniel in New York City. He’s received the James Beard Foundation Award for “Pastry Chef of the Year,” among many other accolades. payard.com
Leonidas
Must-try: Manon Café (coffee-flavored buttercream topped with a whole roasted hazelnut in a white chocolate shell)
Abroad, you’ll find a royal coat of arms on the boxes of these Belgian chocolates. As of last year, Leonidas is a supplier to the court for the King of Belgium. The company makes more than 100 varieties of Belgian chocolates using products that have never been frozen and are made with the purest of cocoa butters. leonidas.com
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