Tantalizing Tarte au Citron!

All in the name of research! I've been trekking around Paris these past few days vintage shopping and scouring the best patisseries. Yes I know - lame excuse seeing as I haven't been updating my blog. Again, today, I found the desperate need to broadcast my love for this AMAZINGLY delectable treat. Lo and behold - it's another tarte au citron!

Au Levain de Marais
Add: 32 Rue de Turenne, 3rd
Metro: Chemin Vert
Tel: 01 42 78 07 31
Tues-Sat 7am-8:30pm

In total I splurged and got three treats here - tarte au citron (lemon tart), tarte au chocolate et framboise (chocolate and raspberry tarte), and a macaron framboise (raspberry macaron) for a total of 7.20 Euros. The reviews for the latter two will be written at another time.


Tarte au citron - 2.80 Eur

Pure heaven. This is the BEST tarte au citron I've had thus far. Yes, yes I know I said that on my previous post about the one at Veronique Mauclerc... this one IS BETTER. Oh and it's actually cheaper! To cut a long story short, the filling is comparable which makes it stellar already. The crust, mes petites, is the tiebreaker.

Filling: (I couldn't help myself - Almost half gone already!)
Taste: 10/10 tangy, burst of refreshing citrusy heaven and just sweet enough. A complete dream. The aftertaste it leaves just keeps you fantasizing about the next time you sink your teeth into one of these!
Texture: 9.9/10 Smooth, refined, and creamy. Only reason I didn't give it a 10 was that my initial impression said that it could be just the sliiiiiiiightest bit creamier and, what if I find another lemon tart that beats this one later?


Crust: (Close-up beauty shot! Can you see the texture?)
Taste: 9.9/10 It tastes great by itself - fully flavored and ready to crumble. There's a hint of cinnamon that adds to its depth. My opinion only, but by itself there's a... slightly odd taste of herbs or spices I can't quite put my finger on it. Eaten with the filling, as you're supposed to, is simply divine. You don't taste any of that somewhat strange flavor.
Texture: 9.9/10 Buttery, crumbles when it's supposed to with just the tiniest suggestion of a crunch, this pairs perfectly with the creamy, tangy filling. Honestly, the only reason I didn't give it a 10/10 is because, well, I'm a little scared of giving full marks now. I'm not ruling out the possibility that there's a better tarte au citron out there, so I'm leaving room for that. I think I might just have to edit my previous post about the tarte at Veronique Mauclerc...

Overall Appearance: 9/10 I thought it was quite pretty! The nonchalantly caramelized top and dusting of confectioner's sugar add a nice touch to the dollop of lemon custard sitting on a butter cookie. Even better? When it's in your mouth.
Overall Value: 10/10 This stunning. And it's really, really not overpriced at all for a lemon tart. The chain bakeries I've seen charge more than 2.90 Euros. It costs less than the one at Veronique Mauclerc! Do your taste buds a favor and run, fly, SWIM to Au Levain de Marias to savour this tarte!

Oh and did I mention? The whole package is handed to you in a pretty wrapped box :)



...and while you're at it, check out the nearby(ish) vintage shops on Rue de Rosiers. Will post a more detailed entry of specific shops when I find the time... it is now 2 am.

Happy tasting! :)