Saint-Germain is a Japanese bakery in town, where I went to pick up some pastries one morning this past weekend. Among the bearclaws, danishes, andagi, turnovers, an pan, curry puffs and other baked goods, they offer something called a "Jesuit Custard," which is a triangle of puff pastry with almonds on top, split horizontally and filled with pastry cream. If anybody knows why this should be called "Jesuit Custard," please let the rest of us know. Meanwhile I am waiting for the St. Francis Xavier An Pan.
(ETA: Wonder no longer; AKMA came through with the answer to this question in the comments. Thanks AKMA!)
4 comments:
The pastry is named for its resemblance to the hats that Jesuits typically wore -- but I’m wondering why a Japanese bakery is named “St Germain.”
Oh, that's easy - it's after St.-Germain-des-Pres neighborhood in Paris, which has a lot of cafes and patisseries. For reasons that are probably historical, pastry and bread in Japan are thought of as not just Western but specifically French. Some of the best cream puffs I've ever had, for example, were ones I ate while I was in Japan; there are bakers there that can do amazing things with choux paste (hence the huge success of Beard Papa).
Who knew that Jesuits were so affordable? In this economy, even.
This is not a discussion that would ever happen in LA. There are no carbs here.
Post a Comment