Financier Pâtisserie

I was still licking my lips over a lunch special at Ise (hearty Japanese winter food: fried scallops accompanied by a dollop of hot mustard, poached tilefish with yam paste, rice balls with fermented soybeans and sashimi garnished with fresh ginger) when I realized that I hadn’t yet bought pastries for Christmas morning. I’d heard that a French pastry shop had opened up two weeks ago nearby, and set about finding it at once.

Everything about Financier Pâtisserie screams “butter”; the light yellow walls, the aroma of baking that wafts through the room and the taste of the madeleines. The madeleines are so fresh that you can taste the single ingredients in turn: rich butter, then eggs, then sugar. A row of buttery, flaky pastries (pains au chocolat, cherry turnovers, almond croissants) sits atop a glass display. If you can tear your eyes away from the croissants, you will notice that the display is divided into two sections. To the right, there are charming bûches de Noel decorated with snowmen. On the left, there is a beautiful assortment of tarts, éclairs and mousses. I was torn between the pear chocolate mousse and the baba au rhum. My internal argument grew more heated until I noticed the chocolate chestnut tart topped with a marshmallow, which promptly found its way onto my shopping list. And what of the Christmas pastries? I think we’ll be enjoying our egg-brushed, plump apple turnovers very much!

Financier Pâtisserie, 62 Stone St., (212) 344-5600.