Tucked away in a small shopping center in South Park lies a little bit of France. As you walk in the doors you are greeted by yellow and black polka-dots, and a man with a heavy french accent. “‘Ello,” he begins. He walks you around the display shelves filled with the most beautiful pastries. Fruit tarts, macarons, cupcakes, madeleines, canneles, cookies, meringue, mille-feuille, creme brulee, french flan, chocolate eclairs, and buttered croissants. Any baked good you could imagine; welcome to Renaissance Patisserie.

Each case features a handful of seasonal pastries.  I was lucky enough to taste a handful of their best pastries. The first thing I tried was the maple pecan macaron. The vibrant red coloring reminded me of the beautiful red leaves adorning the trees this time of year. The filling was a creamy creme pat and filled with finely chopped pecans. The outside was also dusted with finely chopped pecans. Both of the maple and pecan flavors were present in each bite and thoroughly enjoyable.

The next thing I was able to try was the mille-feuille (“million layers”), also known as a napoleon. This pastry was by far my favorite. There was intricate icing detail on the top in both vanilla and chocolate icing. Each profed layer of puff pastry was buttery and light. You can tell the baker took extra time layering the butter in the puff pastry. The custard cream filling was not as sweet as I would at first expected but it was just as delicious. Every bite of the napoleon was pure heaven.

I also had the opportunity to try their coffee, which was very good and light on the sugar. It is clear to me that presentation was very important to the baker, as everything looked like it was fresh out of a catalog. The way the pastries were presented and even the location of the patisserie was picturesque. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the owners and pastry chefs at Renaissance Patisserie for the childlike joy their desserts brought me. And, finally, I would like to extend my recommendation to you, to try this little slice of France.