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| - So, I'm on the hunt for an eclair made the way my favorite bakery back in San Diego made them: a long, wide generous size filled with a sweet, light vanilla pastry cream (as in not pudding-heavy and not whipped cream-light) with a rich, glossy decadent chocolate glaze. It definitely took more than four bites to eat. While I do like the traditional thin French ones, I find I need more than one to satisfy me and they often have a high pastry shell to cream ratio. So, when I was considering relocating to Charlotte, I was excited to hear that a popular place was a French bakery called Amelie's. I eagerly tried their eclair and was sad it wasn't like my old favorite. But that's not to say it isn't good. It's just different.
I tried both their vanilla and chocolate version. While good, I found their filling dense and heavier than I would have liked. I didn't give up on them though. Their vanilla cream puff is closer to what I was hoping for. The glaze is rich, soft and glossy and balances the pastry shell and vanilla cream filling nicely. I do find the filling a tad too light than I would like, but it's pretty good. There's no suffering involved eating 2-3 to equal my old favorite eclair size. I'm still on the hunt, so read my other reviews to see if I've found the "one."
I've also had their salted caramel brownie. It's a moist fudge-like brownie as opposed to a cakey brownie. Very tasty and yummy with a cup of their cafe au lait. Their twice-baked croissant was delicious. They were serving a chocolate hazelnut version when I ordered. It made a delicious snack along my drive to Arlington, VA that day.
While they didn't match my favorite eclair style, they're a delicious and solid bakery option and still deserve 5 stars.
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