Plaisir Sucré

20 December 2005

This classic cake from Pierre Hermé has been my favourite for a long time. I’ve tried quite a few of his cakes by now but Plaisir Sucré still remains one of the best and I’ve always wanted to try making it myself. It somehow took me a while to try making it, I think I was a little scared of being disappointed by my execution of the recipe – but I’m glad I’ve finally done it.

If you don’t know what the Plaisir Sucré looks like, this is one from PH patisserie.
 


 

And this is my version.
 


 

They may not look as great as his, but I was happy with how they turned out and actually surprised at how easy it was to make them – I should have done it sooner! I like the distinctive look of this cake – hazelnut dacquoise for the base (with lots of halved nuts pressed in), Nutella and chocolate spread with rice crispies, two layers of rich ganache with chocolate sheets and chocolate whipped cream topped with another chocolate sheet – yes, it is very chocolatey! I can’t get enough of the chocolate and nuts combination (especially hazelnuts) and this rich chocolate flavour works perfectly with the crunchy rice crispies and hazelnuts as well as the dacquoise – it really deserves its name ‘sweet pleasure’. I made them bite size this time, it was good fun ‘building’ so many little chocolate sheets up :) You can find the recipe in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé.
 

Food - Sweet        38 comments    Permalink

  • They look great! All you’re missing is that gold sticker and it looks like it could be sold in a patisserie itself! ^_^ I wouldn’t mind tasting one ^_~. I think that mini desserts are SO adorable! They look almost too perfect too eat.

    Posted by Tea | 20 December 2005 #

  • i agree--all you need is a little nordljus sticker on top. perhaps a silver one with a little line drawing of maya’s profile? if i like hazelnuts (or nutella, for that matter), i’m sure i’d love this!

    Posted by santos. | 20 December 2005 #

  • my gdness, gorgeous!!

    Posted by mich | 20 December 2005 #

  • whatever do you mean by ’not as great as his’? they look perfect!

    Posted by Cin | 20 December 2005 #

  • Hi Keiko,

    I beg to differ with your assumption that your plaisir sucré doesn’t look as good as the one from Pierre Hermé. I happen to think that yours looks as good or better!

    I agree with Santos, you need to sell these. Maybe you could use some edible gold leaf on top...

    Great gob!

    Posted by Reid | 20 December 2005 #

  • oh keiko, yours are simply too exquisite for words - plaisir sucre is one of my favourite herme sweets too...and i must echo everybody else’s sentiments - the only possible finishing touch is a little plaque with your initials!

    Posted by Joycelyn | 20 December 2005 #

  • Oh my! Keiko, Im so very impressed, if its possible to be even more impressed by your creations than I already was ;)

    I love the plaisir sucre too with all its delicious layers, I cant imagine being able to make them myself! Wow.. Im speechless!

    Posted by michele | 20 December 2005 #

  • wow, wow, and triple wow! happy xmas keiko!

    Posted by Lil | 20 December 2005 #

  • Looks so yummy!! I think I gained a few pounds just by reading this post! :)

    Posted by Kat | 20 December 2005 #

  • Keiko, this is stunning! I’ve been eyeing the recipe in Pierre’s book after recently tasting the real thing in Paris, but there’s no way I could do it as beautifully as you!

    Posted by melissa | 20 December 2005 #

  • Strange! i use ’crepes dentelles’ in the nutella layer as stipulated in the recipe. Did the recipe asked for rice crispies? It’s strange how recipes can change depending on which country they’re published...

    Beautiful creation anyway. I tried it once and though i find it easy to make i had a problem with the ganache that would’nt set.

    Good photography -needless to say as usual.

    I love plaisir sucre so much. It’s so so good : all the falours and the different textures. A pure delight.

    love

    fanny

    Posted by fanny | 20 December 2005 #

  • tesekkurler

    Posted by hande yerlikaya | 20 December 2005 #

  • Keiko,

    I don’t know if you saw my version on my flickr page - I made it as part of my final project for pastry class. But what I tried to do was make a full size one (not scoring the chocolate sheets) and I found it was a very tricky challenge not to keep the thin sheets from cracking! I think making them individual-sized is probably the best way to go!

    I agree with everyone else that yours looks just like Pierre Herme’s! I can’t believe you were scared of making this one when your other desserts that I haven’t even dreamed of attempting look so good!

    Posted by Anita | 21 December 2005 #

  • Hi Keiko- I think we share the same palate, this cake is my most favorite recipe among all the recipes that I have tried from PH. I am a huge huge fan of the milk chocolate and hazelnut combination so this cake is really perfect for me. I am a person who prefers milk chocolate over dark chocolate since I find dark chocolate a bit too bitter sometimes. I like this cake so much since it is not boring, I like the textural play of this cake and it is not too sweet too. It actually tasted like Ferrero Rocher and Giotto chocolates. I made this cake before but I channge the construction and some of the components a bit. I change the chocolate cream to a milk chocolate mousse with gelatin then I omitted the chocolate sheets and replace it with chocolate sponge, chocolate glaze and a vanilla panna cotta center and I ended up with a mousse base entremet. The cake tasted good that way and I like it very much. I haven’t tried the original Plaisir Sucre of PH, but I was able to try an identical version of the cake in a shop in Singapore operated by a former student of PH. The cake looked the same, the only difference was that the decor on top was hazelnut instead of the PH logo. The cake tasted sooooo good and immediately became the best cake I’ve ever tried even up to now. I hope I can try the original version of PH as well as the more complicated version of this cake "Le cerise sur le gateau" which have the same components as the Plaisir Sucre which put PH into fame back in 1993. Oh by the way, your cake looked as good as the one from PH, it is very neat and all you need is a piece of gold leaf or caramelized hazelnut to dress it up. Bravo! Thank You

    Posted by Cathy | 21 December 2005 #

  • oh you finally made it! congratulations on your first batch of plaisir sucre, and hope there will be many more to come in your way (and hopefully mine, too!)

    Posted by chika | 21 December 2005 #

  • E x c e l l e n t !!

    Posted by obachan | 21 December 2005 #

  • Keiko! They look fabulous!!! If something that beautiful came out of my kitchen I would faint. It looks not only amazingly delicious, but also amazingly elegant. How I wish I was your neighbor right now! ;)

    Posted by joey | 21 December 2005 #

  • Looks so so so yummy!! Keiko-san

    If you don’t mind please send me for Xmas from LONDON:)

    Posted by joujouka | 21 December 2005 #

  • Keiko, I’ll add my voice to the chorus: these are gorgeous! I’m usually suspicious of anything involving milk chocolate, but one of the saleswomen in the Pierre Herme boutique talked me into buying a plaisir sucre--and it was a plaisir indeed. Absolutely and astoundingly delicious, with such a delicate and complex balance of flavors. It looks as though you’ve more than done it justice!

    Posted by Molly | 21 December 2005 #

  • I cant quite believe a pierre herme creation contains rice krispies and nutella!

    Posted by sam | 21 December 2005 #

  • Beautiful!!!!!!! yummy :D

    Posted by azu | 22 December 2005 #

  • Oh my word. When, when, when are you going to open your own pastry shop and stop teasing us? ;-)

    Posted by Chubby Hubby | 22 December 2005 #

  • Keiko, oh my, this is your master piece for sure ! It’s beautiful and it looks so perfect !

    Posted by Fred | 22 December 2005 #

  • wow! wow! wow! *speakless*

    Posted by J. | 23 December 2005 #

  • Stupendously beautiful. Keiko, you’re a constant culinary inspiration.

    Posted by S | 24 December 2005 #

  • Hi Keiko,

    You forget to place your logo.........simply irressistable

    Posted by Latifa | 24 December 2005 #

  • God that looks good! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE Hazlenut chocolate.

    Posted by emi | 29 December 2005 #

  • Hi there, thanks so much for all your kind notes, I’m sorry I didn’t get back sooner.

    Santos - I like your idea, maybe I can use it for something else... what a shame you don’t like hazelnuts!

    Joycelyn - I still remember your beautiful plaisir sucre, do you make it often?

    Michele - actually, it was much easier than things I normally make... you just need lots of bowls, whisks and spatulas!

    Kat - I think I gained a few pounds eating them...

    Fanny - could you tell me what ’crepes dentelles’ are? Yes, my English recipe asks for rice crispies, the difference between the recipes is interesting indeed.

    Anita - I saw your beautiful plaisir sucre, it looks perfect! I see how it would be much more difficult to make a large version, I don’t think I’d even dare to try! Great job!

    Cathy - I’m glad you are a fan of plaisir sucre AND milk chocolate :) I don’t mind dark chocolate too much when it is part of a recipe, but I don’t like eating it on its own. I agree with you about plaisir sucre tasting a little like Ferrero Rocher and Giotto (!) the texture is really interesting. Your version sounds even tastier, though, I’d love to try making it one day. Thanks so much for your inspiration as always.

    Chika, Joujouka-san - you can have ’real’ PH treats in Tokyo!

    Joey - I might *force* you to try my desserts if you were my neighbour :)

    Molly - I’m glad you are converted to milk chocolate :)

    Sam - I couldn’t believe it either!

    Emi - I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE the combination too ;)

    Posted by keiko | 5 January 2006 #

  • I am in love with your photographs! I can’t wait until tomorrow when I have more time to look them and read your posts. And I love how you have the thumbnails going down the left side of the screen. I want to look at every one!

    I am so happy to hear that the plaisirs sucré aren’t that difficult to make. I have alot of bowls and and whisks so I will be making them soon. I wonder what I will put on top instead of his logo...a glass bead, perhaps?

    Posted by Erielle | 3 July 2006 #

  • Hi Erielle - thank you for your kind notes, I was a bit scared to try this recipe at first, but it was really easy and tasted almost as good as the ones from his patisserie. A glass bead on top sounds wonderful, let me know when you try it. It’s always good to have lots of bowls and whisks :)

    Posted by keiko | 4 July 2006 #

  • Hi, Just stumbled upon your blog, all of your creations look fantastic!!

    Posted by Aelia | 11 October 2006 #

  • Totally love the pictures and posts, would really love to try making this, could you post the recipe? Thanks!

    Posted by Chris | 11 October 2006 #

  • Hi Aeria and Chris – thank you for your kind notes and I’m sorry I didn’t get back sooner. As for the recipe, you can find it in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme.

    Posted by keiko | 12 January 2007 #

  • ohh! those milk chocolate disks look PERFECT...mine always crack and look like %%%%!!! ARGHH...any tips? :oD….

    Posted by Amrita | 3 February 2008 #

  • Hi Amrita – maybe you’re trying to spread it too thin…? Also, I think it helps if you cut them before it completely sets.

    Posted by keiko | 14 February 2008 #

  • Great pictures…I think I’ve finally read Pierre Herme’s name enough and seen enough pictures of his desserts that I’m going to have to attempt this one…any pointers?
    courtney @ http://thedoughball.blogspot.com/

    Posted by courtney | 28 February 2008 #

  • Hi Courtney – I know it’s easy to say, but it was really easy to make this! I assume the tricky bit is making the chocolate sheet – as I noted, try not to spread too thinly and it helps if you cut them before it completely sets. Good luck!

    Posted by keiko | 4 March 2008 #

  • It looks the same as Pierre Hermé‘s, well done.I should get his book and try his pastries. Worth all the efforts. Nice blog.

    Posted by Fragolina | 13 December 2010 #

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