I’m typically skeptical of over-hyped pastry chefs – mainly because they have a tendency to charge ludicrous amounts of money for pastries that never quite feel large or impressive enough to warrant the wallet-lightening pricetag. But after discovering Maxime Frédéric’s Paris-Brest at a press lunch at Le Tout-Paris a few months ago and falling positively in love with his version of my favorite classic French pastry, I had to check out his PleinCoeur in the 17th.
Frédéric is definitely within the same sphere as other big-name pâtissiers like François Perret, Cédric Grolet, Nina Métayer, or Jessica Préalpato, with accolades that include a 2022 best pastry chef nod from Gault et Millau and the title of “the most creative pastry chef in the world” discerned by La Liste in 2025. He worked at Le Meurice and the George V before joining the Cheval Blanc team in 2019. And after trying a selection of his breads, viennoiseries, and, of course, his pâtisseries… I’ve got thoughts.
His shop, which opened in 2024, definitely has fine dining vibes, and aesthetics could even seem more important than culinary allure, especially seeing as each pristine pastry is covered by a glass cloche in a separate section of the shop, much like a museum or jeweler’s. But there’s something to be said for this display case, which actually makes it easier to peruse the offerings, some of which seem too perfect to eat.
I found this to be particularly true of the gluten-free entremets (9.50), whose monochromatic perfection did little to entice the gourmande in me.
The charlottes (9.50) were far more appealing, and after hesitating between pear and charlotte, we opted for the former, catching the tail-end of its seasonality.
This pastry was supremely balanced, with a very buttery sablé base topped with fresh, soft pears that were just barely sweetened, playing to the natural strengths of the fruit in both texture and flavor. A light genoise and orange blossom cream provided lovely balance, and the pear gel on top was just barely set – really, almost a compote. My only complaint was that I might have liked a touch more acidity to balance out the sweetness.
We also picked up a handful of viennoiseries, and given how much I’d liked the puff pastry of Frédéric’s simple but excellent almond galette this January, I had high hopes for the croissant dough.
Unfortunately, the pain suisse (4.90) just didn’t scratch the itch for me… despite the accolades it’s received from pretty much every Paris influencer out there.
It is indeed inviting, with its bicolor croissant dough stuffed generously with pastry cream, chocolate chips, and a layer of chocolate ganache. But the dough just wasn’t buttery enough for me (a common problem with cocoa-infused croissant dough), and the custard felt a little bit too dense. The chocolate ganache was perhaps my favorite part, with a lovely, fruity flavor, but it wasn’t enough to save this viennoiserie from mediocrity.
Far more impressive was the brioche feuilletée stuffed with rice pudding (4.90).
This beautiful viennoiserie is made up of two laminated brioche buns that, unlike the croissant dough, were positively brimming over with buttery flavor.
Each bun in the infinity-shaped swirl encases its own barely-sweetened heart of vanilla-scented rice pudding. Cut into it, and the caramel topping trickles into the filling, offering the only pronounced note of sweetness in the entire creation. The bun is covered in a layer of crushed buckwheat (which I judiciously avoided) to offer texture and a bit of nutty depth.
But the winner in the viennoiserie category was undoubtedly the understated pain viennois (2.50), a barely-enriched dough studded with chocolate chips. It was yeasty and fluffy with just the barest sweetness from the chocolate, which, as in the pain suisse, was excellent. (It should come as no surprise that Frédéric also has a line of chocolate creations and pâtes à tartiner – basically artisan Nutella with a range of textures and percentages of cocoa to nut.
It’s rare that I find a bakery that delivers on all three French baking traditions, and Frédéric reinforces this truism. His breads are perfectly fine, but I found them nothing to write home about – and not necessarily worth crossing Paris for. The same is true of his viennoiseries, which, again, are good, but not mind-blowing. And this is perhaps to be expected… he is, after all, a pâtissier by trade, and this is where his creations really sing.
Notably… that Paris-Brest.
The relatively demure size of the chou bun base only serves to highlight just how generously hazelnut-forward the pastry is it is. Not only is itencrusted in toasted chopped hazelnuts, but it’s filled with such an incredible quantity of rich hazelnut cream shot through with barely-sweetened hazelnut praline that almost has peanut butter vibes. And at just 9.50, it’s a fraction of what you’d pay if you ventured to Le Tout-Paris.
Now that I know what I know, my future visits to PleinCoeur are sure to be dominated by other true pâtisseries, like the beautiful lemon tart and the chocolate charlotte (and this strawberry-pistachio version, which, quite frankly, looks insane.) I may even sample one of those perfect-looking entremets. For science, of course.
Pleincoeur – 64, rue des Batignolles, 75017