Pain au chocolat

Those that know me know I love a pastry with a coffee in the morning. My favourites being either a pain aux raisin or chausson pomme. However, lately I have indulged in a pain au chocolat. I have to say that I’ve always found the idea of anything with chocolate in the morning quite excessive, but the pain au chocolat from our local boulangeries are making me think again, as they are ever so light, with just enough chocolate.

The pain au chocolat is really a derivative of the croissant. These types of pastries were introduced to France in the early 19th century by a couple of Austrian aristocrats, who opened a bakery in Paris selling viennoisserie. This style of baking is now popular all over France.