Experience a Real Taste of France at Cannelle Patisserie
This month, we're proud to present the Bread & Grains issue—dedicated to all manner of doughs, dosas and baked desserts made in Queens. To coincide with the print issue (you'll be able to pick up a print copy very soon!), every weekday throughout the month of February, we're featuring a different bakery in the borough. Some are old standbys, and some are new and on the rise, but each one reflects the diverse and independent spirit of Queens.
Who would have thought that some of New York City’s best croissants, eclairs and St. Honore (a decadent, cream-puff-ringed cake), exist in a Jackson Heights strip mall? For a sophisticated taste of “Gay Paree” in Queens, look no further than Cannelle Patisserie (OK, you can glance a few neighborhoods further to its little sister, Cannelle LIC). A partnership between two former pastry gurus from the Waldorf Astoria—Brittany expat Jean-Claude Perennou and Sri Lanka native Gnanasampanthan Sabaratnam—the pair originally intended to open a wholesale bakery in Manhattan.
And yet, the local Queens community (which includes a sizable concentration of Bretons) has more than validated Cannelle’s decision to go retail. Not only do they support the production of more than 1,400 croissants per week, along with scores of meticulously stacked napoleons, praline crunch pastries and exquisite tarts (the larger Long Island City location has also become a go-to for bread), they’ve proved an appreciative, ravenous audience for foundationally French pastries. Meaning, don’t miss the pear bourdaloue (poached fruit perched atop almond cream and a sablée crust); Paris brest (essentially a massive doughnut of choux pastry sandwiching praline cream); or gâteau Breton, a buckwheat cake so imbued with butter it’s pretty much a giant shortbread. And we haven’t yet mentioned the namesake canelé—bite-sized, dome-shaped, rum- and vanilla-infused pastries, sporting gloriously custardy interiors and deeply caramelized crusts.
75-59 31st Ave., Jackson Heights
718.565.6200
