Ladurée Honours Parisian History with New Creation ‘Eugénie’

French pastry shop Ladurée naturally appreciates the legacies of what came before. Since its founding in 1862, Ladurée has been careful to appreciate the narratives that preceded and surrounded it. Their new creation, a delectable bite-sized Eugénie, plays an ode to Empress Eugénie of France, a monarch who constantly placed art at the forefront of her pursuits.

As a means to honour the significant historical contributions of influential women, Ladurée’s new creation is based entirely within the Empress’s essence. The creation also doubles as a nod to what Ladurée has always sought to embody: the 1960s Parisian niche. A major figure of her time Empress Eugénie became a muse for her undying patronage for the arts - she inspired the creation of monuments like the Opera Garnier, and more broadly inspired the Napoleon III style. In fact, the Empress is said to be responsible for making Paris a cultural and hedonistic central point in her time.

Like the Empress herself, the new Ladurée creation monikered after the icon is just as diva-like. The shape of a Eugénie echoes that of a macaron - it is small and round - creating an illusion of familiarity for what is actually an entirely novel venture. Crested with the classic Ladurée ‘L’, the creation comes wrapped in a soft-hued pastel crunchy chocolate coating, which, when bitten into, gives way to a burst of flavour. The melting heart of the creation then comes in with a rush of flavour, refreshing your palate, while the inner gluten-free biscuit mellows it down. Eugénie is quite an experience.

The entire range of Eugénie flavours is in soft pastels as an act of faithfulness to the Empress’s values herself. It comes in a range of flavours: chocolate, pistachio, rose, vanilla, orange blossom, and caramel. There are also a couple of more eccentric flavours, like the blackcurrant and chocolate-infused ‘blackcurrant violet’, and, le piece de resistance, a Eugénie inspired by Marie Antoinette’s tea - Chinese black tea complete with rose petals, citrus fruits and honey.The Eugénie collection is available in boxes of 6, 12 or 18 pieces, to be offered on all occasions. It comes bearing more style than the average creation box, covered in a «toile de Jouy» pattern and impressed with the ‘L’ we constantly look for.