I very rarely write on this blog about my nut allergy (I’m allergic to almonds, hazelnuts and chestnuts). Although the consequences of me eating nuts are more immediately severe than eating gluten, I generally find it easier to avoid nuts than gluten. I think it’s lucky I’m not particularly fussed about eating cake, despite what you will see in the blog posts about Paris!
The trouble is that of all the nuts a Coeliac could be allergic to, almonds are probably the worst. The ubiquitous gluten free brownie usually contains them. Many cake companies use ground almonds to enhance the texture of gluten free cakes, biscuits and pastries. So on the odd occasion I do fancy a sweet treat AND I manage to find a gluten free option, my excitement is almost always quashed with the response that the gluten free cake contains almonds.
Knowing this, and that I’d have limited time in Paris to visit patisseries, I emailed a couple of the gluten free bakeries in Paris to check whether they also had nut free options.
Chambelland kindly provided the following list of options which are both gluten and nut free. Unfortunately anything with a pastry type case/base was not an option for me as they contained nuts but there were plenty of fantastic alternatives:
– Le browkie (a cross between a cookie and a brownie)
– Les chouquettes (choux pastry sprinkled with pearl sugar)
– Les cakes au citron et au chocolat (lemon and chocolate cakes)
– Le rocher à la noix de coco (a sort of coconut macaroon)
– Le coco chambel (bar made with sesame, chocolate chips and honey)
– Le moelleux au chocolat (basically a cold version of a melting middle chocolate pudding)
After a long day in the office it was touch and go if I’d get there. I’m so glad I did. The bakery is very elegant. Even though I arrived towards their closing time, there was a long line of Parisiennes picking up their gluten free sweet and savoury treats.
Chambelland is a 100% gluten free bakery. They use rice and buckwheat flour in their products which are naturally gluten free.
The breads here are outstanding (NB one bread on sale contained hazelnuts). I’d like to come back and pick up some slabs of their bread to take for le picnique with some fabulously stinky Epoisses and oozy, gooey Camembert in one of Paris’ parks.
Of the sweet treats I bought, this moelleux au chocolat was outstanding.
Location: 14 Rue Ternaux, 75011 Paris
Website: www.chambelland.com
Would I go back? Bien sur! I’m dreaming about a cheese feast in Paris with a slab of the Chambelland bread.
For more posts on Paris, please click here.
NB Whilst Chambelland is 100% gluten free, they do have nuts on the premises and in some of their products. If you have a serious nut allergy, please do your own due dilligence before visiting.
Thank you for this! It helps a great deal when researching places I can take my daughter when in Paris. She is allergic to so much, and I’m hoping to find a few options in Paris where we can find things she can have and not be disappointed the whole time (otherwise I will be baking for the entire trip :-/).
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Glad to hear this post helped. I think it’s extra hard for parents to plan for trips and – as you say – try to avoid disappointment if places can’t cater safely. Does your daughter have but allergies too?