Candied fruit and desserts by Cedric GroletConfectionary genius Cedric Grolet is, at 34, the present-day king of confectionary the world over with more than 1.4 million followers on social media and with two patisseries in the heart of Paris from where thousands of clients can enjoy his incredible creations each day.
Candied fruit by Grolet
Grolet has won many prestigious confectionary prizes over the past four years, including that of best confectioner in France or best pastry chef in the world, among many. Furthermore, he has published three books in which he explains how to recreate his desserts and why they are so successful: “Fruits” (2017), “Opera” (2019) and “Fruit, the art of pastry” (2019).

When Grolet was younger he preferred to eat fruit rather than sweets and learnt how to enjoy their natural flavour and how to mix them with other flavours found in pastries. Today he has had worldwide success using candied fruit or other sorts of fruit, in order to make his desserts.

The creations that have brought Grolet such fame include his cakes in the shape of fruits, his kouglofs with a brioche base, his fondant cookies and is eye-catching decorations for well-known cakes such as Saint Honoré, Mille-feuille, Tarte Aux Pommes, Galete de Rois or Paris Brest. Simply looking at them is a treat, but then comes the finest part:  the joy of actually tasting them.

Pastries that surprise and delight

Every fruit has different features and attributes; Grolet tries to bring out the best of these by treating each fruit with care and applying specific attention. The best way to use oranges in desserts is, for example, to add them to fresh desserts given their strong flavour. Strawberries, however, always give their best essence when warmed with sugar and mixed with olive oil.

The key to Grolet’s desserts is his respect for the essence of each fruit and his ability to add ingredients that bring out the flavour of the fruit and that inspire splendid emotions and feelings among the public. His main objective is to achieve a flavour identical to the image that the dessert portrays.  That is why he seeks to be audacious in perfecting each and every dessert so that they continue to surprise his ever-increasing public.

Grolet uses techniques present in other professions such as architecture and painting, where the observer believes he or she is looking at something real or recognizable, whereas when they get closer and pay attention they realize that, in fact, it is a dessert that they are looking at.

Among his creations are cakes made in the shape of a pear, lemon, avocado, apple or orange. Most of them have a layer of chocolate filled with a mousse or jam made from the fruit that the dessert represents. Grolet has been known to say that he is only satisfied with his work when the dessert he has created is better than the fruit that inspired it.

Candied fruit to make exquisite desserts

The French confectioner spends a lot of his time choosing the best fruit possible for his desserts. He not only chooses top quality fruit, but also fruit that is in season, ripened to perfection, and he respects the essence of each fruit when making the dessert. The master chef works with the following groups of fruits:

  • Citrics: Orange, lemon, grapefruit…
  • Drupe fruit: peaches, nectarines, apricots…
  • Pit fruit: apple, pear, quince, melon…
  • Tropical fruit: bananas, pineapple, avocado, lychee, kiwi, mango…
  • Soft fruit: cherries, strawberries, raspberries,…
  • Harvested wild fruit and berries: figs, blueberries, cranberries, rhubarb, grapes…
  • Dried fruits: hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, pistachio nuts…

Grolet cherishes the essence of each fruit as well as their nutritional and culinary benefits, thus he always chooses the best brands on the market that can provide preserved fruit, candied fruit or fruit in syrup of the highest quality guaranteed.

Top quality fruit

Lazaya’s catalogue of fruits is without comparison, offering fruit in various different formats and of a quality that is much appreciated by master confectioners the world over. The fact that Lazaya owns orchards in Aragon to cultivate its own fruit and also that Lazaya applies the latest technologies in processing fruit, makes them a sure choice for those with precise tastes.

It simply is not the same to rely on third parties to produce the fruit that you have grown, when compared to Lazaya’s professional supervision of production from source to shelf, with a continued and minute observation of the processes each step of the way.

Lazaya has opted for a combination of traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology in the production processes, and, furthermore, have a great variety of fruit specially chosen for making desserts such as apples, cherries, apricots, melons, strawberries, blackberries or kiwis, among others.

Contact us in order to find the best fruits in the market. We remain at your disposal to answer any questions. We are ready and waiting!