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  • Canal’s éclairs are a delicious twist on the French classic

Berlin

Canal’s éclairs are a delicious twist on the French classic

INSIDER TIP! Daniella Barriobera Canal's almost-too-pretty-to-eat creations are a masterclass in the notoriously difficult to perfect French éclair. With unexpected flavour combinations like matcha and black sesame, her deserts are a must try!

Image for Canal's éclairs are a delicious twist on the French classic

Photo by Iryna Sylinnyk. Get in early to sample Canal’s unique interpretations of the notoriously difficult to perfect French classic.

What does an ice-cream shop do in winter? The Venezuelan owners of Waffel Oder Becher opted for éclairs as their unconventional ‘winter desert’. Why? “Daniella likes challenges,” Guadalupe Eichner teasingly says of her ambitious life and business partner Daniella Barriobera Canal, who was schooled in making ice cream under renowned Italian gelataio Paolo Brunelli and studied patisserie at Barcelona’s Chocolate Academy before moving to “ice cream crazy” Berlin in 2013. Since November of last year, they’ve offered an assortment of almost-too-pretty-to-eat French éclairs at their Hackesche Höfe store. “We wanted to offer our customers a winter desert and the éclair seemed like the hardest one to accomplish, so we went for it.” With the concept change of last autumn, the name of their tiny shop (definitely a pick-up rather than a sit-down place) was changed to ‘Canal’ to recognize the master pâtissier, whose creations are frequently made with the same, carefully sourced ingredients used for their established ice cream flavours like Tahitian vanilla, Italian pistachio, French (Valrhona) chocolate and white chocolate passion fruit. The result is a selection of 10 beautiful éclairs prepared from scratch each day. Prices range from €4.20 for the traditional vanilla with pecan nuts option to €4.80 for their more exclusive pistachio and raspberry éclair, with both pistachio crème patisserie and pistachio whipped ganache, and finished with a topping of fresh raspberries. For a more unexpected combination, we recommend their matcha and black sesame creation – deliciously zingy and light on the sugar, as they should be! Another must is Guadalupe’s favourite, Tahitian vanilla, which also won us over with its slight tangy tartness apparent in the choux base. Only around 60 to 80 of the labour-intensive pastries are produced by Canal, Eichner and two helpers at their kitchen at Spandauer Straße each week – so be sure to get in early to treat yourself to one of these very special limited editions!

Canal | Rosenthaler Straße 40, Hackesche Höfe, Hof 1, Wed-Mon 12:00-19:00