Raisins get a bad rap. But these flavorful morsels don't have to be served dry as a bone, shriveled, and out of a small cardboard box. How about instead, wrap them in flakey, buttery, dough and swirl them up into a glorious morning bun?
That's exactly what JL Patisserie does with its Pain Aux Raisins.
JL Patisserie, named after owner and head baker Jenna Leurquin, is a French-style bakery with two locations in the Valley. Leurquin has Belgian roots, but she trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris where she perfected her skills in the art of patisserie. Lucky for us, she ended up in metro Phoenix, where she opened her first bakery in 2019.
In Scottsdale, the original bakery churns out delicacies for both stores, and in Phoenix, along Central Avenue, a modern cafe serves a selection of the creations along with coffee, quiches, salads, and sandwiches for breakfast and lunch.
When perusing the options at this Phoenix and Scottsdale bakery, decadent chocolate brownies or gooey Gruyère cheese croissants may catch your eye first. But don't look past the Pain Aux Raisins. The giant pastry looks similar to a cinnamon roll, except instead of bready, risen dough, the roll is made of flakey croissant pastry.
The laminated dough is jam-packed with as much butter as it can hold before it is coiled into a tight spiral with juicy raisins between each turn. The layers on the outside are craggy and crispy, but as you work your way to the middle, the dough becomes soft, chewy, and oh-so-satisfying. The very center is our favorite bite.
The traditional French pastry recently made an appearance on the latest season of The Great British Baking Show. And those who watched know how hard the bakers worked to fold layers of butter into their dough, and then craft perfect spirals without a "tail" as discerning judge Paul Hollywood pointed out.
Outside the Bake Off tent, and right here in Phoenix, JL serves a pastry sure to please even the harshest of critics. Start your day with Pain Aux Raisins and coffee for a not-too-sweet, entirely delightful breakfast that may just alter the humble raisin's reputation.
JL Patisserie
4700 North Central Avenue #121 and 7342 East Shea Boulevard #108, Scottsdale480-859-4459
jlpatisserie.com
