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Hello my little kitties!

We end this week with a last DIY and I hope you enjoyed the Lemon Week because we had so much fun doing it! Today’s guest is Antoine, Charlotte’s lover! Last winter, I discovered Antoine’s passion for bikes renovation when he transformed an old bike into a Rolls Royce for her Charlotte. Glitters and matt paint: Amazing…

I asked him to take care of my little white bike that spent so many months outside and really did not look well anymore. He turned my little rusty bike into a Lemonademobile! I am going to show you this radical makeover! If you also want to restore the old bikes you have in your cellar, Antoine really does a great job and he offers his services for €100 per bike (excluding purchase of new equipment), so if you are interested, you can send him an email at [email protected]!

As a little aside, I wanted to talk about good deals on the web and especially thank the Holland Bikes eshop for giving us some equipment to restore the lemon bike! Here you can find some stuff that have been changed or added to the bike:

• BASIL basket
• BROOKS B17 S saddle
• BASIL bell
• Yellow chains
• White cable/brake casing
• Mr. Bricolage wooden board
• TRUE COLORZ paint (zinc yellow + white primer + matt vanish): Generation 400 ML

I have always wanted to have a nice saddle on my bike but I admit that the main issue in Paris is theft. For this reason, Antoine had the good idea to create a kind of dissuasive lock tying the saddle to the bicycle’s frame with the bike chain (a yellow one, of course!)

I never really liked the idea of having a basket on my bike but I have to admit that it is very practical to carry so many things. I only wanted to have a metal one like E.T.s and then I have realized that you need to have a luggage carrier to put you basket on. However, it is not often the case for old bikes with little wheels! For this reason, Antoine fixed the basket to the handlebars thanks to a lot of plastic clamp collars and here we are! As a bonus, he is going to share with you the glitter bike handles DIY that you can also realize with leather!

You need:

• - The pattern that you can download here
• - Glitter fabric or leather
• - Pen
• - Scissors
• - Tape (around 2m for both handles)
• - Hole punch plier
• - Cork
• - Double-sided adhesive tape

To start, print and cut the pattern.

Use the tip of the scissors to create holes in the pattern and draw it on the other side of the fabric or leather.

Cut the shape of the handle and use the hole punch plier (diameter 0,3cm).

Check that the handle has the good proportion (it is a standard size but it is better to verify). It has to cover the whole tube without overlapping.

Cut a piece of double-sided adhesive tape that should be the same length as the handle and stick it in the middle.

Then, stick the super glitter handle to the bike thanks to the double-sided adhesive tape but anticipate the place of the lace before doing it.

Then pass it through the two first holes facing this one. Keep it that way crossing the tape and always pass the lace from the inside to the outside of the handle.

Here we are, you probably feel as proud as the first time you tied your shoelaces! Twist the extra tape and put it inside the handle.

Now cut the cork in two (one part of each handle). Put them in each handle hole. Do not push too much because you will not be able to take it back (unless you have a corkscrew)! If the cork does not really fit, you can bevel it with a cutter.

Cut two circles in the glitter paper (once again these are standard sizes but do not hesitate to measure the diameter of the handle just to be sure). Put some glue and fix them to the cork in order to have a perfect finish! Here we are!

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Hello my little kitties!

The Lemon Week continues and it is a great pleasure for me to welcome here again our friends from Radiooooo.com! This amazing team of musical treasures experts used to be our officemates. Even if we have more space since they are gone, we miss them so much!

For those who do not know them, Radiooooo is a musical website on which you can travel in time and space. Indeed, you just have to click on a specific country and decade, and here we are in Japan in the 40s! It is also a community website and you can share your best musical discoveries creating an account, and there is no limit! For this reason, I am so happy to announce you that they created a wonderful playlist for the Lemon Week.

The website is constantly under construction and evolution because they create all the time new mechanisms for us like the Taxi mode for example! The Taxi mode is so nice (pacific and always in a good mood) it helps to avoid the monotony while listening a lot of music from the same country. You can choose your destination, and especially many stops and different decades, and Radiooooo creates you a unique playlist mixing space-time! It is magical! In order to follow all their adventures, they have a small “news” island on the world map that informs the users about the news to come… Moreover, because they want to make their website more tangible and real, they travel the world to organize live radio programs to discover new artists. They are just back from Dakar, and they are now on their way to Moscow and Mexico!

I hope you will like this little plug, it plays the 12 songs by random that Noemie and Benjamin have selected for you my little lemons! For the occasion, I made a paper ghetto blaster just for them, so much fun! I send you big kisses and see you all tomorrow!

• Yellow submarine Ondo  - Akiko Kanazawa
• Mellow Yellow - Donovan
• Sour & Sweet / Lemon In the Honey - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
• Groovin' - Young Rascals
• Le Paradis Pour Toi - Gillian Hills
• In a summertime - Mungo Jerry
• A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy
• On the Good Ship Lollipop - Mae Questal
• Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree - Tony Orlando & Dawn
• Yellow Bird - The Mills Brothers
• Lemon Kiss (Like I Do) - The Peanuts
• Yellow River - Elton John 

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Happy Friday my little kitties!

This week, I went in Montreuil with my friend Manu Fauque to shoot some pictures for the lemon week! Manu is a real explorer, at the end of the metro line 8 I was completely on holidays for a while with him. I let you imagine the heat, the sunshine, the blue sky and the tranquility of Montreuil. It was so nice! I think Manu is a genius because he always explores new urban territories to make us travel. He can even make the concrete sexy. I remember a photoshoot he realized for the wonderful Exception site in Pantin… when I saw the pictures I had the feeling that I was in small town in the United States where I have never been before.

I am wearing the Ava skirt from Wear Lemonade, a Monki tshirt, a Carven jacket and glitter shoes from Patricia Blanchet.

That day, I was completely transported in a small track in the South of France, in a Slavic ghost town, or even in a crazy Japanese dream with this colorful cones field… It was like short holidays, and I learn how to enjoy moments like these ones, far away from my “Buttes Chaumont > Sentier” daily landscape. I try to diversify the visual pleasures because I do not hide you that a complete change of scenery in a remote area is just a vague memory for me! However, not for a long time because I feel like summer is going to be hot and synonym of backpack!

I am wearing a Mademoiselle R dress, a gorgeous Asos summer coat and a pair of acid yellow Louboutin.

Whereas Manu is the best at brining us somewhere else, I religiously collect every little magic moments I can, that are short holidays during the week and for few hours it helped me recharge. I remember when I came back then to the office, exhausted but happy, like if I did long journey but I only was at the end of a metro line.

I am wearing the Lolita dress from Wear Lemonade whose pattern will be available next week!

Sometimes, it makes me realize that I do not often disconnect from my daily routine/computer/phone. Not to be aware of what surrounds me. You know when you stop looking at your computer screen and you discover an amazing terrace on the building you see everyday… Remember when I told you that I wanted to rediscover or just discover Paris…

I am wearing an Asos mustard yellow dress with a pair of glitter shoes from Patricia Blanchet.

Anyway, I do not know if you remember but some time ago I talked to you about a great application called Head Space, which is guided meditation. Well, I tested the “On the Go” option that is a series of mediation exercises to do while walking with your headphones. You will probably say that it is very dangerous but not at all, on the contrary, because headphones are not always related to loud music (I feel like I am 100 years old when I am writing this sentence). Thus, these exercises are excellent if you want to be more aware of what is going on around you, it really helps you to take into account some stuffs that we all think they are taken for granted. From the bakery hot bread smell in the corner of the street to the building pink shutters of your secret shortcut…

Now you think that I am a bundle of nerves and that I really need a break. Not at all, I think we are spending so much time at work and living in the fast lane that we forget to take some rest and enjoy life. Then yes doing meditation to go to work is fine, rediscovering the colors of our neighbors’ walls too, but it also allows us to be more present for all the daily stuffs… avoiding the emotional rollercoaster.

 I am wearing the Ava skirt from Wear Lemonade, a Monki tshirt, a Carven jacket and glitter shoes from Patricia Blanchet. On the right, I am wearing the Lolita dress from Wear Lemonade whose pattern will be available next week!

Don’t you see what I mean? When you are so happy to sign a contract and 4 seconds later, you receive a bad email that gets you down. What I would like to say is that you have to slow down, raise the head, put your smartphone in your bag, enjoy summer, take a deep breath, enjoy little things, and if you are lucky enough, holidays are coming soon… I send you big kisses, I need to put my yellow/orange toga on and shave my head!

Buddha Lisa.

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Hello my little kitties!

I admit that for a Lemon Week… sharing with you a lemon pie recipe it not that original! You probably do not know but I am a real lemon pie purist, like a lemon pie monomaniac. I already gave you another recipe remember… I know it is so cliché, the girl who has a blog called Make My Lemonade also eats lemon pies. Indeed, I am so predictable… Well, I could have given to you a lemonade recipe!

Laure and Nardjisse joined the team at the office few months ago and they are two lemon pie nerds. Yes it is possible. They discuss about the necessity of the meringue on the top of the pie, a real existential question: can lemon and meringue coexist together? Personally, I think that they are inseparable, like crepes and Nutella, or milk and Oreos… For this reason, I tried Laure’s lemon pie. I have to admit that it is the best recipe I have ever tasted! Very lemony!

As a bonus, here is the recipe of the Italian meringue.

Pie dough:

• - Flour 300g
• - 2 tablespoons sugar
• - Pinch of salt
• - Cold butter in cubes 150g
• - 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• - 1 teaspoon lemon peel
• - 1 egg yolk

Lemon-cream filling:

• - 4 lemons: juice and peel
• - Sugar 300g
• - Softened butter 110g
• - 4 eggs (room temperature)
• - Pinch of salt
• - Almonds

Italian meringue:

• - Egg white 100g  (around 3 eggs)
• - Caster sugar 40g

Cooked sugar:

• - Caster sugar 160g
• - Water 40g
  
  

Start obviously with the pie dough… Mix first the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and try to make the dough a bit more shortbread using your fingers. Add lemon peel, vanilla and egg yolk. Work the dough quickly, make a ball, put it in cling-film and then into the fridge 30 minutes. Later on, roll the dough out (5mm), put it into a dish, and leave it to stand for 1 hour into the fridge. Preheat oven to 175°C, prick the dough with a fork, put backing paper and cover it with terracotta balls. Put it into the oven and let it cook between 25 and 30 minutes.

During this time, mix lemon peel and sugar until sugar is moistened and then add softened butter. Mix and add eggs one by one. At the end, add lemon juice and pinch of salt. Put mixture into saucepan and leave to simmer on a low heat between 10 and 12 minutes without stopping stirring, it will thicken. Once the dough cooked, introduce crushed almonds over pie shell and then add lemon-cream filling. Leave it to cool.

For the Italian meringue, this small love cloud for your palate… In a saucepan, cook sugar and water. The mixture has to reach the temperature of 116°C. At the same time, beat the egg whites using electric mixer and add progressively caster sugar. When the cooked sugar reaches 116°C, introduce it into the beaten egg whites and then beat again (high speed) until it is cooler. Fill the pastry bag and decorate your pies. Enjoy!

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Hello my little kitties!

Today another post for this special week, the famous DIY we imagined for Levi's during the last workshop! I do not know about you but for me, when I am wearing a denim jacket, I have the feeling to be 17 again… As if this piece of clothes was a time machine, I could wear Vans shoes with a ponytail and my backpack that I customized with pens and Che Guevara badges…I now clearly see myself when I was 17, with one dreadlock and a shell that I attached to it, what an amazing idea I had! I cannot stop talking about how time flies! Anyway, I am always so happy to wear denim jackets again and I am proud of the “college” embroidery DIY results! As I told you, I think that doing DIY on denim fabrics is a little bit sacred… What about you? What are your favorite denim customizations? I am curious to know them!

For this DIY you need:

• - Sponge fabrics (you will find some at the Marché Saint Pierre, in many different colors),
• - Thick heat bonding tape,
• - Download free “college” alphabet on dafont.com like this one,
• - Scissors,
• - Double-sided adhesive tape,
• - Pen,
• - Thread and needle.

Firstly, cut one heat bonding tape strip so that it fits the width and the length of your word and I advice you to choose a small one (max 5 letters)… Do it for the sponge fabric too. You can find various types of sponge but for the DIY it would be better to use a thin fabric (less fluffy) so that the final result be the best.

Use the iron to fix the heat bonding tape. Cut the letters in a ticker paper (like Bristol) and draw the shape on the heat bonding tape.

Be careful because you need to put the letters on the other side so that they will be on the right one of the sponge. It is simpler and easier to draw and cut the letter thanks to the rigidity of the heat bonding tape.

Cut them and use (if needed) small embroidery scissors or wire-cutter for the inside of the letter. That would be easier (and I know what I am talking about…)! I really want to write dozens of colorful things on a denim jacket like an all over alphabet with words mixed together…

Then, you will be able to put the letters on the back of the jacket (or on the pockets, sleeves, as you wish). In order to facilitate the next step (embroider the letters), undo the Levi’s tag so that you do not have to get thought the leather (and I know what I am talking about again).

Start with the middle letter to homogenize the space between each of them. Use the double-sided adhesive tape to fix the letters so that they will not move during the sewing process. No need to put some everywhere, just in the middle or your needles will stick to the letters… (and I know what I am talking about again and again!)

Now take thread and needle so that we can start embroidering! Firstly, sew the sponge placing the needle from the underside to the upside. Then, sew again but placing the needle from few millimeters of the sponge (in the denim jacket). Try to stay close enough to the edge of the sponge so that we cannot see the stitches.

Keep it that way and when your thread is too short, just tie it: you have to make a classic loop to put a stitch, pass the needle into it and pull. Here we are! You have a knot! Keep going you will see that embroidery is very calming. Hold the jacket like this so that it would be easier for you to sew. Do not forget to “clean” and “shave” the letters with small scissors in order to cut the ugly threads!

Turn your work, it is almost done! Sew the four corners of the leather tag and here we are! You are ready for the remake of Grease! I send you big kisses!

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Hello my little kitties!

I am so happy to announce you that Lorenzo P. is back with an adorable DIY for the Lemon Week! I hope you will like it, and get ready to use your scissors my birds!

Lisa

Today we are going to create a small Eiffel Tower with the Lemon Week colors! I recently had to imagine a small-scale model in paper for the series’ credits “The Adventurers of Modern Art” and I had the idea of this DIY. It will be a more fashionable and simplified version of this famous monument. It almost takes half a day to do it!

You need:

• - Two colored A4 papers (90-120g),
• - Paper edger scissors (I love them),
• - Scissors,
• - A cutter (craft knife) or a scalpel,
• - A cutting/chopping/carving board,
• - Some glue,
• - A ruler,
• - The patterns: you can download them here and here,

Start to print the patterns on the colored sheets.

First, cut the diamonds from the inside with cutter or scalpel before anything else. It is easier and you will not wrap the paper during this step. In order to make it fast, because you have around 200 diamonds, you can cut all the parallel lines at the same time. If you simplify your movements you will save time. However, if you are not enough patient or if you just want to do the DIY with a kid, you have the possibility not to cut the diamonds and let them printed like this. The Eiffel Tower will be a little bit heavier but we will still recognize it. We are now going to prepare the first floor of the towel: mark the fold with the cutter and the ruler following the dotted lines. It is a simple step but if you do it well your scale model will look so nice.

With scissors follow the black lines. Here we are, the first floor is almost done!

Just fold the dotted lines and stick the strips.

Do it for the other floors of the tower.

Stick the floors together!

Cut, fold and then stick the heart-shaped top of the tower.

Now that the Eiffel Tower looks nice, let’s do the final touch. In the scrap paper, cut some paper strips with a cutter and then use paper edger scissors to cut them.

Stick the strips, tiles down, between the floors. Your tower will look so much better with details like these ones so do not hesitate to repeat the operation for every floor.

Here we are! Have fun with colors too!

Lorenzo P.

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Hello my little kitties!

I am so excited to share with you this special week: The Lemon Week! Little competition with the Fashion Week that is coming very soon in Paris… Moreover, I managed to convince many talented people, mostly men, as contributors for this thematic week!

Why a lemon week? I think it was pretty obvious when your blog’s name is Make My Lemonade and the deliveryman calls you Lisa Lemonade… And I am also wondering why I did not organize it sooner? It is crazy to see that for few years, my family and friends bring me some lemon gifts from their trips, yellow presents or they tell me stuff like “I put neon yellow nail polish and I have thought of you”… I have to tell you that really like it and I start to have a nice collection of yellow objects… If I had more space is our office, I would hang all the yellow gifts they gave me to the wall, like a small lemon cabinet of curiosities or a trophy wall! More recently, my lover bought me lemon yellow bed sheets and I am not sure it is the more relaxing color to sleep but I appreciate that…

As I am talking about this, I am wondering if you already dare wearing yellow clothes? I think sleeping in yellow sheets can be a bit antinomic but wearing yellow clothes is very exciting, a real source of happiness. I am not telling you to dress up like a stabilo boss either, but a yellow touch can be nice… A Wear Lemonade skirt for example, with a Karuna Balloo silk flower in the hair and a pair of heels… what a pleasure! Try not to smile if you see a woman wearing a yellow dress…not that easy! 

I send you big kisses and see you all tomorrow!

For more lemony pictures, check out my Pinterest account! and thank you for being so many there!

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Hello my little kitties,

I hope you enjoy life, the sunny weekend and music tonight! For my part, the weather is nice and the sky is blue… Summer is coming! When we talk about holidays… we talk about free time and sewing for some of you! Thus, today I am here to share with you a nice idea that can inspire you: the Levi’s Workshop. By the way, something tells me that we are going to post the DIY of this Workshop very soon so that everyone can enjoy it!

For this Workshop, the rules changed a little bit because we did it in a Levi’s shop… but not just any shop: the Champ Elysees boutique and more precisely, the Tailor Levi’s shop. I explain: the tailor shop is the place where you can alter your pair of jeans, jackets… from a simple hem to a waist fitting or even if you want to put crazy embroidered patches… Everything is possible! In addition, this alterative workshop (atelier) is on the top flour of the Levi’s shop and has been privatized just for the occasion! We were protected from the heat!

We settled here and we imagined a very American college embroidery workshop in order to be coherent with the brand image of Levi’s and because it was also a good opportunity to create a new DIY on the sacred denim jeans that has already seen a lot… We prepared multicolored terry cloth, hundreds of paper letters and lots of needles for our guests! Once the first embroidery fears behind, they all made it very well! We all chose a word to put in the back of the jacket and as you probably know us, we had many ideas… We found nicknames, words of love and animals names! Lisa picked “Meow” for hers, what original it is…

After the first cutting letters step done, the girls had to use the needles and everyone spent some hours embroidering! We also had the chance to organize a manicure workshop with Nailmatic so that we could all have a break, and our fingers too! I let you watch the Workshop video that I hope will inspire you and give you nice memories of these days spent in our company. For more photos, check the Facebook album!

I would like to thank Levi’s, Mariama, Caroline, Jeanne for the video, Aurelie, Julia, Nailmatic and all the girls who came! I see you all very soon because tomorrow the Lemon Week begins! Now, I am ready to go on the dancefloor tonight!

Charlotte S.

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Picture from the glitter guide website!

Hello my little kitties!

I write you this post very quickly because I wanted to share some news with you… I am 27 today and I think I am feeling a bit different… Nothing wrong, just because time flies and I realize that life is nice, crazy and delicious. However, as far as I remember when I was a child, I told myself: “When I will be 24, I will have a big bust, I will be married, I will have children, and I will always be travelling because of my archeologist job…

Well, I am not 24 anymore, and nothing of this happened to me (or almost nothing). No I am not pregnant, I am talking about the wedding and I have to tell you some things about it soon! Anyway, today I write you this post because I realize that I decided to open Make My Lemonade when I was 24 and I repeat it but it completely changed my life… Since my 24^th birthday, I have met hundreds of nice people and even if every day is not a great day, there is always a reason for celebrating!

When I was a child, I could not imagine that one day I will be 27 (so old), with a website (web…what?), with a future husband from Denmark (how did we succeed to communicate together?), being my own boss (how did I get there?), having a crazy team that works with me (OMG!), a clothing line (what about the dinosaurs?) and receiving semitrailers of love and encouragements everyday from my community of anonymous kitties… I could never guess the last point when I was a child…

Anyway, I just wanted to say ‘Hi’ because I am going to make this day a marathon of happiness moments with only things that make me happy! I am going to see and spend some time with all the people I like and I was thinking that it would be nice to start this day with you!

I send you big kisses, and I am going to take some time for me, go to the gym, buy fabrics, love, eat, cry and be surprised!

Lisa

Translated by Coralie Clair

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With the Ava skirt, I am wearing a Comptoir des cotonniers top, a Levi's jacket and a Mia sweat…

Hello my little kitties!

I am back today to introduce to you the new Wear Lemonade creation, the AVA skirt! It is a two-in-one pattern! Indeed, you can make the skirt as if it was a box pleat skirt for a retro look or if you gather the top of the skirt to create a tutu! You have no idea how proud I feel when I receive your creations, in our mails or on the social media. Or when you come to the studio to show us your Lemonade, it is so good! You can already see what other people did on Instagram with the #DIYwearlemonade or #wearlemonade! You can get inspiration!

So today, I show you the last pattern of the Wear Lemonade collection: the Ava skirt. The pattern launch was 6 months ago! Do you realize how time flies? I cannot believe it! And almost 6 months since the beginning of the Wear Lemonade clothing collection. I cannot wait to show you the new shooting and the new collection that is coming in July! By the way, you only have few more weeks to buy the last Frida, Mona and today Ava pieces! Then in July, a new story begins!

To buy the new Ava skirt pattern, it is here!

And to find the sunny Ava skirt or the black tutu one that we have already made, it is here!

All you need to know about this pattern:

• Download the pattern in A4 or Us Letter 
• The difficulty level of this pattern is “medium”, it is definitely simple but I see you causing a scandal because of the zip… It is easy if you trust yourself!
• For a simple skirt without any flounce, you will need 1m35 of fabric (in a 1m40 fabric width)
• A 20cm zip
• Around 30cm of heat bonding tape for the belt!
• As a reminder… for all the Wear Lemonade patterns, the seam-allowance is included in the pattern and is about 1cm (except for the hems)!

If you are freaking out, do not hesitate to contact Laure, the queen of the patterns: [email protected]

 I am wearing the Ava skirt, a Mia sweat, a Comptoir des Cotonniers top and a Levi's jacket, a Princesse Tam-tam top, a Mona perfecto and a Esprit shirt.

As you can see, you can also create a “Wedding” version with a classic white skirt and then gather the dotted tulle to the feet! With the White Mona perfecto, it would be perfect for your Lemonade wedding outfit… I think this wedding arrival is driving me crazy! Anyway, I should not tell you this but I am so bad at surprises… At the beginning of July, we are going to launch a super exclusive pattern: the pattern of the “Plan B” wedding dress… stay tuned! I send you big kisses and I cannot wait to read your messages!

I am wearing the black Ava, a La Redoute top, a Princesse tam tam top, a Mona perfecto and Louboutins.

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Happy Monday my little cuties!

As I promised you yesterday, when I was talking about Lauren and her cream puffs, she gave me her recipes book and today I will share with you one of them but I modified it a little bit! The Lemonade cream puff of course! When I met Lauren, I wanted to bring her some pictures of the cream puffs I realized thanks to her book. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to practice, neither to do a trial test. And I do not know about you, but for me, when I really want to make a successful recipe, I learn each step just like before a philosophy exam… I really want to know every single step to anticipate them and do not find myself in an uncomfortable position with my hands full of dough, opening the oven door with the feet and holding a pastry bag between my teeth! Do not act like you do not see what I mean…  Anyway, I was under pressure, and I had only one chance before our meeting to make my little cream puffs rise! Well, I followed the technical advice that I found in the book and I managed the first shot! Obviously, the cracker was not as thin as Laurens, but she told me not to worried because you need to have strong arms to do so and that she had some little secrets too! 

To make around 30 puffs, you need:

for the dough:

• - 250ml water
• - 250ml milk
• - 10g sugar
• - 10g salt
• - 175g butter
• - 7 eggs

for the cracker:

• - 40g brown sugar
• - 30g butter
• - 40g flour

for the lemon-cream filling:

• - 150ml lemon juice
• - ½ lemon peel
• - 170g eggs (around 3 eggs)
• - 185g sugar
• - 110g butter
• - 3 gelatin sheets

for the decorations:

• - 75g marzipan
• - from 4 to 8 drops of yellow food coloring
• - sparkling sugar like Peta Zeta

We are going to start with the cracker… In a bowl, combine sugar and butter (cut in small cubes). Add flour all at once and knead the dough to obtain a homogeneous result. Divide it in two equal parts and place each of them in the middle of a baking paper. Cover the whole with another paper and press a little bit the dough. Spread the dough with a rolling pin until it almost covers the entire baking paper. Take off the top sheet and create some circles in the dough with a 3.5 cm cutter: start doing it in a corner and repeat the movement in order to have regular lines. Leave the dough in the freezer during 30 minutes and use the circles once the cream puffs have been piped.

For the dough… In a saucepan, put water, milk, sugar and salt. Add butter (cut in small cubes) and bring it all to the boil stirring with a spatula until the butter is completely melted. Introduce flour all at once and mix from 30 seconds to 1 minute until dough does not touch the spatula. Transfer it to bowl, introduce half of beaten eggs and stir with energy. Add the rest of eggs gradually stirring the dough until you get the right texture: draw a line with your finger in the mixture; if the dough closes after that, it is ready!

Preheat oven to 160°C and line the backing tray with a baking paper. Filled the pastry bag with the dough, pipe your puffs in order to obtain 4cm disks (with 5cm between each of them). Once it is done, display your crackers on each puff. Bake puffs 45 minutes. Even if they look cooked enough after 40 minutes, do respect the right time!

For the lemon cream filling, put gelatin sheets into cold water. In a saucepan, boil lemon juice with eggs and add sugar with lemon peel (mixed together). Bake 2 minutes stirring the mixture. Introduce gelatin into preparation. Remove saucepan from the heat. Refrigerate 10 minutes, and then add butter (cut in cubes). Bet cream using electric mixer 5 minutes. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Create a hole under the puffs with a 8mm piping nozzle. Fix piping nozzle to pastry bag and fill it with lemon cream. Then fill puffs. Ice them with yellow marzipan and sprinkle sparkling sugar oven them.

Refrigerate and eat your puffs the same day. Enjoy!!

More recipes in the Popelini book of Lauren K.!

Translated by Coralie Clair

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Good Sunday to everyone!

Some time ago, I had the chance to meet Lauren K, the founder of the Popelini patisserie. If you did not spend your past three years lost in Mongolia, you obviously have heard about Popelini! Yes… you are almost there… it is this crazy sweet shop that only offers cream puffs. To have an immediate pleasure in one mouthful with the cream puff of the day, to ask forgiveness with the box of 6, or to share with the entire open space with the selection of 12 cream puffs. I have followed the success of this patisserie but I have never dared enter this shop, because for me, in this kind of place you can easily lost yourself in a glycemic overconsumption. I just cannot eat only one cream puff, just to taste it. I would like to resist the temptation of tasting them all but I am weak in front of a cute colorful cream puff.  How to resist after all?

When I took these pictures, I spent a little time at their boutique in the Debelleyme Street, and I was surprised to see the different types of customers that entered this nice place: a lot of men, mothers, lovers, grandparents, as if the cream puff became a kind of sugar federator.

Anyway, just to tell you that few weeks ago I met Lauren, for many reasons and also because she is going to make my wedding cake. During this conversation, I wanted to ask her some questions because her career is inspiring. Lauren is a nice passionate and fascinating person, a real entrepreneur who knows all the right people!

About curiosity: I guess that we asked you this question a hundred times but tell me, why “Popelini”?

I decided to call our patisserie Popelini as a tribute to the Italian pastrycook who invented, in 1540, in the court of Catherine de Medici, the choux pastry (pâte à chou) from a cooked mixture that we called hot paste (pâte à chaud). This name has been transformed over time to become choux pastry.

About legacy: Your father is a famous pastrycook overseas, with his Parisian macaroons brand. Is pastry a family story?

It became one! We have always been a greedy family but we did not predict to be in this sector. It is only when my father went to the US and started to cook macaroons, that takes the cake! And I immediately followed him to build up my knowledge by his side and it has been love at first sight with this job! It is a real pleasure to create delicious treats everyday and make our clients happy!

About career: What is your professional background? Was it obvious for you to work in the pastry world or it took some time?

As I said before, it took some time. I did a lot of things before finding the right way. After a business school, acting classes, a waitress job and a short exile in the US, I came back to France because I wanted to create an entire concept based on cream puffs, this round and creamy little cake, a classic of the French pastry that has been forgotten for a long time. It had to be highlighted again.

About admiration: I read that the chef Michalak helped you writing some cream puffs recipes and that he advised you during the creation of your concept. Can you tell us how did you both meet?

We met ten years ago in the US because he contributed to the patisserie launch that my father dedicated to macaroons. It directly matched between us; he is a fantastic pastrycook, a passionate and very generous person! When I got this idea, he immediately encouraged me and helped me elaborating recipes.

About details: When I entered your stores, I was immediately impressed because nothing was left to chance. From the Popelini embroidery on the heart of your employees to the beautiful packaging, is the customer experience as important as your cream puffs recipes?

Of course! The client also eats with the eyes. The taste of the products has to be extraordinary but what is inside is as important as what is outside. Each detail matters, from the welcoming of the clients in the shop to the cream puffs and of course the packaging, I do care about everything.

About anecdote: What is the sweetest customer return that you ever had?

We had a lot that made me happy, when a client came back to tell us that he cannot live without our cream puffs, it is a huge satisfaction for us. However, the most memorable customer return was about a loyal customer that wrote a petition because he wanted the strawberry mascarpone cream puff back. That was so funny and it worked because it is back in stores now.

About Vivaldi: There are changes in the menu regarding the season, it is about the quality of the products or do you imagine this menu like a ready-to-wear colorful collection?

A little bit both, we have three collections and 5 flavors for each of them. We are taking into account the season fruits and the period of time. This summer, we decided to choose some fruits, with different flavors, such as nectarine verbena, red fruits, apricot rosemary and obviously the famous one: strawberry mascarpone.

About memories: What is your first culinary pleasure?

My first culinary pleasure was the “religieuses au chocolat” that I ate secretly with my grandmother every Wednesday afternoon! When I tell you that greedy is a family story…

About nostalgia: What did you want to do, as a job, when you were little?

I wanted to be a lawyer, I loved defending my little brother when he got into trouble and I was pleading for a long time… Nowadays, he does not need my help anymore; he joined me in this wonderful adventure and knows how to defend himself by his own. 

About sugar: Is it definitely cream puff or a bit macaroon too?

A bit both, even if my heart will always be in the cream puffs direction, I do not forget about my first love.

About news: If it is not a secret, on which projects are you working right now?

We are currently looking for a bigger manufacturing workshop because ours is far too small… and about the rest, it is confidential! 

About tips: Do you have a favorite address to go diner with your lover?

I love Ferdi, a nice small restaurant with few tables only, their cheeseburger is a must and the passion fruit cocktails (guarapita) are delicious, but reservations are required.

Lauren gave me her cream puffs recipes book published by Marabout, and tomorrow I will share with you the sparkling lemon cream puff recipe… You can find her book in every bookstore, but also in her shops:

Popelini: 29 Debelleyme Street, 75003 Paris or 44 Martyrs Street, 75009 Paris.

Translated by Coralie Clair

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