Gâteaux Pâtisserie is the kind of boutique pastry shop that forces one to make an almost overwhelming decision among dozens of elegant, elaborate, rich Parisian desserts like eclairs, macarons, mille-feuille, mousse, Saint Honoré cake, and so much more, lined in neat and colorful rows.
While there’s not really a wrong turn to be made, perhaps the place to start during the summer months is the custard and berry vanilla cake, a soft, spongy, and moist-but-light cube with layers of cake and custard, all of which is adorned with bits of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries that provide acidic and sweet punches.
Or there’s the chocolate tart, a dome of chocolate mousse and custard on a chocolate sugar dough cake, all of which is held together by a chocolate mirror glaze. Pretty mind-bending, and the dense but soft cake and shell dome provide pleasant texture. Gâteaux’s opera cake is a brick of coffee almond sponge cake, coffee buttercream, chocolate ganache, and chocolate mirror glaze. The layers are distinct in each bite, and the package is tied together in rich harmony by the coffee and almond.
Another banger is the blueberry cheesecake with a vanilla bean cheesecake base and dollops of soft cream cheese cream ringing its edge while holding in place a puddle of a lively blueberry compote. A solid crown. Though I’m not crazy about macarons, I went for the ispahan, a popular smooth French pastry that’s typically a combination of rose, raspberry, and lychee. The two huge macaron discs are soft and smooth, sandwiching a huge amount of cream cheese, and fresh raspberries ring the pastry’s exterior and are burrowed in the interior.
Gâteaux’s lamination was strong in its danish: shatter crisp with each individual layer of the golden dough practically discernable, and it holds a rich custard cream pocked with raspberries and blueberries. The lamination game, however, was not on point in the croissant, which was the only dud in the visit.
The shop also specializes in big, elaborate cakes for weddings or other events, and, aside from the desserts, there’s an extensive tea roster and plenty of coffee and espresso drinks. Gâteaux is run by sisters Suendos Farhat and Sueha Beydoun who opened it in 2018, then temporarily shut down for some time earlier this year to expand.
Their shop’s vibe is whimsical, with modern chairs and tables — plenty of pinks, greens, and yellows on a big, open marble floor with an elaborate flower and butterfly chandelier giving off a bit of a Harry Potter feel. Outside, cute fake trees with pink and blue leaves splash color across what would otherwise be a nondescript brick facade, turning it into one of Dearborn’s best outdoor patios.
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