[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]

The little cakes at Patisserie Claude are just the perfect size for one person, post-lunch. While the croissants are now hit or miss, and depend on the day, I've always found their cakes reliable and satisfying for a simple finish to a meal.

Lately, I've been favoring the Hazelnut Cake ($3.75) over the others. Here, thin disks of moist, meringue-like hazelnut cake are layered with buttery hazelnut cream, and then enrobed in crushed hazelnuts. Intense? No, it just looks the part. The cake is really a gentle one, best served cool, with a cup of hot coffee on the side.

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Patisserie Claude

187 West 4th Street, New York NY 10014 (map)
212-255-5911