The Matrix of Joy

Three Great Patisseries in Ireland

In her masterly book Sift: The Elements of Great Baking Nicola Lamb introduces us to what she calls the “Matrix of Joy”, the interweaving and interlocking ways in which a whipped ganache is related to a choux bun, or a maritozzo is sister to a frangipane, or the pavlova cosies up to an Eton Mess.

In a great patisserie, what you encounter is that Matrix of Joy, and the best patissiers know the myriad magics that you can spin from butter, eggs, flour and sugar. 

“When you learn to bake, it sometimes feels like you’re becoming a magician”, writes Nicola, and there is no other word to describe the efforts of the best patissiers: they are the magicians of the food world, seemingly able to defy the laws of science that confine mortal humans to terra firma. Their creations rise, they float, they flow, they sting the taste buds like a sweet bee, they are transporting in every way, a narcotic of delight.

Here are three destinations that specialise in that Matrix of Joy.