Lenôtre: hazelnut meets peanut in the autumn collection of Étienne Leroy

Autumn is when indulgence gains depth, and this year Lenôtre has chosen two ingredients with very different temperaments. Its new collection, called “Merveilleusement noisette, follement cacahuète”, is in the boutiques from 14 October to 3 December 2026. The hazelnut brings roundness and toasted, almost buttery notes; the peanut answers with a franker, deeply roasted character. Velvety creams, melting pralinés, caramelised shards and crisp puff pastry turn the whole line into a study of textures.

Two ingredients, kept apart

The collection was created by Étienne Leroy, chef pâtissier of the house and world pastry champion in 2017. His rule was to let the two ingredients talk to each other without blending them into one taste. The hazelnut appears as a cream, a sponge or a soft liquid heart; the peanut as a mousseline, a praliné and caramelised shards. Around them the contrasts stay sharp: crisp against melting, sweet against a touch of salt, a light cream against the character of a roasted nut.

Three signatures

The centrepiece is a peanut millefeuille, which brings the peanut into one of the great classics of French pastry. Thin, caramelised puff pastry alternates with a crème diplomate made with Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar and enriched with peanut praliné. Caramelised peanuts and touches of caramel draw out the roasted finish, while the vanilla keeps the whole in balance. It is sold as an individual pastry.

Two crowns of choux follow. The hazelnut Paris-Brest hides a crème mousseline and a heart of praliné made with French hazelnuts, with a few caramelised hazelnuts for crunch against the soft choux. The peanut Paris-Brest keeps the same silhouette with a different temper: mousseline and praliné heart show the full depth of the peanut, and caramelised shards dot the crown with a lasting roasted note. Both come as individual pastries and as cakes to share for four.

French hazelnuts

For the creations marked as such, Lenôtre uses hazelnuts that are 100 per cent French. They go into the hazelnut Paris-Brest, the hazelnut and vanilla macaron, the milk chocolate and hazelnut cookie, the almond and hazelnut financier and the praliné spread. Roasted, caramelised or worked into praliné, the hazelnut changes its texture but keeps its aromatic signature, from the cleanest crunch to the smoothest cream.

From dessert to teatime

Around the three signatures, the collection runs through many formats. The Velours noisette layers a crisp base, sponge, mousse, praliné and a gianduja cream, lifted by a caramel with fleur de sel. The hazelnut and vanilla macaron pairs shells made with Valencia almonds with a vanilla mousseline and a praliné heart; its peanut counterpart holds a mousseline and a praliné with roasted notes. A cookie made with brown vergeoise sugar plays a soft centre against caramelised peanuts and fleur de sel from the Camargue.

For the road there are travel cakes: the almond and hazelnut financier, a large peanut and milk chocolate madeleine, a hazelnut rocher finger cake and the Boscookie, where an orange blossom brioche meets a milk chocolate cookie.

For anyone who loves the classics but likes to see them in the light of a new season, the order is simple: begin with the millefeuille, then pick your side between hazelnut and peanut.