Just a half block off of Mulberry is the legendary Ferrara Cafe and Bakery, brimming with classic Italian pastries and old-school ambience.

When I want to make a classic pastry and I want it to be nothing less than perfect, I will know the one place to go.

The gorgeously designed, loft-like space houses a comfortable tea salon where you can enjoy classic French pastries, served fresh from the upstairs lab.

I decided to go for classic French pastry and to focus on quality ingredients.

Cashiers greet customers by name from behind a 25-foot long glass case filled with classic pastries, cookies and small cakes.

But such simplicity is deceiving: the classic French pastry called the financier is exquisitely refined.

Besides souffles, the restaurant always has on hand some version of a warm fruit dessert made with a classic financiere pastry, a flourless dough made from ground hazelnuts.

Today, this cake is known more as a classic Chinese pastry rather than a wedding gift because it has lost most of its original significance due to cultural change.

It looks like the classic sweet and airy pastry, but when you take a bite you discover that the filling is made of mascarpone, which gives this confection an entirely new character.

For centuries, classic French pastry has been unassailable, the well-guarded preserve of chocolate, milk, eggs, sugar and European fruit.