First Look: Get Vegan Almond Croissants and Macarons at Plant-Based Patisserie Maison Des Lys, Now Open in Grey Lynn

When Drissilla David struggled to find truly outstanding vegan pastries in Auckland, she decided to learn how to make them herself. Originally from Paris, she moved to New Zealand in 2015 – but was already missing French pastries and cakes by that point, as she’d switched to an entirely plant-based diet a year before.

While on maternity leave, David took some online courses and taught herself how to make pastries, tarts and cakes using 100 per cent vegan ingredients. Then, in lockdown, she came up with Maison des Lys patisserie concept, launching it as a business when we collectively emerged back into the world.

The first step was a food stall at The Shed Collective markets. Two years later, after amassing a fanbase that saw her selling out nearly every weekend, she’s just opened her first shop in Grey Lynn.

It’s located on Great North Road, in the same curve-fronted building that houses Uptown Bounce trampoline park. The high-ceilinged, street-facing space used to be a barber shop, and while the interior may look minimal, David says it was a lot of work to renovate and set everything up – including large commercial ovens and a pastry proofer.

“I’ve always loved baking,” David tells Broadsheet, “but it was quite a challenge to learn … how to replace eggs.”

She says that’s largely why she has focused on laminated pastries so far – because they don’t really use eggs. Instead of folding butter into her croissants, she uses an organic butter substitute by Naturli Foods that’s made of things like shea butter, coconut oil and rapeseed oil. The key is that it has the exact same melting point as butter.

“A lot of people have been amazed by the product,” she says. “It’s crazy because I never expected that. People love it. I’ve had so many people telling me, ‘This is the best croissant I’ve ever had’ – and they’re not even vegan.”

She attributes the response – confirmed by the queues down the street on opening day – to the effort she’s put into learning how to laminate “perfectly”.

Maison des Lys’s most popular pastries are its croissants – both the almond variety and filled ones stuffed with Biscoff or strawberries and vegan cream. The savoury vegan ham and cheese is another favourite. Danishes and tarts, opera slices and, impressively, macarons made with potato protein instead of egg white also glisten invitingly in the cabinet.

David says Maison des Lys will continue to pop up at markets, and she’s got her sights set on even more challenging pastries. “With the shop, I really want to do more … I want to do éclair and choux pastries,” she says. “That’s the really hard one because it’s mainly made with egg, so my goal is to expand and do all the vegan French pastries exactly as the original would be.”

Maison des Lys
567 Great North Road
Grey Lynn

Hours
Friday 7am–1pm
Sat & Sun 8.30am–1pm

@maisondeslysvegan
maisondeslys.co.nz