Macarons

In the early 1930s the tearoom and pastry-shop Ladurée in Paris started selling the new creation of Pierre Desfontaines, grandson of Louis Ernest Ladurée: two traditional dome halves sandwiched with a sweet filling between, the ganache. This resulted in giving the new macaron a larger size, the possibility of flavored garnishes, and a newfound moistness that came from the garnish. Whereas the traditional macaron was sweet and dry and crunchy, the new macaron had the added attraction of being delicately crunchy on the outside, while moist, chewy, and flavorful on the inside.

Many cookbooks provide macaron recipes, but the authentic Parisian macarons, with the multifarious flavors and colors, have continued to be in short supply, due to the difficulty in making them well. Today, there are but a few cities in which top quality macarons can be found. These include London (Paul Boulangerie, Maison Blanc, Yauatcha, Ladurée), Melbourne (Laurent Bakery), Sydney (Lindt Concept Store and Cafe), Paris (Pierre Hermé, Ladurée, L'Atelier Joël Robuchon, Fauchon, Gérard Mulot, Jean-Paul Hévin, La Maison du Chocolat, Carette, Sadaharu Aoki), Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Maison Adam) Madrid (Delipanific, Moulin Chocolat), Tokyo (Dalloyau, L'Atelier Joël Robuchon), Hong Kong (Le Goûter Bernardaud), Manila (Bizu Patisserie), New York (Fauchon, Bouchon Bakery, Payard, La Maison Du Chocolat), Waterloo near Brussels (Ducobu), Baltimore (Pâtisserie Poupon), San Francisco (Pâtisserie Phillipe), Dallas, Texas (Rush Pâtisserie), New Orleans, Louisiana (Shop Sucre), Tempe, Arizona (Essence Bakery Cafe), and Rio de Janeiro (AQUIM Boutique).

Flavors available vary with the seasons and may include:

* almond
* apricot
* blackcurrant
* caramel
* chocolate
* cinnamon
* coconut
* coffee
* hazelnut praline
* fig
* lemon
* licorice
* orange
* pistachio
* raspberry
* rose
* truffle
* vanilla
* violet
* walnut (lire moins)

In the early 1930s the tearoom and pastry-shop Ladurée in Paris started selling the new creation of Pierre Desfontaines, grandson of Louis Ernest Ladurée: two traditional dome halves sandwiched with a sweet filling between, the ganache. This resulted in giving the new macaron a larger size, the possibility of flavored garnishes, and a newfound moistness that came from the garnish. Whereas the traditional macaron was sweet and dry and crunchy, the new macaron had the added attraction of being... (lire la suite)