Sweet treats in Paris: The macaron
Posted: July, 07 2014
If you’re one of the thousands of American families headed to France this summer for vacation, we highly recommend you get a taste (or two or three) of France’s baked goods and sweets. The country is known for its wonderfully delicious pastries and other sweets like the macaron.
The macaron, not to be confused with the coconut treat macaroon, is a ganache or jam filling sandwiched between two almond meringue cookies. Recently, these delectable cookies have been gaining in popularity at bakeries all across the United States, but in France they’ve been a long held staple of the country’s confections. These treats are so wildly popular and common in France that even McDonald’s locations in Paris sell them.
There are a few key components to a delicious macaron. First, the cookie-to-filling ratio should be 1 to 1 or 2 to 1. The filling should never be a thin layer. It should extend to the edges and bulge out between the two cookies. The cookie should be crisp on the outside and light and slightly chewy on the inside. To a macron novice, the insides of a perfect macaron may seem undercooked, but this soft center is the ideal.
The almond meringue cookie itself dates back to as far as 1792 and in the early 1900s, Pierre Desfontaines of a Parisian pastry shop called Laduree decided to take two cookies and fill them with rich and creamy ganache. This is where the above-mentioned standards for the perfect macaron were first established.
Laduree is still around today and if you’re like us and have a soft spot for sweets, its definitely a must-visit, especially if you are a lover of macarons or have yet to try the treat for yourself. There are locations all over France, so regardless of which of our lovely Small & Elegant Hotels you are staying at, there’s bound to be a Laduree nearby!
Perhaps the most well visited location of Laduree is on the famed Champs Elysees, a picturesque Paris street known for its luxury shopping and eateries.
If you are fortunate enough to find yourself at Laduree this summer, we highly recommend the classic flavors of vanilla, pistachio, and salted caramel. The shop also has a variety of seasonal flavors that are always interesting blends of flavor and worth a taste. Your best bet is probably to buy a whole box of hand picked flavors to sample as you stroll through the rest of Champs Elysees!
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