macaroons Archives - Macarons and Mischief

August 14, 2012

Macaron Adventures Part IX: French Made Baking from Ladner Village Market

My mom went to Ladner Village Market on Sunday and brought me home a mini treat… a 6 pack of macarons from French Made Baking! I never been to French Made Baking; there store is located on Kingsway and it is rather far for me. So I was so excited when my mom was like DUM DE DUM guess what I got you! And she pulled macarons out of a bag like magic! My mom usually disapproves of my sweet confectionary eating habit, especially macarons. Hooray for mom being kind!

So, I didn’t technically make a journey there and call it an adventure, but it’s another macaron spot under my belt.

A 6-pack costs $10. I wasn’t sure what flavours were in the box, so I tweeted to the company and they told me all the flavours in order! +1 for fast, responsive reply from French Made Baking!

As you can see, there is a bit of size dis-proportionality going on. However, don’t judge a book (or macaron) by its cover.

The flavour of macarons from left to right:

Raspberry and Dark Chocolate, Passionfruit and Milk Chocolate, Lime Curd, Blackcurrant, Yuzu and Dark Chocolate, Pistachio

I love the assorted flavours! Never seen lime curd and blackcurrant macarons before! And they didn’t disappoint! The shells were so smooth! They were also delicate; too much pressure while holding it cracks the shell! The size was fairly reasonable- the price for this is fairly decent- for the number of macarons you get and the size of them!

Photo 2012-08-12 8 28 15 PM — Closeup of blackcurrant

My favourite of the six was yuzu and dark chocolate– I love dark chocolate and it tasted well with yuzu fruit. Light ans sweet, not too tart, plus throw in the sharp taste of dark chocolate- delicious! I also really liked pistachio, tasted authentic and not sweet! Probably one of the best pistachio macarons I’ve had…

The only macaron that fell short was the passionfruit and milk chocolate. This is due to my tastebuds geared toward the passionfruit flavour I had in bubble teas, and not this kind of passionfruit. I’m not a milk chocolate lover so this macaron was a bit off for me.

None of these macarons were very sweet. I think this place has the least-sweetest macarons; which is a good thing! Hope I can visit the actual shop one day!

The Ladner Village Market next opening days are August 26th and September 9, from 10am-4pm!

August 11, 2012

Macaron Adventures Part VIII: Ganache

I’m back! After a final exam, my friend and I headed to Ganache Patisserie for a mini victory celebration! I’ve only heard the name Ganache here and there, and thought it was a macaron place, but nope! Inside the store was one of the most beautiful assemble of mini cakes and desserts I have ever seen. Thank goodness this place is a five minute walk from the Yaletown skytrain station, because I will be coming back!

Photo 2012-08-11 3 36 11 PM — Cakes here

Each mini cake costs $5.95 + tax.

Photo 2012-08-11 3 36 08 PM — Cakes there

After much long deciding, I bought the Abricot- Pistache:

Photo 2012-08-11 3 42 11 PM — Abricot- Pistache

I ate half of it in store, and it was absolutely delicious!!!!!! I love the cheesecake, and the combination of it with the other flavours- this cake had like 5 different layers to it! The cheesecake was heaven in a bite! The apricot gelee part was fresh and juicy!

Photo 2012-08-11 11 23 25 PM — Cake; delayered

My friend ordered a strawberry guava cake and she claims it was THE BEST STRAWBERRY DESSERT she ever had. That’s saying something, because she absolutely loves strawberries. There were also lychee bits. I’m tempted to get this next time!

Photo 2012-08-11 3 49 56 PM — Strawberry Guava

I also really like the packaging of the cake to go:

Did we get our macarons? Yes- a small box of 9 costs $8.95. The downside was that you didn’t get to choose specific flavours, and the macarons are prepackaged in a box. They were also fairly tiny, about the size of a quarter.

Photo 2012-08-11 3 42 29 PM — Tiny macarons in a box

Were they absolutely delicious despite not being able to choose our flavours? Yes! Every single macaron in the box was NOT a disappointment. Both my friend and I enjoyed all the macarons. They were also very easy to split!

The flavours in the box are lemon, coconut, coffee, raspberry, and pistachio. Each macaron was true to their flavour. It was chewy and I didn’t just taste sugar + cream. I tasted coffee cream, I tasted lemon cream, I tasted the most authentic pistachio cream I have had, I tasted legit coconut, and I tasted fresh raspberry cream!

Ganache made the way to the top of my favourite macarons! I’m already eager to go back..perhaps this week after work! Ganache is definitely worth a visit for some delicious cakes and desserts! Perhaps I’ll even get my birthday cake from here!

August 3, 2012

Macaron Adventures Part VII: Soirette

I recently visited my 7th macaron joint in Vancouver, after I had some scrumptious gelato from Bella Gelateria. I guess I was on a rampant sweet tooth day…so unhealthy. This time, I went to Soirette Macarons and Tea– a small cafe located on West Pender. I heard many reviews about them, and for a store that dedicates selling macarons, I had to venture there! The location is actually quite far compared to other locations people go to in downtown Vancouver, so it was a bit of a walk to get there. Thank goodness for iPhone google maps to guide my way!

Photo 2012-07-28 4 42 01 PM — Soirette entrance

The storefront was very cute, and something I would expect from a store that sells macarons and tea. Let’s see the macarons!

Photo 2012-07-28 4 43 03 PM — macaronsssssss

There were a lot of flavours that were unique. There was pink peppercorn, mango and black pepper, black olive, earl grey cassis, lavender, orange blossom…

Photo 2012-07-28 4 42 58 PM — Macaron mayhem

They had a sample of Mango and Black Pepper, which I tried, and loved! It wasn’t sweet, it was bursting with mango flavour and I love the heat from black pepper! It was a unique combination, and I liked it!

After much debating, I decided to get 4 macarons ( 1 macaroon = $2, Box of 6 macarons = $11.50, Box of 12 macarons = $22). The size of the macarons were fairly small, so they are quite pricey! I chose Rose, Earl Grey Chassis, Matcha, and Passionfruit.

Photo 2012-07-28 4 53 15 PM copy — My picks

I loved the Rose and Earl Grey Cassis. I don’t know why I’ve been into floral flavoured stuff (the Rose and Raspberry Macaron from Bel Cafe must have stimulated this new taste bud) but I loved the taste of the rose ganache! It was creamy, yes it was sweet, but rose-sweet, and buttery, and it was a good chew. I normally do not like chocolate in a macaron, but the Earl Grey cassis had a dark chocolate ganache and it was lovely with the earl grey flavour. There was definitely an evident aroma of earl grey tea, and I believe Soirette infuses their earl grey tea with this macaron.

The matcha macaron was okay, it wasn’t as strong as I like it; there was only a hint of matcha. I thought I would get a full blast of Japanese flavour, but it didn’t happen. I was not a fan of the passionfruit – it was a tarte chocolate flavour that I wasn’t too fond of. I wish I got another flavour. 🙁

Anyhow, I like the vast flavours Soirette offers, and I would come back to sample the other flavours! I have my eye on the lavender macaron!

July 29, 2012

DIY Polymer Clay Macarons

For all those following/reading my blog, you may know that I like tasting macarons. I don’t have the culinary skills to make any for myself, but I did test out my artistic skills in making tiny little macarons out of polymer clay. Polymer clay is pretty much like clay..but you can bake it, and it hardens. These are great little gifts to make keychains and earrings out of! I wish I made my mini macarons into keychains, but I was so excited to make a little jar to myself at the moment! Keychains next time! I used the brand Sculpey clay, but you can use other types, like fimo.

Photo 2012-07-29 3 42 18 PM — Polymer macarons

You could use any colour you want for your macarons- that’s part of the fun! My first trial was a pink macaron. I rolled two balls of polymer clay into even spheres, and squished them with my thumb when they were in the approximate size of a penny. After they were flattened, I put them on top of each other to double check the sizes were equal. Then, I used a toothpick and “wrinkled” the edges of the macaron.

Photo 2012-07-17 5 30 33 PM — Top and Bottom of the macaron

To make the filling (“ganache”) I thinned out two rolls of white clay, and twisted them together, and put it in my macaron. After the macaron is made, it is placed on a pyrex plate, and baked into the oven for approximately 15- 20 minutes.

I got really into it and..made more than I thought I would.

Photo 2012-07-29 3 43 28 PM — My macarons

From Left to Right, I dub my macaron flavours: Lavender Berry, Lemon, Vanilla Cookies (the ganache is a grey and black speckled colour,) Blueberry, Chocolate, Rose n’ Raspberry, Pistachio. I bought a little glass jar from a kitchen store and stored my macarons inside.

Photo 2012-07-29 3 43 56 PM — Macarons that last for life

If you want to make them into keychains, put a pin with a loop before baking! Afterwards, you can add a jump ring and add little embellishments and beads to fancy up the macaron! These are cute gifts for those who love macarons, and you can give these little macarons that would never go stale! These macarons were my first trial, so they’re a bit fat and sloppy, but I can’t wait to make more second trial around!

July 15, 2012

Macaron Adventures Part VI: Bel Cafe

Yes! Another macaron spot in Vancouver, and I enjoyed it with lovely weather and a lovely friend. Today’s choice of macaron eats is Bel Cafe, located in Downtown on West Georgia.

Photo 2012-07-14 3 29 28 PM — Bel Cafe storefront

You can take out macarons and pastries, or wait to be seated. We decided to sit down. Bel Cafe have savoury and sweet selections of food- such as soup and sandwiches, or pastries, desserts, and macarons!

I ordered a “Dawn” Tisane Tea ($2.50 + tax) – which is organic ginger fresh tea, and 2 macarons ($2 each ($1.79 + tax))- Rose & Raspberry flavour, and Black Sesame & Yuzu flavour. My friend ordered a Femtimans Soda in Curiosity Cola ($3.57 + tax) and 2 macarons as well – Vanilla Bean & Cookies and Cream.

Photo 2012-07-14 2 55 39 PM test — Rose & Raspberry. Black Sesame & Yuzu

I love the simplicity of two pretty, colourful food items sitting on a plain, white dish. The rose and raspberry macaron was divine! It wasn’t sugary sweet, it had raspberries in the ganache, I didn’t feel like I was biting into butter-the ganache was creamy and melty. The macaron had the slight hint of a rose taste, and it smelt more like a rose than tasted like one. The raspberry flavour was fresh. I love it!

The other one- black sesame and yuzu was more peculiar, but I liked it too! I had no idea what yuzu was until I googled it twenty minutes ago, but apparently is some sort of Asian citrus fruit. The ganache was a bit tart, but it complemented with the black sesame flavour well! I didn’t know what to expect, so I liked the macaron Hellespont!

I love a good cup of hot tea, and I love anything that has ginger, so this tea was the best of both worlds. It didn’t have a strong raw gingery taste, but it had a good zingy flavour which I enjoyed. The tea leaves are organic too!

Photo 2012-07-14 2 55 43 PM — Vanilla Bean & Cookies n’ Cream

Unlike I who like to eat different macaron flavours, my friend opted the more conventional sweet confectioneries- vanilla bean and cookies n’ cream. She had her pupils dilated and a look of delight while chewing on these- which means that these macarons hit the home run as well! I love the look of the cookies n ‘ cream macaron!

Photo 2012-07-14 2 55 01 PM — Curiosity Cola

This is the Curiosity Cola. The bottle looks like a vintage Harry Potter potions bottle! It tastes similar to coke, but a bit sweeter, and a bit like Asian coke candy. It was a boost of sweet energy.

I enjoyed this mini-less expensive afternoon tea in downtown. This is a great location to grab a bite during the busy rush or a warm summer day while shopping amidst in Downtown Vancouver.

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