Golden Pages & Designer Macarons

In the world of recipe books, there's  some that just belong on the shelf.  C'mon - I'm sure we all have a few.  Then there's some that belong in the kitchen.  You know, the ones that get used ALL the time.  And then there are the ones that belong centre stage on the coffee table for all eyes to see. They're the kind of books that you could sit with for hours and just read every single recipe and imagine exactly what each of them tastes like.  The kind of book where you just lose yourself in page after page of gorgeous pictures, and fantasize that one day when you make that recipe it will turn out EXACTLY as it looked on the pages of the book. 

These books don't come around very often, but when Laduree finally released their famous recipe book Sucre in English I'll admit I got SUPER excited! Sucre got glowing reviews on the Amazon France site, and if French women thought it was good (because we all know French women are able to whip up a perfect pastry at a moments notice!) I knew it was going to be amazing.

I purchased my copy from Amazon and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived at my office nearly 5 days ahead of schedule.  When I opened up the package I was greeted with a familiar looking box - or so it seemed!  Laduree's Sucre comes packaged in a replica of their famous macaron box, and it looked so similar that I actually had people stop by my desk thinking I had a rather large box of macarons!

Sucre The Recipes can be purchased in English via Amazon US here and Amazon UK here.  Unfortunately it's not available in English yet on Amazon Canada.

Laduree has done a fabulous job transferring the opulence of their tea salons into this recipe book.  With it's mouth watering pastry pictures, velvety pistachio green cover and gold gilded pages, this book is a little work of art.  There are oodles of recipes in it.  Everything from Vanilla Eclairs and Strawberry Napoleons to Raspberry and Rose Sundae's and of course - their famous macarons!

Strawberry Marscapone Tart

I can't wait to start making delicious pastries from this book, although I will warn you that some of the ingredients are rather hard to find.  Things like chestnut puree, almond & pistachio pastes or rose syrup.  But, there are definitely lots of recipes that can be made with ingredients are can be found at your local grocery store.

 
Harmonie

 

A sampling of some recipes that caught my eye:

Chestnut Barquettes
Rose Cream Puffs
Pistachio Salambos
Roasted Pineapple Tart
All Chocolate Tart
Upside Down Apple Tarts
Chocolate Mousse
Pistachio Sour Cherry Verrines
Lemon Cake
Cherry Calfoutis

The list goes on and on!!

There are even several recipes included for their infamous macarons, but my past history of macaron making has been a bit hit and miss.  Sometimes they turn out beautifully, and sometimes they don't.  I have no idea why.  So for now, I'll try my hand at making a few other Paris pastries from the book and stick to buying my macarons from Laduree.  Speaking of which - each year Laduree partners with one (sometimes more) famous fashion brands to design and release a limited edition macaron box.  This year Laduree has partnered up with famed fashion designer John Galliano, and I must say the box is absolutely gorgeous.  Last week I popped into the Harrods branch of Laduree and picked one up.  I couldn't help but rush down there the day after they were released so I could get a hold of one.  In case you don't know - I'm a bit obsessed with collecting Laduree Macaron boxes.  The limited edition John Galliano box is available in Laduree stores now.

My selection of macarons below:  Coconut, Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Pistachio, Black Current & Violet (amazing btw) and Praline.

Golden Pages! 

Keep checking back to see what I make from this amazing book!

J'adore Paris

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been on holiday without any access to my computer.  The past few weeks have been a bit crazy, Paris one weekend, then back to the UK for a few days before heading off to Vancouver, Seattle and Victoria.  4 countries in a less than week sounds glamorous, but it can be rather tiring!  Luckily I managed to find time to  visit with all my family and friends, AND fit in some shopping for loads of fun baking supplies that aren't available here in the UK.  Thank goodness for my extra luggage allowance!! 

To start off my vacay, I celebrated my birthday weekend with my husband in my favourite place in the world - Paris!!!  I absolutely LOVE Paris.  I would totally move there, except for the fact that I can't speak French - and the French don't take kindly to foreigners who don't integrate into their society well.  So until I can speak fluent French (which is likely never, considering I'm not even taking lessons) I'll have settle for the 2 hour journey on the Eurostar.  It's amazing that a country only an hour's flight away can be so incredibly different from London and the rest of the UK.  The architecture in Paris is simply stunning.  Paris wasn't bombed during the war, so it's still got all of their beautiful buildings and landmarks in tact.  Living in London has allowed my obsession with Paris to develop at a much faster rate than if I lived back in Canada.  I've only lived here for 2 years, but I've been to Paris 3 times, and am already planning my next trip.  I'm always hearing about new and fabulous places to visit while in Paris, so I had to tick a few off my continuously expanding list.  On the menu for the weekend (and I do mean menu!) was a Paris Pastry tour. C'est magnifique! 

You'll never guess where these macarons are from!

First up was actually somewhere that I really had absolutely NO intention of going to.  Normally when I go to Paris and other foreign countries I prefer to try food from local restaurants, but when we walked past a McCafe on the Champs-Elysées, I suddenly remembered watching some online interviews with Parisians doing a taste comparison between Pierre Herme's macarons, and the newly launched McDonald's version.  Yes - you read that correctly.  The McDonald's restaurants in Paris sell macarons.  Actually, they sell a lot more than macarons (above).  They've actually got a whole pastry counter, and I must admit it looks like something you'd see in a posh pastry shop!  The McDonald's macarons come in 6 flavours (vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, lemon, chocolate and salted caramel).  I picked up a box (€4.50) for us so we could do our own taste comparison.  Verdict: The McDonald's macarons are alright.  I suppose if you haven't tried many macarons before, then you may really enjoy these.  The flavor is there - they did taste good, but the consistency of the "cookie" bit was totally wrong.  They were much denser than the macarons from Laduree or Pierre Herme. These ones had some what of a cakey consistency, which I'm assuming would probably result in them being far less fragile than their more expensive counterparts, which means you might even be able to bring them home with you for family and friends back home. Chances are, they're not going to know the difference! 

McDonald's macarons and pastry case - French fast food!

Next on the tour was Angelina. Famous for their hot chocolate and Mont Blanc pastries, this place should be on everyone's "To Do" list when they come to Paris. Seriously, the hot chocolate is sooo good, but it's sooo rich.  My husband and I each got a pastry - he got a type of vanilla slice that was made up of layers of flaky pastry and vanilla cream, while I got the famous Mont Blanc which is made up of vanilla chantilly cream on top of a thin flat meringue and covered in thin strands of chestnut paste. I'd been warned at rich the hot chocolate was, so we opted to share one.  Seriously, when they say the hot chocolate at Angelina is rich, they're not joking!  This isn't your milky Nestle variety.  Angelina's hot chocolate is pretty much just melted chocolate.  It's so luxurious and thick, and so absolutely delicious.  Le Chocolat chaud l'African is served in a small jug, alongside an accompanying bowl of whipped cream.  If you've read my blog more than once, you'll know I've got a passion for anything sweet, but the combination of the sweet Mont-Blanc and the thick hot chocolate kicked my ass. My husband and I couldn't finish either of them.  I'd definitely recommend going to Angelina's, but would advise you to share the hot chocolate! 

Angelina's famous hot chocolate, Mont Blanc and vanilla slice (in the back).

Angelina sells their famous hot chocolate, but it's practically solid when it's at room temperature! Below are a few other drool worthy shots of the pastries at Angelina

The final stop on our Paris Pastry tour was the infamous Laduree.  As I've mentioned before, the best macarons and pastries in Paris can be found at Laduree.  We had originally stopped by Laduree for afternoon tea one and of their delicious pastries - specifically the Religieuse - a puffed choux pastry filled with a rich chocolate cream, topped off with chocolate fondant. Unfortunately we (as well as several others) were turned away because they were "only serving lunch", tea would only start to be served at 3:30.  I'm not sure if I believe that or not, but we opted to wait in line and ordered our pastries and macarons over the counter to take away.  I ended up eating my Religieuse pastry on my way back to London on the Eurostar - a far less glamours place than inside the golden gilded walls of Laduree. 

A slightly blury picture of the chocolate religieuse

More pastries from Laduree

If you've read my previous post about the macarons from Laduree, you'll know that I'm totally obsessed with them, as well as their beautiful boxes.  Several times a year Laduree releases specially designed limited edition macaron boxes, and I just happened to be in Paris while their Summer 2010 boxes were being sold. This years box was covered in pretty white daisies, and had a cute little butterfly attached to the top.  I just had to have it!

Mmmacaons!!! 

While in Paris, we stayed in an amazing little hotel directly opposite the Arc de Triomphe called the Hotel Splendid Etoile.  This hotel was so charming, I'd recommend it to anyone! Both the room itself and the view were amazing, and the breakfast was delicious!  Lots of yummy breakfast pastries!

Our hotel room, and the view from the balcony at night.

 

Ooh La La

On Tuesday I took the Eurostar to Paris with 5 of my work colleagues for a team building day.  Yes, we went to Paris for the day.  The day!  How cool is that!?!  We stopped off for an amazing lunch at Le Cafe de la Paix which is located in Le Grand Hotel before heading down the Rue Royale to one of the best pastry and tea salons in Paris - Laduree.  Laduree is probably most well known for their amazing selection of French macarons and pastries.  I can't remember how I first found out about Laduree, but I've been a bit obsessed with it ever since.  Probably for about 3 years now.  The pastry case in Laduree could easily be considered one of the most beautiful sites in Paris.  I ended up having the most amazingly rich and decadent little chocolate dessert called the Carré Chocolat, which consisted of a dark chocolate macaroon biscuit, thin black chocolate crispy leaves, smooth black chocolate cream, smooth black chocolate biscuit and chocolate zabaglione mousse.  It even had a few flecks of gold leaf on top.  But what I really went there for were the macarons.  Oh the macarons.  They are heaven.  

The Carré Chocolat dessert I got is on the far right. Mmm!

I'm sure most of you have heard of a macaron by now, after all they are being touted as the "new cupcake" and North American bakeries are only just now jumping on the macaron band wagon.   I'd been dying to get my hands on one of Laduree's beautiful macaron boxes ever since I saw them there last summer.  You see, Laduree has a huge array of macaron boxes, many of which are limited edition.  But because we were in Paris the macaron names and price lists were obviously in French.  And because I quit French class after grade 8 to take Spanish, I found myself starring at the case like an idiot really wishing I'd stuck with the French lessons because I couldn't figure out what the heck I was supposed to order.  I ended up choosing a selection of 8 macarons, but left Laduree a little disappointed because my macarons were in a thinner (but still pretty) light green cardboard box, and not the higher quality gift box I'd wanted.  I figured I'd probably just have to wait until my next trip to Paris in August before I got another chance at acquiring a coveted Laduree macaron gift box.   

 Laduree also has the most beautiful window displays.  Check out their signature macaron tower!

 Well, fast forward 4 days and what did I happened to spot while wandering around at the annual Taste of London Food Festival in Regent's Park, but a Laduree macaron stand!  Laduree actually has 2 locations in London, but I don't really get a chance to visit them much.  Besides, I seem much more oblivious to the fact that I'm spending £25 ($38 US) on 14 little "cookies" when I'm on holiday.  I decided to seize my opportunity to order in English, and finally purchased 2 beautiful boxes of Laduree Macarons!  Apologies in advance for the picture overload! I couldn't help myself.

Look at all the pretty boxes!

More pretty boxes

My purchases!

Above from left to right: Mimosa, Vanilla, Coffee, Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Coconut, Pistachio, Raspberry.  Sooo delicious!