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Melt-in-your-mouth French macarons. Photo by Oksana Shufrich | THE NIBBLE. |
| WHAT IT IS: French-style macarons, made in New York City by a French baker. |
| WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: Ethereal, flavorful and just about perfect. |
WHY WE LOVE IT: We’ve tasted many a macaron. These are at the top of the list. |
| WHERE TO BUY IT: MacaronCafe.com. |
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There are numerous dual-flavor macarons, two delights for the “price” of one. Above, Matcha Chestnut. Photos courtesy Macaron Café.
Nutella macarons, destined to become a cult
favorite. Below, White Chocolate macarons.
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Macaron Café: The Best French Macarons
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This week’s Top Pick is glorious macarons from Macaron Café in New York City, a bakery café in the Garment Center, owned by Parisian expats. Although it’s gotten a reasonable amount of local coverage, most macaron-loving New Yorkers don’t head there.
Instead, they’re lined up at the boutique of renowned Parisian pâtissier, Pierre Hermé, on upper Madison Avenue. The queue can wrap around the block. But it’s the wrong line, folks.
We far prefer to breeze into Macaron Café’s flagship or its Midtown outpost, or order the macarons online. There’s no line around the block, the macarons are less expensive and—heresy!—they taste better than Pierre Hermé’s. And you can enjoy a light breakfast or lunch after you select your macarons.
Macaron Café creates some 50 flavors over the course of the year, including seasonal favorites. They’re a perfect Mother’s Day gift (and in our book, the perfect food gift for any occasion).
- You’ll find all the traditional flavors: apricot, cassis, chocolate, coconut, espresso, lemon, mango, mocha, passion fruit, pistachio, raspberry, rose, vanilla, violette and so on.
- There are also exciting seasonal flavors: blackberry, chestnut, gingerbread, grapefruit, jasmine, lychee rose, matcha chestnut, mirabelle (a yellow plum), orange blossom, pineapple, pumpkin cinnamon, raisin rum and rhubarb.
- And then, there are the flavor trends: cappuccino, caramel fleur de sel, crème brûlée, dulce de leche, honey lavender, matcha green tea, nutella, peanut butter, tahini sesame.
Macaron Vs. Macaroon
A French macaron (pronounced mah-cah-ROHN, but listen to a Frenchman say it) is a meringue-based sandwich cookie made with egg whites, sugar, almond flour and flavoring; some flavors use food color. The sandwich filling can be buttercream, jam or chocolate ganache. (See the different types of macarons/macaroons.*)
*Macaroon (maa-cah-ROON) is a U.S. and U.K. term, but often refers to the dense, chewy coconut macaroon made from flaked coconut, sugar and sweetened condensed milk (and often dipped in chocolate).
These luxurious bites are the most elegant of cookies. Airy and fragile, they melt in your mouth. They’re fat free and gluten free.
Most macaron brands we’ve tried don’t have enough flavor: You often have to guess what the flavor is, or find too faint a hint. At Macaron Café, the flavors are deliciously pronounced.
The macarons are certified kosher by Cup K (seven flavors are parve). Prices range from $16.00 for a petite box of 6 macarons to $55.00 for 24 cookies. There’s also a pyramid-shaped centerpiece that holds 24 cookies, for $69.00.
Proprietor Cécile Cannone has written a cookbook, so you can try your hand at baking these delicacies at home.
If there’s anyone who wouldn’t love a gift of macarons, let him or her raise a hand. We’ll be over to take them off his/her hands.
— Karen Hochman
The article continues below, with macaron trivia, books and more. |
