My Not-So-Secret Obsession with French Macarons

Most of the people who know me naturally associate me with cupcakes, because of my role with Cupcakes Take the Cake. But I have a little secret: cupcakes are not my personal favorite dessert. French macarons are*. I'm talking specifically about the French ones, not the mounds of coconut shreds that are so-called American macaroons. Precious, delicate, and frustratingly hard to bake without precision, they are worth the steep price tag in my opinion. To me, French macarons should be a 2-1 ratio of cake to buttercream filling, with a crispy but not crunchy exterior that maintains a little chewiness. I've tried so many in New York and still have yet to find a favorite, though I'm always on the lookout. Heck, I have a Yelp list about them!

So imagine my utter glee when a new macaron online bakery, Panna Dolce, offered to send me samples. They claimed to have perfected the French macaron, right down to the shipping of such a fragile item. I was intrigued, especially by anyone who boasts a comparison to France, which is where I remember tasting my very first macaron with no prior concept of what it was. The company began after a similar gastronomic experience 5 years ago at the infamous Parisian macaron altar, Laduree, sparked a passion that spiraled into a business and grew from there. Inspiring, no?

Words cannot describe the excitement of waiting for a special snail mail delivery, especially one that's food-related. I feel the same anticipation of a little kid looking forward to Christmas, for that joyous moment of tearing open the packaging to reach the prized center, although nowadays the risk of an "Ugly Christmas Sweater (UCS)" is much lower. Unless you're into that kind of thing, which by that measure you've come across the wrong blog.



When the moment of arrival came, I instantly dove through neat layers of pink tissue paper to discover a tube of button-cute French Macarons, and a row of cookies and brownies. There was even a helpful legend with pictures to help decipher each product's flavor. I nibbled at the first macaron. Again, to be sure. Then I pondered.

Now, I don't know if it was due to my taste buds having been spoiled by a box of French macarons my boss gave me after his recent trip to Paris, or maybe that the goods had taken some damage from the shipping period, or perhaps my judgment was impaired when I sampled them at 1A.M. in the morning, but honestly these macarons didn't quite do it for me.


 

Vanilla Rose French Macaron. There's a nice ratio of filling to cookie shell, but it was a tad sweet and I prefer a softer, almost chewy cake inside the crunchy exteriors. There was a myriad of fruity and creamy French macarons, from conventional flavors like Chocolate Buttercream to more adventurous ones such as Almond Butter and Strawberry Jelly. The flavor of each macaron was pronounced, though the texture was where it fell a bit short for me. But for those who prefer crunchier cookies and a strong sugary taste, I suppose there is something to be said about individual differences.



But there were still other products. The different types of "Overloaded Cookies" are Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, White Chocolate Macadamia Cranberry, and Toffee Pretzel Peanut Butter Crunch. The cookie dough part of each cookie was on the dry side, but the mix-ins really stood out. The Toffee Pretzel Peanut Butter Crunch reminded me of the Momofuku Compost Cookie and other "Trash cookies" that have been part of the recent crazily overloaded cookies trend.



Then there was the brownie, or what they call "The Brownie to End All Brownies". With a name like that, anyone would be curious to put it in the boxing ring. According to the website, they "combine the richness of flourless chocolate cake with the flavor of toasted chocolate to get (what we humbly call) THE Brownie..." It was the only product that stayed moist inside the plastic wrapper, which made the center seem even almost raw and gooey, with an intense salty chocolate flavor. Was the brownie of my dreams? Perhaps not, but I had no trouble polishing this one off.

So I guess what matters is that, whether I got a faulty batch or faulty taste buds, Panna Dolce still has a passionate story and team behind them that will keep churning out the products they believe in. There is always room to grow, as long as there is the capacity and spirit to keep doing what you love. And as for me, well, I am still on my quest to find my perfect French macaron.

*Actually, it's a toss up with Tiramisu, another dessert that I haven't found a favorite version of yet.

Here's to a Sweet New Year!

When I found out that the New Year's Eve party I was going to was BYO-Whatever, I knew I wanted to bake something to end 2009 on a sweet note. A quick look at my pantry revealed that I had somehow accumulated three tubs of cocoa powder, so brownies were the way to go. Not to mention my friend Emily had given me her homemade butterscotch sauce the day before, and I was itching to use it.

I used a hodgepodge of cocoa powder recipes, since my natural instinct when recipes are all over the place is to believe that by combining all of them, I'll reach some sort of master recipe. Unless someone is around to reign me in, I have a tendency to play Mad Scientist in the kitchen. Measuring cups and flavor palates, p'shaw! Unfortunately, baking is a science, and let's just say my Chemistry grades are not the reason why I'm in college now.

I think that'll be a New Year's resolution, if I even believed in them. I never really made any, not because I set myself up for failure, but because frankly...I'm just too much of a lazy bum to make a list. Thus, my new New Year's resolution: Start making New Year's Resolutions. I CAN'T FAIL THIS.

My list so far:

• Make New Year's Resolutions [complete]
• Balance savory with sweet [95% chance of failure]
• Be a more active blogger
• Polish up on my digital art skills 
• Explore more of NYC's culinary scene
  
• Graduate from NYU
• Not end up on the streets after the previous resolution [???]
  

Chocolate Brownie Cups Recipe

I don't get in the mood for brownies very often. I'm a person who likes chocolate, but would rather have it play a supporting role, not be the entire show, if you catch my drift. Cupcakes appeal to me because they're individually sized portions of a dessert that can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. Mix-ins in brownies, on the other hand, enhance the brownies but don't substantially change them. At least, this is my reasoning. Feel free to disagree.

In any case, I decided to whip out one of my dessert cookbooks, the Hershey's Classic Recipes book. Under the Irresistible Brownies section, there's a recipe for "Best Brownies". Well, I was sold.

Too bad they were a disaster. [ sad face ]

I suppose it's my fault for not having a proper brownie pan, so I baked them in cupcake tins instead. I tend to do that with a lot of recipes, but it's never been a huge issue. I was suspicious at the light brown, barely chocolately color and taste. It reminded me more of dry cake than brownies, so I decided to do a little kitchen magic of my own.

So, I present to you my totally non-scientific brownie recipe (makes 6 brownie cups):

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/4 cup melted chocolate
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt

Heat the oven to 350F. Stir the butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Beat the eggs separately and add that into the mixture. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Add that into the wet mixture a half at a time. Blend until the batter is smooth. Bake for 20 minutes.

I think next time I'll cut down on the baking time because I burnt mine after baking for 23 minutes. I also prefer a dusting of confectioner's sugar instead of the chocolate frosting, but you can easily whip up a batch of your own.

Happy baking~