"pastry" news and stories

I love when life tosses a little bit of unexpected happiness. Walking around my local farmers' market, I spotted from a distance a sugary concoction that sparked an interest. I asked the question, he answered, and I wondered if life would ever be the same.

Meet the doughnut muffin: part delectable doughnut, part soft, cake-y muffin tossed around in cinnamon sugar. Beyond filling (but not too heavy), I split this with my trusty side-kick and felt the level of comfort rising. New to block - Brownie Points located in Summit, NJ - turned out this perfect marriage of everything gone right in the pastry world along with many others.

Visit them at the Summit Farmers' Market every Sunday until Christmas or at their store: 3 Beechwood Road (908) 464-2253

Petit fours have been becoming increasingly popular over the last few years. They're perfect for those of us concerned about portion control. You can satiate your sweet tooth without overindulging with the bite sized sweets.

There's a certain conception that most people have of petit fours. Most of us think the treats have to be small square or round cakes with a poured fondant icing and a piped decoration on top. There's much more to it than that. Petit four translates from French as 'small oven,' which refers to the ovens after the large items had been baked. The heat in the oven was a lot lower after the bread or large cakes (in the case of the nobility) came out, so things like smaller cakes and cookies that needed lower temperatures could then be baked.

In a strict sense, a petit four can be any small cookie, cake, creme puffs or tartlettes. Even sugar coated nuts and fruits could be considered petit four, technically speaking. According to Larousse Gastronomique, petit fours became popular during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King himself.

When we work on the small desserts for teas or buffets in my pastry kitchen, we use almond cake to make the petit four glacés. It's a very dense almond cake that we then layer with different flavors of marmalade, top with marzipan (only on the top layer), and then pour fondant over in a very thin layer (after cutting the cake into small squares of course). They're so rich it's a good thing we cut them in such bite-sized pieces.

Last week, I wrote a post asking why I cannot find decent macarons in the United States. Apparently, I'm not looking hard enough. Comments from all over the country revealed people's favorite shops where they buy them. Although I have not yet tried the macarons at all these places, I thought it would be useful to create a U.S. macaron directory.

So far, it looks like most of these places are located in California. Feel free to comment with new shops to add to the directory!

Columbus, Ohio: Becke recommends Pistacia Vera at 541 south third street. Try their salted caramel macarons.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Ann suggests that we try the macarons at 316 North Milwaukee St., at Harlequin Bakery.

New York, New York: To think that in my own city I failed to discover Macaron Café which is just around the corner from my mother's office at 161 west 36th street, just off 7th avenue. Thanks Tom Avel for letting us know about this shop. Kat Kinsman enjoyed the macarons from Alain Ducasse's Adour at the St. Regis hotel.

Yountville, California: Although I did not care for Thomas Keller's macarons at Buchon Bakery in NY, Kelly enjoyed them at Keller's Buchon in Yountville at 6534 Washington st.

San Francisco, California: Verena suggests Boulangerie at 2325 Pine Street. Ivan claims that Tartine Bakery at 600 Guerreo St., by 18th street, is the place to buy macarons. Mathew points out another shop located at the Ferry Building Marketplace, shop No. 10 - Miette.

Berkeley, California: Verena also reccomends Masse's Pastries at 1469 Shattuck Ave.

Los Angeles, California: Jon raves about the macarons at Boule located at 408 N. Cienga Blvd and at 413 N. Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills.

Beverly Hills, California: Apart from Boule's Beverly Hills location, you can stroll into Paulette at 9466 Charleville Blvd. If you're not in Beverly Hills, you can order from them online. That's what John did.

Ever since I returned from my school year abroad in Paris, I have been on a quest for delicate luscious creamy macarons. Unfortunately, every time I purchase them in the U.S., I am disappointed.

Why is it so hard to find decent macarons in the United States? The ones at La Maison du Chocolat are not bad. But, they're overwhelmingly chocolatey. Many times, they even taste too greasy.

Yesterday, I went to Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Manhattan and was jumping up and down with excitement when I saw macarons. They looked just like the ones I had at Ladurée in Paris. Except, when I looked at them closely, I noticed that the layer of cream in the middle was much thicker and heavier. A bite into a macaron from Bouchon Bakery is more like a bite into a heavy creamy delicious cake. Although it tasted quite excellent, it lacked many of the characteristics I love about the macarons I've tasted in Paris, mainly its lightness and slightly crunchy exterior and creamy interior.

Can someone recommend a shop where I can find a decent macaron?

My obsession for those heavenly creamy, crispy, sweet French pastries, called macarons, began when I lived in Paris. I would go to the Ladurée, the pastry-shop and tearoom, almost every week to sit down like an old woman and drink tea and snack on a macaron. Ah, the wonderful gastronomic moments spent at Ladurée! It deserves its own blog post.

Recently, I discovered another incredible pastry-shop in Paris, Pierre Hermé, where you can try some interesting flavored macarons, such as caramel with fleur de sel and passion fruit with chocolate. The tiny store, located at No. 72 rue Bonaparte on the Left Bank, almost always has a quick moving line started out the door. As you enter this chic pastry boutique, your eyes are automatically drawn to the many gorgeous fruit cakes on your left. And then, as you get further into the store, all your senses are overwhelmed by the beauty -- the fresh aroma of baked sweets and the stunning displays of various cakes and macarons.

My experience at Pierre Hermé was like a glance into heaven. By the time it was my turn to order, I was speechless. I had spent the entire time in line absorbing the smells and the delicious goodies instead of figuring out which macarons I wanted to order. One of the shopkeepers gave me a menu of macarons. I studied it closely and finally bought a box of 16. Check out my favorite flavors and more after the jump.