studentsineurope

Macarons: the New Cupcakes?

Luckily they taste just as good as they look!

Much like the cupcake craze that has been sweeping across New York, LA, and capital cities around the world, the macaron movement is slowly but surely spreading its wings. From a colorful cameo appearance in Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, to references in Gossip Girls, macarons have been making a name for themselves, and most notably those from the world-renowned Parisian pâtisserie, Ladurée. A store that sells a whopping 15,000 macarons every day!

A pastry that dates back to the 16^th century, it is Ladurée that we have to thank for the invention of the now famous double-decker macaron: two macarons that have been paired together with a ganache, or sometimes jelly filling. A colorful treat with a seemingly endless array of flavors, they are the perfect accompaniment to a coffee or tea.

While cupcakes may evoke the memories of childhood birthday parties, macarons induce a feeling of elegance and sophistication. I remember the first time I visited the Ladurée tearoom on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, it was like stepping back into time. An elaborate “salon de thé,” decorated in the over-the-top style the French are illustrious for, I would have felt more comfortable in a corset rather than the jeans and a t-shirt I was sporting. I opted to skip a visit to one of the luxurious rooms, as it was likely to result in not only an over priced cup of tea, but a slew of judgmental stares due to my most humble appearance. Instead, I headed straight for the pastries.

As a child, I had always wondered what a trip to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory would have been like, now I know. With a rainbow of pastel and neon colored macarons laid before me, I was literally a kid in a candy store: completely unable to make a decision. Caramel with salted butter or Orange blossom? Let me be the first to say, the caramel with salted butter is nothing short of AMAZING.

Although my love for cupcakes is astounding, never have I had such difficulty choosing a flavor like I did with these dainty delicacies. So the next time you’re in Paris, make the stop…you won’t be disappointed.