ottawa foodies

In a previous post on food blogs, I had included the link to my favourite one called "Chocolate and Zucchini" which is written by a girl in France.

She often posts about Macarons which are these famous sandwich cookies in France that are made by various pastry chefs, two of the most notable are Ladurée and Pierre Hermès.

Does anyone know of a place in Ottawa that sells these Macaron cookies?

(See link for more pics of Macarons)


chocolateandzucchini.com

ksw....I make them sometimes at The French Baker, however I haven't made them in awhile due to some understaffing issues. I'll let you know the next time I'll be making them. I usually do chocolate, cocoa nib, pistachio and raspberry ones. If you can't wait til then, I have seen them at Patisseria Gelateria on Preston street, but just a tray with one flavour. That was awhile ago so you could check there and ask them.

A link to some very pretty macarons - alas in Paris, not Ottawa:

mouthfulsfood.com

Thanks Mousseline - it would be awesome if you could post when you make some. In the meantime I will check out Patisseria Gelateria and see what they have.

When I get to Paris I will be sending home a case of these things!!

I had the most amazing macaron last week at the Bouchon Bakery in Las Vegas. I have the recipe in Keller's Bouchon cookbook, and am definitely going to try it out in the near future.

tre....check out www.egullet.org
in the pastry and baking forum there is an 11 page long or so discussion about making macarons...plus a demo by Nicole Kaplan who is a pastry chef from New York (she made Pastry Art and Design's 10 best chefs last year)

looks good, thanks! Baking isn't one of my better kitchen attributes, but one that I'm working on slowly...

There is a pastry place on Preston that makes them, not too far down from Somerset. I can't remember the name, but they have zillions of pastries and the place is plastered with diplomas and prizes that the owner has won.

They always have a few maccarons. Not the greatest but fairly decent. I personally like the maple ones best. There is always 1 to 3 flavours and they are about $1 per.

That would be Paticceria Gelateria...and yes, Joe Calabro is pretty famous. I only saw one kind of macaron when I was there, it was last summer and I ate a big sandwich and had no room for pastries. They did look nice. I will have to go in and try one though, because the only macarons I've ever eaten were ones that I've made.

Bumping this topic because I finally got around to making some at work. I got some at Patisseria Gelateria just for comparison purposes because I don't know of anywhere else that makes them.

I made Raspberry, Pistachio, Cocoa Nib (my favorite) and Chocolate.

I bought 4 from PG...they had Hazelnut, Strawberry, Chocolate and Pistachio.
They weren't really to my taste. They were a bit sweeter and drier than mine, and I didn't enjoy buttercream as a filling in such a sweet pastry.

I use ganache, mousseline or an almond filling depending on what flavour I've made.

Anyway, if you come in to try one, beware of "sticker shock" if you've been buying them on Preston street. Patisseria Gelateria sells them at $0.85 per and we sell them at $2.10 I think. (Just so you know, I do have some input into pricing, but the final say belongs to the Boss Man.)

...and where can we find you these days?....

Hi Mousseline!
Thanks for the update, are you still at the French Baker?

My parents-in-law just got back from Europe and they were stopping last in Paris so I begged them to find me some Macarons to bring back. They brought me an assorted flavour box that had small-sized macarons. I still have a few left but I did take some pictures before I started to scarf them down.

They are soooooo good. The outside of the cookie part is crispy and the inside is sort of chewy melt in your mouth - I sort of equated the texture to a two-bite brownie. They were all different flavours: pistachio, orange, lemon, rose, grape, cocoa, espresso, strawberry etc. Sadly there was no insert to say what they were so for some we had to guess. One was cherry and actually had a maraschino cherry hidden inside the cream!

I will post the pics this weekend. For how long will your macarons be available? We are going away for the whole weekend (leaving this evening) so I won't have time to come and buy some this weekend :(

And no worries - price is not an object :)

Yes ksw, I am still at the French Baker, and I will likely be making macarons all summer til my vacation in late August. It's too humid now for Florentines so they've been bumped off the product list in favour of macs. I will try to do some different flavours now that I'm into the swing of things and we just got a brand new mixer to play with!

Any requests, flavour-wise?

On the blog that I read, the author often picks up a couple of macarons and then writes about them. I found this one intriguing: It's a Pierre Hermés - Chestnut with Green Tea filling.

If the chestnut part is too complicated, perhaps you could substitute the chestnut for chocolate?

You may have to scroll far down on the page to see the entry:
chocolateandzucchini.com

I'll have a look KSW, and see what I can do. Right now I'm adapting my recipe to the new mixer which is bigger than the old one. So we've had some variations in quality, still working on it. Making macarons isn't hard, but making them frequently and getting consistent quality is. Plus, I'm annoyingly picky....luckily I usually make the ones at work so I can only pick on myself!

Was in Pasticceria Gelataria last night and quite enjoyed a hazelnut macaroon. Must try one of Mousseline's! :)

Finally downloaded the pictures off my camera. These are the macarons that my parents-in law brought me back from Paris.
There are two missing (which I ate) and some are a bit squished and melty, but they were delicious!! The one in the top left corner was half strawberry, half pistachio. Some I really could not identify the flavour......

I had two macarons - one raspberry, one chocolate something - from the french baker this weekend! Well actually, my boyfriend had the chocolate one... in any case, wow! I've never had one before, and are they ever yummy! I loved, LOVED, the raspberry one, it was just so tasty I'm drooling thinking about it now. I have no idea what I paid for it, but I would pay it again in an instant! I'll have to try some french ones when I'm in Paris and France next summer....

At Pasticceria Gelateria they are around $.80

Perfect treat!

Hey Mousseline,
I finally got down to the market on Thursday and went into the French Baker and practically bought out the stock.

I bought:
2 croissant
1 pain au chocolat
1 raisin brioche
2 madeleines
6 macarons

Everything was delicious!!! Our favourite macaron was the choco/pistache. Texture seemed bang on to the ones that we got from Paris (see above).

Madeleines are also something that is written about frequently on the C&Z food blog that I read so I was delighted to see them in the window and had to try a couple as well.

After eating all that stuff I will have to take a break before eating any more sweets and get back to the gym but I can't wait to go back and try more macarons.

I asked if you were around but it was in the evening and I assume you work in the mornings? I didn't know your name so I asked if "the girl who makes the macarons is here?" HaHa.....

Anyways - they were great!

I'm a Cordon Bleu graduate and know how to make macarons. If anyone wants me to make them some...let me know. I make them all the time for people who dream of Laduree.

Hmmmmm...do I know you? I graduated last March from Cuisine.

Look at this photo:

www.flickr.com

Looks yummy already.

It seems that macrons are getting very popular in Japan and Hong Kong as well.

Thanks for your comments KSW.

Feedback helps when you are making something you didn't grow up eating. I will probably make some chestnut and some green tea ones next week, but not chestnut and green tea together...I'm not sure that combo would sell well in this market. They are selling fairly well though....we have some mystery lady who keeps ordering chocolate macs 2 dozen at a time. At $2.10 per...that's a lot of coin for some cookies!

I'm kind of intrigued by the vivid purple ones in the photo upthread....what flavour were they?

I usually work 7 to 2 or 9:30 to 3:00 so I leave early in the afternoon, but if you are by early in the day, the name my momma gave me is Teri :)

The dark purple one was grape, the bright fushia one was raspberry, and the one to the left of the grape one was cherry. Yellowish ones were orange and lemon. The two squished pale pink ones were rose water flavoured (not my favourite).

If I had to pick and choose flavours for a box, these would not have been my choice but it was interesting to taste them all so that when I do go to France, I won't waste my time or money on those flavours - I will go straight for the good stuff! :)

Thanks for this discussion, I thought that I was the only one salivating for these sweet pastries from Paris. I just came back from there 12 days ago and I am already suffering from withdrawals.

Off I go to Preston and the French Baker

I read about this discussion on macaroons some time ago and was intrigued. Up until this point, I was only familiar with the coconut versions. So I made a note to myself to stop in to the French Baker one day and finally try them. Finally, today I was in the Market and decided to stop in. I think they had lemon, raspberry and pistachio. When I bit into them, they just melted in my mouth. Fantastic!

I also scarfed down a croissant. Ya know, since I was already there. :-)

A macaron and a macaroon are not the same. And, no surprise, the typical North American macaroon (that coconut version) is nothing like the original Italian one.
A macaron en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron
A macaroon en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroon

Both types disappear quickly around me...with a slight advantage to espresso or hazelnut macarons.

Mousseline, I was at the French Baker this weekend and sampled some of the macarons - which I understand you make! I just wanted to pass along how happy they made me...I haven't eaten a macaron since I moved back to Canada from France so it was an extra treat.

We tried lemon, raspberry, pistachio, hazelnut and chocolate and they were all delicious. The texture was bang on and I loved the fillings. My favorite overall was hazelnut because it was distinctive and just right. Runners up were chocolate (decadent) and raspberry (the filling was GREAT).

Coincidentally, I also tried the French Baker macarons for the first time this weekend. Wifey and I were at Benny's for brunch and then picked up a few pastries on the way out. I tried only the hazelnut and it was awesome. I returned later that day to pick up a few more for my parents (who are visiting and were taking care of the kids while we gallivanted about town). Most awesome!

tre, I think I had the macarons as you. My fiancée and I went to Per Se in NYC in January and at the end of the meal you get few goodies to take with you including macarons which I assume is either made from the same recipe or supplied by Bouchon in NYC which is in the same building..... All I can say is that I never knew how good macarons could be until I tasted those.

Cheers

Wow, thanks for the compliments...however I have to correct you...I USED to be the only one at the French Baker that made macarons, but now that I have 2 other staff to help out, I hardly ever get to make them. Francis Meunier and Fannie Renaud help me out and do an awesome job.

Haha. How many people went to the French Baker to buy macarons this weekend because of this thread? My wife and I went on Sunday and bought a box of four -lemon, raspberry, hazlenut and chocolate. Mmmmm, tasty. I'll be back for more + other treats.

Downtown Diner: LOL, so true! After all the talk in this thread, had to try one! Hubby and I each had one tonight - him chocolate, me raspberry. Crispy outside, chewy inside - yum!

Also picked up 4 croissants. (Second run to French Baker in 3 days - I love that place.) Best part - Benny himself was in the store - what a cutie!!! :)

Guilty. Hazelnut and Pistachio. Delicious.

There is a spotlight on Macarons in the current issue of Ottawa magazine as well. Suddenly they're everywhere!

I went to the French Baker during my lunch break today - a usual Friday afternoon tradition for me - and I bought, among other things, a chocolate macaron. I tried one from the Pastecceria over the Christmas holidays and was somewhat disappointed. I had never tried a macaron before but I found the cookie part too hard and the filling too soft. But I just finished scarfing down the macaron I bought from the French Baker and it was truly awesome! Both the cookie and the filling were light and fluffy and chocolatey. I usually vary my trips to the bakery depending on what I am buying (the egg bread I buy comes from the Rideau Bakery, the cornmeal bread I buy comes from the Portuguese Bakery, etc.) but the French Baker is almost exclusively getting my business these days. I also bought a florentine (my favourite!) for dessert tonight and a croissant for breakfast tomorrow am. Thanks Mousseline keep up the good work!

We were in the market this afternoon and stopped by the French baker. I picked up a strawberry and 2 chocolate macarons for the three of us. They were delicious. I may have to go back and get them for post dessert course for my next big meal!

Cheers

Mouselline, what's the shelf life of a macaron? We just brought some back over to Canada yesterday from Zurich and I really hope they haven't gone all chewy and/or dried out.

Sprungli makes a *bitching* macaron, by the way. They're cute little tiny ones, less than an inch across, but so delectable. Little pillow-clouds of delight.

Wikipedia says they aren't really macarons (en.wikipedia.org):

----------
Luxemburgerli (also Luxembourger) is the name of a type of confectionery made most famously by the Confiserie Sprüngli in Zürich, Switzerland (they are Sprüngli's top seller). Similar to a small French macaron, they consist of a sugar-based cookie top and bottom with a rich cream filling in the center; unlike the macaron, the Luxemburgerli is lighter and more airy in consistency. Each cookie is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.
----------

I'm embarrassed to say that I've never tried one. Considering I've been to Zürich a dozen or more times in my life, this is reprehensible, and I apologise! :]

EDIT: The wikipedia article addresses your Q about perishability: "The shelf life of Luxemburgerli is limited to 3-5 days, and they must be refrigerated."

Thanks for clearing that up, FF. I wasn't sure if "Luxemburgerli" was just Swiss German for "macarons." Since I'm a bad fellow and have never had a macaron, I couldn't tell ya the real difference ;)

I think that Swiss pastries make the thing you are describing Momomoto, one of my coworkers mentioned trying something like that earlier this week.

As for French macarons, they can be frozen if they are packed carefully so they are not crowded into the container or sitting on top of each other. They're fairly delicate.

Mousseline - Yeah, they are quite delicate. I was surprised they lasted the two days that they did. They came with a plastic shell on top, though, so very few were crushed.

I should also point out that we had pastries for breakfast almost every day (maybe eight times at six different places?), across three countries (Germany, Denmark, Switzerland), and never found croissants or chocolatines as good as The French Baker's. Made me feel all proud.

I'm going to French Baker tomorrow morning - I hope some macarons will be available! *looking in Mousseline's direction* ahem ahem...

There should be Chimi, unless there is an unexpected run on macarons. I could set some aside for you, but I don't get to work until 9:30, the other 2 pastry chefs start at 7:00. I think Fannie plans to make some more tomorrow anyway. I think you're good.

The French Baker is now selling macarons through Herb and Spice, packaged in boxes of 6, in limited quantities.

Spotted: Ladurée Macarons during a recent trip to Paris!

Check out their huge window display! Macaron heaven!

Mousseline: Thanks for the update! H&S is just up the street from me and much easier to get to than your market location.

How often are they delivered, and when should I stop by to ensure maximum freshness? :P

I hope Herb & Spice soon discovers what a hot commodity macarons really are and...
1. creates a magnificent window display like Ladurée's ("I'll take that tree of macarons there please")
2. changes their name to H&S&M

N8, I'm not sure of all the details yet, since we've only just started. AMR, I hate to tell you this, but those lovely macs in the window are likely to be completely inedible. Storing them in direct sunlight in our window made the cookies turn dry and the filling mushy. That's why ours are protected in the case rather than sitting in the window at the French Baker.

It is a pretty display though. I'm very envious of the lovely boxes too. We haven't been able to find the perfect packaging just yet.

I found some here www.brpboxshop.com about 50 cents per box. They will ship to canada, but I am sure a Canadian supplier exists.

I am always looking for the perfect packaging for my clients dinners...

Mousseline ~ You didn't burst my dream bubble. I was kidding. I've walked by enough pretty bakery window displays to notice the oddly static nature of the contents...and sometimes the dust. :)

Ohhhh, Lordy.

A friend of mine told me that she was travelling on business, had a layover in the Zürich airport, and wondered if I would like anything?

I more or less jumped up and down and asked for a box of Luxemburgerli from one of the Sprüngli kiosks.

We got them yesterday, and figured I'd show all y'all what they look like and how they compare to macarons. You know, for interest's sake.

Here's a box (exciting, I know.)

There's a protective plastic shell over them all when you open the box, but I took it off because it didn't make for good pictures.

I'm not entirely sure which one is which, but I believe if you go from the top left and head clockwise, they're: hazelnut, raspberry, caramel, mocha, chocolate, vanilla, orange, champagne, pistachio, anise, and lemon.

Even with the knowledge that I had to take some pictures this time before demolishing the whole box, we couldn't help ourselves.

Our last box didn't have any anise ones in them. My goodness they're tasty.

In case that last picture didn't make it obvious enough, here's a pile of artfully arranged ones to show how they really are spheroid. Quite differently shaped from macarons.

Momomoto: I have to be honest--those look delicious.
But, actually, my confession is this: I found out that you were posting these via Twitter.

Oh dear, what will the internets churn out next?

Yay Internets! I've sent you a message here on OF.

Wow! They look incredible. I've been through Zurich airport many many times and have never tried a Luxemburgerli. I picked a little bag of them up from Swiss Pastries here in Ottawa but they were quite dry and disappointing.

LWB, I admit to finding out about this via Twitter too. :O

I'm still perplexed by this thread. They look kind of gross to me. Like formed Cheez Whiz (to be topical :-)) or something - very artificial.

Though openminded as always if Momo wants to give me half his box to form a proper opinion :-)

They go stale very quickly: they suggest not keeping them longer than two or three days (did I write that up there earlier in the thread somewhere? I forget.) These ones are about a week old by now, and they are a bit crispier than they should be. They're still really good. Packed with bright flavours, particularly the citrus and pistachio ones.

Zym, I agree that they do look a bit out-of-this-world, but I think that's part of the appeal for me: they taste out-of-this world, too! I can't speak to the actual recipe, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were just meringue and ground almonds for the sandwich, cream something-or-other for the filling, and then food colouring and flavour throughout. The brief shelf life makes me think there isn't much in the ways of preservatives in them.

Normally I'd be happy to share but I, errr . . . we're plowing through them at a magnificent pace. Short shelf life and all. I'd hate to give you one that's past its prime. So I'm checking each and every one of them to make sure.

Another top tip at the Zürich airport: Sprüngli also sells this awesome little praline sampler box containing half-sized pralines. Went over really well when I brought them to the office: you can eat a whole bunch of different ones without feeling guilty ;)

I was only in Zürich once and boy do I miss it. What an awesome city! My beer sense proved to work for me as it managed to sniff out the Zeughauskeller which is sort of hidden in a back alley. :-) And Wolf's Bierhalle too, but that was right on the main drag and easy to find :-)

I didn't spend enough time there the one time I went. We were there for maybe two-and-a-half days, and only ate meals out twice (not counting pub/café trips). And no brewery tours, either.

The cheese you could get at the grocery stores was fantastic. It was like raw milk Camembert was some sort of God-given right.

Momomoto - Thanks for sharing... I'm drooling, LOL.

BTW, your Photos (aka Food Porn) are excellent... no doubt part of the reason I'm drooling.

From what they told me, the macarons sold at Maison Chalouin (Maison Chalouin - I really need to learn the fancy formatting) are made in-store, and are of the French variety. I'm typing fom work, but when I get home tonight (after stopping by for a nice Guinness) I'll post the photo I took of them. I didn't know of the engouement for macarons or I'd have updated the vendor's site sooner... They look like the Ladurée photos.

I recently took a trip to New York and all the talk of macarons on this site and on Chocolate&Zucchini made me determined to try the best ones I could find. And so, as soon as I could, I hotfooted it over to La Maison du Chocolat (recommended by the food blog seriouseats.com).

It was my first time eating macarons and I have to say that they were tasty. The ones at LMDC have chocolatey fillings, with other flavours mixed in. My favourite were the raspberry. The ones I ate in the store didn't have chewy fillings, but when I brought them home and had them in the fridge they did get chewy. I have to confess I am not a complete macaron convert...they were too sugary somehow...maybe I just need to try a few other ones.

And some of them on a plate. The flavours were chocolate, raspberry, caramel and coffee.

I'll be posting an entry about macarons on my food blog soon! (www.carlingavefoodie.com)