Very good family friends are off to Paris on a family holiday this week, and I have received an urgent request for me to finish my series on macarons, started here for Fauchon, then a second post on La Maison du Chocolat. So I apologize in advance to diabetics, but the next four posts will be highly calorific, and a practical overdose in what may be my favorite of french sweet delicacies, the macaron. At first glance, the main Dalloyau branch on Rue Faubourg St. Honore seems a bit sparse and understated. But don’t let that fool you. For Parisians in the know, this “Maison” has a 207 year history in the food business and it stems back to restaurants opened in the early 1800’s. See their website here for more PR materials. We first tried Dalloyau many years ago, on a leisurely walk up and down that “Fifth Avenue” of Paris, and I realized I couldn’t do a run-down of Paris’ macarons without including Dalloyau. Luckily for most tourists and travellers these days, the most famous purveyors of macarons seem to have set up satellite stands all across Paris, and Dalloyau has one at the food hall of Galleries Lafayette near the Opera.
The Teen picked out several flavors of macarons, including in clockwise order from the green one, pistachio, mocha, caramel, raspberry, Early Grey The Bergamot, Apricot, Strawberry and another The Bergamot. These were airier compared to other macarons we tasted, light, delicious and dissolved on your tongue. These were a bit crisper on their skins, probably because we purchased them in the afternoon at a satellite location, hence they were more than several hours old. The flavors were more subtle and restrained. At euro 73 a kilo (the usual range of prices for the top macarons were roughly Euro 70-90), they were about Euro 1 each, not as pricey as others. But they were a bit on the small side.
Overall, against a very strong group of “competitors”, we would rate these a 8.50-9.00/10.00, the higher score probably applicable if you buy your macarons at one of their main shops or closer to the source. They were dainty, pretty and classic if there really is a classic macaron. Check out their website for locations all over Paris.
Related posts:
The Macarons at Fauchon
The Macarons of La Maison du Chocolat
41 Responses
Yummy as always!
MC, Lilibeth, Ted and others: …to flavour yourmacarons, there are COMPOUNDS such as Pistachio, Mocha, Banana, Passion Fruit, Raspberry and a gazillion others which are available. A little goes a long way!
Artisan, just say the word and I will bring those back for you among other things if they are not available back home!
BQ…I will be estatic if you do!!!!
See BQ…I can’t even spell ECSTATIC correctly…hahahaha
MM, I’m delirious with your 3 macaron reviews. Can’t wait to read your next 3!!!
Whoah.. This is fattening.. Also the upcoming posts.. Certainly appetizing though.. Looking forward to those..
MM where are the good macarons in Phils. aside from Bizu?
Marisse: to answer your question…I just sent an e-mail to Ms. Wahini early this morning (Vancouver time).
Artisan: I will be sending you an e-mail and please check out 2 sites …they are bakery supply wholesalers I deal with and they have a gazillion flavour compounds. I don’t know which compounds you would prefer and same goes for you, MM…something for you to use when you start MM Macaron chronicles!
I was talking with a friend recently and the subject of macarons came up…he swore the macarons of Nancy have those of Paris beat “hands down” (I quote).
I do not have a particularly sweet tooth myself (the charms of baked sweets tend to be lost on me) so can’t personally comment on the macarons. But the conversation did remind me of the town of Nancy. I do enjoy Earl Grey tea and so I very much like the little hard candies called bergamots de Nancy which are delicately flavoured with bergamot extract. These are made by a very small number of producers under the protection of an IGP “appellation” (protected geographic origin), and unfortunately rather expensive…not surprising as each candy is still cut and wrapped by hand! If you like Earl Grey you will likely find these to your taste. Should you ever have a chance to visit Nancy, do so, it is a fascinating small city that was the center of Art nouveau. Lorraine has a rather hybrid cuisine and some delicious specialities…mirabelle plums (in tarts and brandies), traditional cheeses, Lorraine potee, and of course quiche Lorraine.
I have been searching for a bergamot tree for a while, but no luck yet.
Kurzhaar: you are in California? You can try Four Winds Growers. They are based in California and have outlets in San Joaquin among others. You can also order your BERGAMOT ORANGE TREE on line. I hope that helps!
Hi betty q
No…am originally from CA and consider it home but have been based in the northeast for the past couple of years. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check them out! If I can get one here, it’ll live part of the year indoors together with my potted Thai lime tree. Boy, do I miss California citrus!
Whoa….you have an indoor Makrut Lime tree?!? Lucky!!!!
MM your macaron articles finally got me to try making some of these lovely macarons. It was a success trying to make rasberry macarons in a deep rose petal color. It turned out very beautiful. I love Laduree the most. I wouldn’t have tried it out if not for all these lovely photos you made. You said in an earlier article that you would not make these. I suggest you do coz i was jumping up and down when the first 2 trays came out of the oven.
Yes, my lime tree is potted…has to be, or it would never survive winters here (although I’m told the Thai lime is the most cold hardy of the limes). It has flowered but never fruited. I mainly use the leaves for cooking.
If I get a bergamot, it will be indoors during part of the year as well.
BettyQ: Thanks again for your leads. What is the name of the company that sells the flavoring compound and where you get them. Thanks a million.
Betty Q: Thanks for the suggestion about the compounds. I don’t know where I can find them though. I don’t know any baking supply store here in Los Angeles but the baking supply store in Indiana where I order Callebaut chocolate might have it though I’d rather not pay shipping. With pistachio, I can just grind raw pistachios. Wouldn’t that taste better than the compound? With raspberry though and other fruits, it’s best to use compound because adding liquid would ruin the macaron batter.
Teresa: I remembered I was jumping up and down too and even shouting when my 2nd try at macarons came out of the oven. I think I will make raspberry macarons too pretty soon while raspberries are in season. I just love raspberries on anything but most of all I love snacking on them specially the now that they are sweet.
Lilibeth: Surfas store in Culver City sells everything. Google Surfas and see if you find the store interesting to you. I am still awaiting BettyQ’s input on this as I am sure it is a very good compound.
Maria Clara: Thank you so much for the info. I didn’t know that Surfas has a store in Culver city which is very near ( 8 miles) where I work here in El Segundo. I’ve read about it in a blog and I have checked their site for Callebaut white chocolate but their price was higher than Country Kitchen in Indiana and I thought it was just an online store. To make a long story short, if I factor in the shipping and handling I paid Country Kitchen for 8 lbs. of Callebaut white chocolate, it came out to the same price as Surfas. I feel bad because I actually needed only 2 lbs. but had to maximize the shipping charge. I could have just gone to Surfas and bought exactly what I needed which would have saved me the trouble of storing the chocolates (I don’t have space in the fridge so I tried to look for a cool place in the house) which seem to melt really fast with our summer weather. I checked out their website and they even have the cocoa butter that I need for the cake I’m baking this weekend! I have actually google searched where I can buy cocoa butter here but their store never came out. They also have Valrhona chocolate and they are cheaper than Whole Foods. They also have packaging materials for baked goodies which I love to give to friends for Christmas. Now I know where to get my baking supplies. Well, next time, I’ll remember to ask you first. Thank you so much for the precious information!
Lilibeth, you can also try http://www.qzina.com They have an office in Los Angeles.
MC, Lilibeth, Artisan: Oh, guys…wait till you go this website! It is like a toystore ..instead of toys…baking supplies! …from compounds to chocolate…couverture, nibs, emulsions, etc, etc. etc. LENTIA ENTERPRISES…they have more compounds than the others. Remember they are a wholesaler. NOw, another drawback is quantity….say for instance MC, you want pistachio. It comes 1 kg. but 6 to a case. So, I would suggest pooling your resources together like Lilibeth, Ted, Alilay and 2 more people and split 1 case. But I think they have sample cases as well! I bought a sample case before with different compounds in a case.
Artisan, MC: another site is Ravensbergen: not much compounds as Lentia but equally good! Compounds, Lilibeth are derived from NATURAL flavours…more of a concentrate though. You will like the flvour it imparts!Say for instance, RUM …if you addd alcohol to your meringue, it will thin it out and become too watery. Compounds on the other hand are thick but not too pasty. A little goes a along way!
Now, MC: if you have a problem getting pistachio, I will mail you 1 one of these days when I get the chance to go out!
BettyQ and Artisan Chocolatier: Thanks for the patches. Now I know where to go for my supplies. BettyQ, thanks to your generous offer as usual and customary. No need to send me the pistachio. You broadening my limited knowledge is good enough for me and you are always here to answer my never ending inquiries. BettyQ: you are source of everything. Yes, it make a lot of sense using compounds as opposed to the real thing for moisture control especially their delicate use in macarons. Just one drop of liquid will ruin a batch of the heavenly goodies.
Artisan BettyQ: Thanks for all the useful information. Qzina, Lentia and Ravensbergen are bakers’ paradise too although they only sell wholesale. Thanks BettyQ for the info on compounds. It is surely the right way to flavor the basic macaron itself and not just the filling. I normally just use the basic macaron and just use different flavors for the filling.
As far I remember, Qzina was more accomodating and is not strict about getting an entire box of one kind of ingredient. I use to get a jar each of flavor compound or a block (or a bag of pistoles) of callabaut chocolate shipped (or picked up) to me. Just give them a call.
I’ve enjoyed reading your series of posts on macarons as I love these (and reading them backwards). Thanks for posting!
Artisan: Thanks for informing me. I’ll definitely call. The location is very convenient since it’s near my place – Burbank.
Has anyone tried Albert Ulster Imports? They ship immediately and I have never had a problem ordering from them. They have the best ready to use fondant.
Sister, yes, I get my whip cream stabilizer from them. They have the best whip cream stabilizer. Another reliable place I like is lepicerie.com located in Brooklyn but no front store only online service. They carry the best fruit paste and sells to amateur bakers like myself.
I second Sister’s recommendation of Albert Ulster. Funny, I forget about them, when I still get regular email from them…must be my aging….hehehe
Rose Levy Beranbaum mentions Albert Uster Imports for ingredients in the Cake Bible.
Artisan, Bud!!!..mwahahaha! I just sent an e-mail to TEd and Maria Clara…have the macaron bug yet, AC?
Now, can anyone tell me what the macaron places have there for flavours?
AC: here’s is BETTY Q’S PINOY MACARON flavours. I just so looooooove anything with langka in it! So, ..My top flavour here at home is Cashew-Langka macaron…cashew meal with the meringue and Langka Buttercream, So up the notch….make Langka Creme Brulee…your macaron will be beyond description!
second Flavour in my book…Pili-Caramel: Pili meal on the meringue and dulce de leche filling…but I make my own pecan-caramel filling with browned butter. I will post it as soon as my carapl tunnel goes away!
Coffee-Mangosteen!…espresso powder withe meringue and MOCHA buttercream with mangosteen for the filling
Sapin=Sapin Macaron…mwahahaha….vanilla bean (so you have specks)…then coconut layer (thinly), then Langka and toppped with thin layer of Ube buttercream!
Mango…vanilla bean in the meringue with Mango Creme Brulee filling!
I can go on and on and on but my fingers are really getting numb!
Now, I know that some people cannot stand DURIAN! But I found out the using FROZEN DURIAN somehow makes anything I incorporate it in more palatable and the flavour is mellow. trouble is, I always eat it before I get the chance to make it into DADD_F’s Durian Cake! So, I think Durian macaron will be totally out of this world!
So, Marisse…..to the kitchen!
BettyQ…Ooooohhhhhhhh…….My wife will loooooooove me more if i start making Durian Macarons!!!! hahahahaha.
The Cashew-Langka and Coffee-Mangosteen sound awesome!!
Its funny that when we were living outside the country, we think of all this local exotic fruits, but now that we’re here, we forget about them and think more about the exotic foreign flavors.
I’ve been making the macarons for home consumption so far.
BettyQ: thanks again for sharing your Filipino classic macaron flavors. Yes, langka is really good I can eat it fresh without any enhancer. With your suggestions it will bring out the langka flavor to par. With all this going around the world – the US rising unemployment rates, North Korea threatens missile attacks, unrest and deaths in Iran, the deaths of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson – both rest in peace. Macaron making will lift up my sagging morale and spirit and with your input it will be a delight to make them!
Oh, yes, Artisan! I am so glad that I am the ONLY one at home who cares for frozen Durian. it is soooooo good eating it frozen….like ice cream! This time I am going to makethis Durian macaron. I bought 2 frozen durians since I know I am going to eat 1. Artisan, I know you are in the Land of Durian or is it Davao? Anyway, have you tried freezing it and then eating it frozen?
Oh, MC. I found Langka chips at the Vietnamese store! I am also going to pulverize it and add this again to the Cashew-Langka macaron this week-end…also made the caramel filling with the browned butter…the one I e-mailed to you a while back! I can’t stop eating it with pan de sal. I already set aside a container for the Butter Pecan-Caramel macaron…don’t have Pili nuts over here.
BettyQ…I’m in Cebu. But yes, have had frozen durian several times. Honestly, frozen is how I can only take them!! My wife and mother-in-law however, like them fresh.
Your macaron flavors sound delicious and I will try it as soon as I get over my grief over Michael Jackson’s death. I am devastated right now since I was hoping he’d have a concert here in LA after his concerts in London and was actually dreaming about it. I have watched his concert only once. I just don’t have the enthusiasm to bake right now and all I want to do is go to UCLA or Hollywood where the fans have converged but it’s too crowded. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Hey AC: OMG! The Durian macaron …really beyond description!!!! It can be your signature flavour…that as well as the Cashew-Langka. I found durian chips at the Vietnamese store and I pulverized it. …added frozen durian to Sans Rival buttercream and ayyayayay…it is soooooo good! But the boys still prefer the Cashew-Langka macaron…that is our household signature flavour!
You are absolutely right…it makes me wonder too, why in the world people prefer those exotic “foreign” flavours when my Caucasian friends prefer our tropical fruits!
AC, MC, ECC and Connie C!!! (hoy, lahat kayo may C!!!)
Another home run flavour: just finished now…Choco-Banana macaron…masaaaaarap!!!!…cocoa macaron with choco-banana filling. This time I used the pastry cream I have leftover from eclairs…added ganache and banana compound. The pastry cream I used…custard powder mixed with milk and allowed to set and folded whipped cream into it with vanilla.
This is so exciting…coming up with all these flavours!
Ok BettyQ, I’ll make macarons next week
hey guys, where could I buy ready made or ready to use fondant here in Metro manila? Im actually looking for one. help me! thanks :)
the macarons looks so yummy :D