The Macarons of La Maison du Chocolat (2nd of 6 Macaron Posts)

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The theme of the majority of flavors at La Maison du Chocolat’s macaron offerings not surprisingly focus on chocolate or some variation of chocolate. I think this was a smart move. With so many delicious macarons in Paris, it would be foolish to go “head-to-head” with other places. Their dark chocolate macaron was superb, and so was the LARGE macaron version that is roughly 3 inches in diameter. We also tried their vanilla with chocolate filling, raspberry with chocolate, mocha, chocolate, and a couple of other flavors.

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Smaller in size than the Fauchon ones, we found these to have good flavor but they just didn’t seem to leave as good an impression as other macarons we tried. They also seemed a bit messier looking (not that that will affect taste, it’s a quibble) and while good, not the pinnacle of macarons. Against a very tough set of “opponents” I would rate these a 8.0-8.5/10.0, just slightly below the Fauchon ones.

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Don’t get me wrong. These weren’t bad, just not as good as some of the others we tried on the same trip. And yes, we did eat them within a few hours of buying them, so I don’t think it was an age issue at all. In fact, in almost all cases, we tried to buy the macarons as freshly made as possible, and hitting the stores in the morning was always a good strategy overall…

Related posts:
The Macarons at Fauchon

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12 Responses

  1. i’ve been craving for this since last month. and i also wanted to try making these cuties but i don’t have ground almonds :( maybe it’s time for me to buy those too! mmhm :D

  2. I have not attempted a side by side taste testing of macarons being too mindful of my pancreas and conscience. Although a rainbow of exotic flavors have proliferated over the last few years in the macaron firmament, I have always preferred Monsieur Linxe’s chocolate and caramel versions. Something in the basic bitter flavor of chocolate and of caramel (which after all is just burnt sugar) mitigate the walloping proportion of sugar required to achieve its structure and consistency (croustillant and moelleux at the same time). Having breached the threshold of any of the Maison du Chocolat branches, I usually scan the display for the freshest looking on offer and more often than not end up picking a few petit gateaux which I delude myself into thinking are less loaded with sugar.

    It was a home run at first bat trying the recipe recommended by Maria Clara and Lilibeth but unless I find a recipe that requires a lot less sugar, I am not going to do it again. Instead I shall stick with amaretti cookies which rely on the same list of ingredients though with a drastically altered proportion of ground almonds to sugar. Each bite of the ones studded with pine nuts transport me near nirvana. If they not be as soigné as French macaron, they will at least leave me be a bit more soigné if not quick and living.

  3. nothing beats the chocolates at maison dc. and nothing beats the macarons from fauchon. i wonder if you’ll come to the same conclusion after this taste test?

  4. MM, Can’t wait to read the rest of your Macaron post and your verdict as to which of them is the best!

  5. I still think Macarons from Pierre Herme are the best!..Laduree comes in an very close second for me. La Maison has great truffles (and their hot chocolate too) and I still crave for the eclairs from Fauchon. Yummy!

  6. I’ve had Fauchon macarons and while they were very good, I honestly can’t say that I would rave madly about them over and above other macarons I’ve tasted (including those I’ve made myself :-) ).

    Now the macarons I would wax poetic about (and which I repeatedly craved for while I was in Paris) are the pistachio macarons of PAUL boulangerie. They are thick, huge in diameter (about 2.5 to 3 inches), chockful of grainy pistachios (not finely ground), and VERY chewy. Beside the smooth perfect delicate macarons of Fauchon, Paul’s macarons can only be described as ‘manly’, chunky, generous, substantial in mass, texture, and flavor. For me, Paul’s macarons are the hands-down winner. Paired with their rich thick hot chocolate, a Paul macaron can sweep me up into a warm feeling of bien être and I can even momentarily forgive the French their occasional transgressions. :-)

  7. I think I have pedestrian taste … I preferred my cheapo macarons from Picard to the ones I got at Pierre Herme. =)

  8. i don’t mind to taste any of those macarons..i am actually slobbering right now..lol

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