Could macarons be the new cupcake? (Part Two)

We feel that in order to properly make this post we must tell you the story of Ladurée. Many are familiar with this Parisian patisserie, but there really is an amazing story that explains the transformation of this bakery, founded by Louis-Ernest Ladurée, to the world-wide known patisserie extraordinaire that it is today. As we explained in our last post, the macaron came to France in the 16th century from Italy by way of Queen Catherine de' Medici as the unfilled version of the cookie. They were even said to be served at her wedding to Henry II. Believe it or not, the recipe has hardly varied to this day. It was Ladurée’s grandson who came up with the noble idea of a double decker macaron, stacking two macaron cookies together and filling them with rich chocolate ganache. And “Voila!”... the macaron we know today! So thank you Pierre Desfontaines; we pay homage to you! With each season Laudree pays tribute to its famous macaron and presents the public with a new flavour. The Ladurée macarons, all lined up in their spectacular color range, is truly a sight to behold! If you are familiar with Ladurée, you are familiar with the gorgeous celadon green which has become its trademark color. It has been part of the patisserie for over a century! Almost 10 years after the first bakery opened in 1862, it burnt to the ground during the Paris Commune uprising. A new pastry shop was constructed on the premises and Jules Chéret, credited with interior design of the new shop, used that very celadon color to paint the interior walls.

Ladurée on Champs Elysées (Laduree.com)

Ladurée at Harrods in London (Laduree.com)

Ladurée in Nagoya (Laduree.com)

suchprettythings.com

o´holysweet! from Flickr

If you can’t go to Paris to see all of Ladurée’s mouth watering pastries, Marie Antoinette, the movie directed by Sofia Coppola, can give you a glimpse into the perfect confectionary dream world of Ladurée! All of the delectable pastries you will see in the film were made by Ladurée. Yes, even those gorgeous macarons! Here are a few images to tempt you into seeing it, or to taking that long sought-after trip to Paris!







All photos from Marie Antoinette, the film (2nd down casasugar.com)

Well, if by now you are intrigued with the French Macron, stay tuned for Part 3! In the coming weeks, we will do a step by step tutorial on how to make these delicious little treasures!