Laduree Inspired Photo shoot

As you may know by now we are completely inspired by all things French, sweet and beautiful! So when all of those things came together in one photo shoot for a spread in Wedding Style Guide, we were pretty much swooning! Laduree is known for its delectable French pastries, colorful macarons and for the gorgeous celadon green and other soft pastel colored packaging that has become a signature for their brand.

How lovely is that place setting with the blue and white polka dot plates with gold rimming, covered by a soft, dainty pink napkin. We love, love the croquembouche, which is a traditional French wedding cake set atop the pastel glass pedestal and the pink and blue macarons flowing out of a coordinating mini dish. There are some amazing ideas her for a charming yet elegant bridal shower too!

Photography via Wedding Style Guide

Beautiful Paris Inspired Party

We are throwing my twin girls a "Springtime in Paris" party this May for their third birthday. We came across this amazing party inspiration a few months ago and we just knew we had to share it with you! It is from an issue of Marie Claire Idées.

These fabulous cakes are from Lenotre, Laduree and Fauchon. The amazing quilt is from Le Bon Marché and the cake appliqués are by Héléne Le Berre.

The dots on this slipcover were hand-painted and the cake is a printed textile swatch that was sewn on. The boxes are from Laduree. Aren't the colors just perfect!

These hanging sweets are cardboard cutouts that were hand-painted and hung from silk ribbon. These just add such a sweet yet elegant touch!

These are inexpensive white dessert plates that were hand-painted. They are so beautiful placed on the larger gold plates!

These little knife rests (and other pastries) are made out of fimo dough, and then hand-painted.

All pictures Marie Claire Idées via parisianevents.com

What great inspiration for a Paris themed party!!!

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!

Could macarons be the new cupcake? (Part One)

So we're sure by now you have heard all the buzz about the macaron (or gerbet), not to be confused with a macaroon! These predominantly French confections, although born in Italy, were made popular by the amazingly elegant Laduree in Paris on the prestigious Avenue of Champs-Elysées. These delicate and not easily made meringue like cookies are airy and creamy with a lightly crisp crust that houses amazing fillings like buttercream, jams or rich ganache. Although the ingredient list for making macarons is quite simple, it is the process of making them that needs to be perfected. If the batter is too runny, they will spread and not have a perfectly puffed up exterior, and if the batter is too thick the tops of the cookies will crack. Americans are starting to catch on to these airy delights. However, real French Macarons can really only be bought in specialty pastry shops and are still hard to find made perfectly. Each pastry chef has his or her own secrets to making the perfect macaron. Kellie and I have a slight obsession for macarons, but luckily I did go to a French Culinary school and know how to make them...so we can indulge whenever we please...wink, wink!

Photo credits: tastecrumb.com

Considering our love for them, we HAD to create invitations, cards, cupcake flags and gift tags featuring the French Macaron! These are all available on our Etsy site!

Part Two Coming Soon!!! Stay Tuned!!