Ladurée

Who loves Ladurée?  Well, if you don’t know what Ladurée is, you won’t have to book an international flight to Paris  to find out.   The Parisian confectioner has found an American home in Manhattan’s upper East Side, their doors open tomorrow, August 27th, 2011, at 864 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10021.  Ladurée is know for their decadent and colorful macaron’s.  If you have never had a macaron it is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency.  The original macaron was a “small sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds,  similar to Italian or Moroccan amaretti.

There are different ways to spell macaron; the English word macaroon and French macaron come from the Italian maccarone or maccherone.  This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient.  Most macaron recipes call for egg whites (usually whipped into stiff peaks), with ground or powdered nuts, generally almonds.  Alternatively, coconuts can be used.  Almost all macarons call for sugar!

If you haven’t had a chance to try a macaron or one of Ladurée’s macarons than you better skip over to Madison Avenue Saturday morning and sink your teeth into one!

Happy Firday!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

 

Note: These pictures are not the property of Fashionably Living