I have to be completely honest here, I never ever understood the fascination with macarons. Like cupcakes, and cake pops, the macaron started as a food fad that eventually produced a loyal following. And while the little meringue-like cookies have appealed to many sweet lovers the world over, the small confection never appealed to me. I could not understand what was it about the cookie that everybody thought was so great. It just tasted boring to me. The bright colors just seemed like a great big tease, because when I bit into one I was not satisfied. It’s like the macaron was saying “eat me! I promise the sweet satisfaction will be worth the endless calories!” And even though you’re thinking “wait a minute- aren’t you just a meringue based cookie?” the macaron looks at you playfully and says “Just look at me- I’m bright! I’m pink, or green, and sometimes I’m yellow or purple! How could I not be exciting? An adventure in flavors!” So you concede, and then you find yourself disappointed. The macaron fooled you again- it’s just egg and flour stuffed with jam or some other nonsense.
I had officially given up on the macaron. To me it was just some hoity toity sweet that rich people raved about because they had no taste and it was French. And then I made my annual stop to
Panya. And let me tell you- macarons are the sweet of the future. Or at least- they’re the sweet in my immediate future.
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| as interesting as the white chocolate bacon sounds, skip this and grab their passion chocolate macron |
With flavors like White Chocolate Bacon, Chocolate and Passion Fruit, Cassis, and the standard Raspberry, Chocolate and Green Tea flavors (what’s that you say? Green Tea isn’t the standard? Gasp!)-
Panya has been successful in turning this macaron skeptic into a full on macaron pusher. The conversion all started with the two-toned Chocolate and Passion Fruit macaron.
Sandwiched between a chocolate and vanilla macaron wafer lies the secret to
Panya’s success- meticulously placed passion fruit ganache. To say it was amazing would be robbing the little treat (and its maker) of proper credit. Reminiscent of Jaque Torres’ white chocolate Love Bug chocolate, the Chocolate Passion Fruit Macaron brings decadence to a whole new sweet level- and I never want to go back. So for those of you who have had a few bad experiences with macarons (I’m talking about a mouthful of sugar), don’t give up yet!
Panya now has redemption for our taste buds and our macaron disappointment. But act fast-
Panya is known to change items on their menu regularly, and this one should not be missed!
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| Congradulations Chef Shirakawa- keep up the yummy work! |
If you want to know how to contact or get to Panya Bakery see my previous
article, and/or the
Directory (above).
I have to be completely honest here, I never ever understood the fascination with macarons. Like cupcakes, and cake pops, the macaron started as a food fad that eventually produced a loyal following. And while the little meringue-like cookies have appealed to many sweet lovers the world over, the small confection never appealed to me. I could not understand what was it about the cookie that everybody thought was so great. It just tasted boring to me. The bright colors just seemed like a great big tease, because when I bit into one I was not satisfied. It’s like the macaron was saying “eat me! I promise the sweet satisfaction will be worth the endless calories!” And even though you’re thinking “wait a minute- aren’t you just a meringue based cookie?” the macaron looks at you playfully and says “Just look at me- I’m bright! I’m pink, or green, and sometimes I’m yellow or purple! How could I not be exciting? An adventure in flavors!” So you concede, and then you find yourself disappointed. The macaron fooled you again- it’s just egg and flour stuffed with jam or some other nonsense.
