You can Trick or Treat at Bon Macaron this year! This is just a quick post to let you know that tiny ghouls, princesses, tigers etc.—age 12 and under—can come in for a free macaron all day on October 31st, in any of our three locations in Victoria, Kitisilano and Granville Island. And adults in costume will be treated to an extra macaron with every 6 Pack they purchase! First come first serve—quantities are generous but not unlimited. Little critters must be accompanied by a grown up critter. Happy Haunting! We can’t wait to see some costumes :)
Fun
National Dessert Day
recipes
It's National Dessert Day! We of course, personally, feel there is NO BETTER dessert than the lovely macaron. (They are an especially great, virtually weightless dessert if you, like some of us (ahem), are still feel full from Thanksgiving! )
However, when it comes to other kinds of desserts, few people do them quite like Mimi Thorisson. We first introduced you to her blog Manger a few months back, but honestly it's worth a second look—today of all days :) So here's another round of her absolutely stunning recipes.
Flavour Profile: Carrot Cake
Flavours, Macarons, Newest
"First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes." And THEN he ate some Carrot Cake Macarons!
Doesn’t this fall-ish air smell wonderful?? We’re kicking off root vegetable season with some Carrot Cake Macarons. As with the cake we’ve used real bits of carrot throughout, and we’ve whipped up a cream cheese frosting filling. We think even Peter Rabbit would approve! The mischievous bunny is well over 100 years old now—he was created in 1893 by Beatrix Potter, in a letter she wrote to cheer up a young boy who was ill. So sweet! Peter Rabbit has since made an appearance on everything from spoons to television specials, but the little book itself will never lose its magic.
Flavour Profile: Cotton Candy
Flavours, Newest
Aren't these beautiful!! If we do say so ourselves... Hot on the heels of our Bubble Gum Macarons, we're keeping things super sweet this weekend, with Cotton Candy Macarons! Time for a fun food fact: the machine spun cotton candy we know today was apparently created by a dentist. It hit the scene at the 1904 world fair, where it was called "Fairy Floss". Cute! (Spun sugar, though, dates to as far back as sometime in the Italian 15th century.) This seems like the perfect time to share some work from American artist: Will Cotton.
Vancouver Opening Party
Local
Dear Friends,
It’s a big day for us! We’re celebrating the opening of our brand new patisserie—located in Vancouver’s beautiful Kitsilano—with a little party… a little party that will feature free sampling of over 50 different kinds of macarons! If you’re in Vancouver this evening, please join as at 2823 West Broadway between 6pm and 10pm. It you can’t make it, score a few brownie points by tipping off friends and loved ones. :)
The Facebook event is here. We'd love to see you.
P.S. Don't worry—our Victoria location will remain open for business as usual!
Flavour Profile: Rhubarb
Flavours, Newest
Happy Friday! This weekend you get to sink your teeth into some slightly tart and lightly sweet Rhubarb Macarons! Rhubarb just seems like the essence of warm, relaxed summer gardens these days, but way back in the murky depths of time it was a *very* hot commodity. A C.1404 report from a Spanish ambassador stationed in Timur claimed: "The best of all merchandise coming to Samarkand was from China: especially silks, satins, musk, rubies, diamonds, pearls, and rhubarb..." (Our emphasis.) So don't underestimate the value of these macarons! ;) We'll leave you with one more awesome rhubarb-related fact: traditionally, when British stage and film actors needed to simulate the sound of background chatter they would all repeat the word 'rhubarb' over and over again—and sometimes someone would punctuate things by saying 'custard'! Just picture everyone running around the stage of London's Globe Theatre all, "Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb"
Enjoy the long weekend :)
Flavour Profile: Very Berry
Flavours, Newest
We were *just* talking about how macarons are like art, and our in-house macaron artistes have done it again. How lovely are these Very Berry Macarons?? They are blueberry, raspberry and strawberry, all tumbled into one delicious morsel. And, AND our new marshmallow flavour is pineapple. All in all, there's practically too much mouthwatering delectable goodness in the shop to handle. Come help!
Art & Macarons
Local, Macarons
The Moss Street TD Art Gallery Paint-In is happening today! All that art takes us back to last fall, when this Mona Lisa macaron masterpiece graced our Broad St. patisserie window.
Macarons really are a very creative medium! There are the endless flavours, of course, but there are also endless possibilities for colour and embellishment. Decorating is always a really popular part of our Macaron Classes. The student below is painting a crimson detail on Peanut Butter and Jam Macarons—that she just finished making!
On that note, we seriously have to commend the blog Sugar & Cloth—founder Ashley Rose from Houston Texas does some amazing things with macarons, many of which involve edible food colour pens. Take, for example, these DIY Abstract Art Macarons, made with said pens. What a cool project to do with kids... or with any group friends... or on one's own with some good music and a glass of wine or two... Our Vanilla Macarons would make the perfect blank canvas :)
Enjoy the art today! And if you're passing through downtown, pop in and see us for some edible creativity.
Bastille Day Crème Brûlée Macarons
Flavours, Newest
Happy Bastille Day! We've made you a big, beautiful batch of red, white and blue crème brûlée macarons. (Yes, we said crème brûlée :D)Celebrated every 14th of July since 1880, Bastille Day commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille, and the start of the French Revolution. It's like Canada Day, but French. Celebrated by French expats and Francophiles around the world, Bastille Day also means you get to wear stripes and/or a beret, and eat all the macarons you want, all day. Those are the Official Rules! ;)
Recommended Read: Manger Blog
recipes
For the love of food things and French things... we had to share this blog with you. A few years back Mimi Thorisson moved with her husband and tiny kidlets from Paris to Medoc, deep in the countryside of France. And she started to cook a lot. Like, a LOT. Meanwhile, her photographer husband Oddur Thorisson was capturing it all. So what happens when you take brilliant photography, a lovely old farmhouse, gorgeous land, impossibly cute kids, truly wonderful food and some warm and heartfelt writing?? You get Manger! Fair warning: be prepared for a *bit* of lifestyle envy.
We picked out a few incredible dessert recipes for you, but she does the whole food gamut, from mollusks to blancmange. (Actually she doesn't seem to have done blancmange, but you get the picture.) She also has a fantastic looking cookbook: A KITCHEN IN FRANCE, A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse .
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! (You'll still come visit our little blog sometimes, though... right??)
A Few Desserts from Manger
GARDEN CAKE
All images by Oddur Thorisson.
Flavour Profile: Daiquiri
Newest
This means lime and rum, friends. What better way to celebrate a long weekend??
The world’s most famous daiquiri aficionado is non other than legendary booze hound and genius author, Mr. Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway spent a lot of his life in Cuba, and when he was there he could often be found at one particular little bar, chain drinking daiquiris—his record was apparently sixteen in one night! That bar is still in Havana. Now called El Floridita, it opened in 1817 under the name The Silver Pineapple (“La Piña de Plata”). (Best name ever.) We’d of course advise moderation with both your drinks and your desserts, but should you accidentally consume sixteen daiquiri macarons in a row (happens to the best of us!) we’re pretty sure you’ll still be in better shape than Hemingway was that legendary night! A toast to long weekends with long, relaxed days, and, if you’re in the mood, long, sociable nights. Enjoy.
Celebrate Mother's Day with Raspberry-Rose, Strawberry-Rhubarb & Champagne!
Flavours, Macarons, Newest
Mother's Day is Sunday! And we have a really special treat for Victoria's wonderful mothers: Very pretty gift packages that include an "I love you, Mom" Champagne Macaron, a "Rose" Raspberry-Rose Macaron, and a great big Strawberry Rhubarb flower-shaped Macaron! (If you happen to be one of Victoria's wonderful mothers, you can simply send the link for this post to your loved ones for handy gift-finding reference. ;) )
Easter Macaron Hunt
Macarons
Happy Easter!
We were thinking our lovely, cellophane-wrapped bundles of Easter-y deliciousness would be perfect for a (typically) damp, West Coast easter egg hunt, so we decided to test our theory. We're really glad we did, there are so many flowers in Beacon Hill Park right now!! It’s definitely worth a visit this weekend. And we have to say we were right, our macaron chicks with their mini-macaron ‘eggs’ fit in perfectly : ) We took some pictures so you can go on a virtual Easter Macaron Hunt—and maybe get inspired to create your own hunt!
The macaron chicks are Mini Egg flavoured, and the tiny macarons are Peach Melba, Lavender, Pistachio, Yuzu, Strawberry & Champagne and Salted Caramel. They nestle beautifully into baskets, perch fetchingly on brunch tables, and hide beguilingly under garden flowers. We're open our normal hours all weekend (Mon - Sat: 10:00 am - 6:00pm; Sun: 11:00 am - 5:00pm) so you can come in and pick some up whenever's most convenient for you!
Meanwhile, back at the farm...
