This post is brought to you by a lazy afternoon on the couch one Saturday in Paris. I will admit right here that when I am in Paris, on my own, and pottering around the apartment, I will often have the TV on in the background. I like hearing French that is not the French of my classroom and I find that especially in the first few days of being back in France, my ear needs to re-attune itself to le vrai français. This year, I got a little hooked on Cuisine.TV. Nothing like as slick as the Food Network, I found it sometimes downright homey in the shows it aired. Some of the shows look like they are just filmed in someone’s kitchen and they are literally that: someone cooking a dish. Nothing fancy, just the basics. “La Cuisine 100% Vidéo”, as they state in their tagline.
One programme I quite enjoyed was “Les Coups d’Food de Farida” (a play on coup de foudre meaning “love at first sight”) where the host, Farida, seeks out “les bonnes adresses” for all sorts of foods (shops, restaurants, pâtisseries etc…) and does a quick interview with the owners and then makes a related recipe. Short and sweet, I scribbled down a lot of addresses to check out whilst I was watching this show! On this particular Saturday afternoon, I was sort of dozing, sort of watching when all of a sudden, I heard the words “macarons craquelés” and looked up to see what looked like one of my, shall we say, not so successful macarons (i.e. no feet, cracked on top). Farida was checking out Aurore Capucine, a tiny pâtisserie in the 9th arrondissement where these seemed to be a big thing. Wait, what? Someone selling these and having a name for themselves? I knew I had to make it my business to head up to Aurore Capucine which I did just before heading out of Paris at the end of July. Cathy, who joined us in Alsace and Bourgogne, had one night to spend in Paris before we headed out en vacances so I suggested that forced her to come with me…
It’s a tiny, unassuming pâtisserie not far from Cadet métro.
But oh such wondrous sights to behold…
And look, look:
The famous macarons craquelés. Adorable French handwritten signs and all…
And all sorts of other baked goods and pastries, brightly coloured, often flavoured with fruit extracts…
How about a savoury shortbread – basil…
Or what about Niçoise olive flavour?
And what did we bring home?
Why some macarons craquelés, of course!
Bearing a resemblance to macarons classiques only in that they share similar ingredients, the texture of these cookies are a testament to the totally different techniques used to bake them. I *do* have a recipe which I will share at some point soon on the blog. For now, I will tell you they are much more like decadently filled brownie cookies. Kind of shortbready, kind of moelleux (soft, chewy). Nothing like a macaron once it hits your mouth, but utterly delicious nonetheless… We tasted violet, fleur d’oranger and chocolate. So unique.
We, ahem, bought a few. And a couple of other sundry sablés (shortbreads) – pistachio and geranium…
We enjoyed these for a number of days and, in fact, a few of them travelled to Alsace with us where they were enjoyed in the sun on the balcony with a cup of tea. I personally loved their clumsy elegance. The textures of the macarons craquelés intrigued me. I hope I to be able to replicate them myself. Otherwise, I might need another trip to Paris, recherche oblige…
Aurore Capucine
3 rue Rochechouart,
75009 Paris, France
+33 1 48 78 16 20
Check out my Summer 2011 Flickr set for more photos from my travels this summer.
Live in Toronto? Want to learn to make macarons. Avec moi? Check out my post and free class giveaway from Le Dolci here.
Nobody does it like the French, for sure!
C’est vrai!
Indeed a wondrous sight of beautiful sweets. All these Paris posts are making me yearn to travel again.
🙂 One day Penny you will get to Paris!
what a colorful tasting plate above ! i love it. and already bookmarked your page here for my next trip to paris in the fall. only, i have a question… did you say “we enjoyed these for a number of days…” ?? i’m just trying to figure out how that’s possible. for me, they wouldn’t have made it to the end of my photo shoot ! 😉
great post ! can’t wait to visit. i have my list all ready – sablé café, coque de noix de coco and plenty of macarons craquelés !! “clumsy elegance” – perfect description. and i also love their handwritten labels. smart – this way i won’t have to bug them there, “c’est quoi ça ? et ça ? et ça là…? =)
Yes I appreciated that too!
Great post. I am particularly enamored with the coque de noix de coco. Look forward to the macaron recipe.
They look wonderful…another address to add to my lengthening list of places to visit on my next visit to Paris, sometime in the future. Merci!
Yup, my list continues to grow too!
Everything looks some nice. I am visiting my daughter in England next week and hope to get to France for a short visit.
Oh lucky you to be in Europe!
I love all the colours!
They are just lovely aren’t they?
WHAT A WONDERFUL Slice of Life POST!!!
Keep these coming. Gonna be a long time before I get back to Paris, I just adore the images!
Cheers!
Ok, I am SUPER jealous right now. Those macarons look incredible! Heck, everything in that patisserie looks incredible!
It was hard to choose just a few things!
I love French desserts but somehow their names makes them sound like they are so difficult to make. I have this fear of failing …
They sound much fancier than they actually are!
I’m so intrigued by these, I hope you share your recipe soon for I’d like to try making them myself (the closest I’d get besides going to Paris). I’m thinking these are easier since there are no fussy feet to deal with. Thanks for sharing.
As soon as I get settled back in my routine, these will be the first thing I experiment with!
I love the way the French patisserie packages your purchases. So chic and beautiful. They used the same pretty pink ribbon when we were in Provence.
Sam
So rustic!
How bizarre? I just put on 2 kilos reading this post….
😉
Have you every had a whoopie pie cookie (I haven’t) but they look similar to these macs.
Lovely post Mardi and I love the shot of the exterior of the patissier
I think the texture of whoopie pies is different…
Wow! You cannot look at this and not want to eat it all up. Great photos!
Totally!
Love this post, Mardi! These photos are beautiful and it has been thinking about a trip to Paris to see all the gorgeous shops!
Thanks Mike!
We’re going on our first trip to Paris next summer…I think I should just print off your whole blog!!!!
Oh do let me know when and I would love to help you plan a few things! I might even be there next summer too!
the colors of the different sweets are so vibrant and pretty!
Stunning, right?
I love it when natural, unexpected flavors are used in foods.
Yes aren’t they gorgeous?
Beautiful photos! I’ve really loved your photos this summer… Fantastic!
Thanks so much Jen!
I’m with Kerrin, this is now bookmarked and on my list for my next trip to Paris – which unfortunately won’t come around soon enough. I just love your description of these – like decadently filled brownie cookies. You have me hooked!
It is a MUST try!
You’ve probably heard that a lot lately but I’ll say it too: do you have an idea of how much I envy you for being in Paris??? Have fun! The opposite is not possible there 🙂
Thanks – I work hard to make sure I get my Paris fix every year!
Wow! This bakery sounds amazing! I love the hand written signs – makes it all look even more hand made. I need to go to Paris!
Yes isn’t the French writing adorable!?
Oh, I can’t wait to go to Paris…