The Flavors of Autumn

Dear Friends,
In case you hadn't guessed before, the pastry houses of Paris are basically the edible version of the houses of couture (and yes, they do refer to themselves as "houses", just like Chanel and Christian Dior)! Each of the best patisseries have their new creations for each season and most of the flavors take their cue from the seasons. The Houses of Dalloyau, Pierre Herme and Laduree have named their flavors of the season and of course I love bringing that news to you!

Recently, The House of Dallayou announced its new macaron flavors for fall, Opera and Myrtille. The Opera is a delicious combination of chocolate and coffee and Myrtille is blueberry. The macaron is a re-creation of their own pastry classic. Dalloyau was the originator of the Opera cake in 1955, named for the Paris Opera. It is a delicious combination of layers of joconde biscuit (an almond sponge cake named after the Mona Lisa), coffee syrup, coffee buttercream, chocolate ganache and chocolate glaze. Now, you can find a version of the Opera cake in nearly every patisserie in Paris. They have now re-invented their own classic, called L'Opera 2010, composed of caramel joconde biscuit, chocolate hazelnut buttercream, chocolate hazelnut ganache and covered with white chocolate. They have also created what they call their "Religieuse de Rêve" or Dream Religieuse, which serves 6 - 8 people! Their new flavors in these lovely creations for fall are blueberry and orange-flower! This from their menu: "300 years of secrets in a Dalloyau macaron. Since the inception in 1682, the Dalloyau Dynasty at the court of Louis XIV and until today, the macaron is a flagship item and symbolic of the House of Dalloyau." There was a time talk like that would have gotten you thrown into The Bastille!

Not to be outdone, The House of Pierre Hermé has announced a new fetish flavor Chuao which is dark chocolate combined with blackcurrant. It is available in a macaron and an entremet. The entremet is a flour-less chocolate cake, covered in a ganache of single-origin chocolate from Venezuela and blackcurrants. The macaron is made of a chocolate macaron shell and the same dark chocolate and blackcurrant ganache. There is also a new limited-edition ballotin of macarons with four new flavors: Montebello (pistachio and raspberry), Médélice (hazelnut praliné & lemon), Imagine (green matcha tea and sesame) and Rose and Quince.

And in the news from Ladureé, the seasonal macaron flavor for autumn is Jasmine Mango. Also, Laduree has opened two new locations the airports serving Paris at Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Orly Ouest! Now you have no excuse not to bring back all the yummiest treats for friends (and yourself)!