macarons

I had a meeting in Knightsbridge today and to be honest I do not venture to the West of London all that much. I only seem to go if a meeting requires it or if there is something I need from a particular place/shop.  Anyway, combining the two reasons, after my meeting I walked to Sloane Street to get the Tube back to the office. En route I walked via Lowndes Square
and onwards to Pierre Hermé on Lowndes Street
.

If you didn’t know, macarons are currently undergoing a revival. I have noticed the gradual but petite expansion of both Pierre Hermé website here and Ladurée website here in London. PH now occupies concession space at Selfridges and Ladurée has a relatively new shop at Covent Garden (a little sister to their other place on Piccadilly).  Both are good but Pierre Hermé is so much better. The macarons at Ladurée are not as refined and delicate in flavour or texture as the sweet morsels offered at Pierre Hermé.

Famous for their cakes and macarons with a long established history, Ladurée is a major tourist hotspot for those who want a taste of Paris but who can’t quite cross the Channel. Pierre Hermé on the other hand does not have the long established history but has made it in the UK purely on the basis that their offerings taste really good.  Having tried to make macarons myself, there is definately an art to it and so I appreciate how good you need to be to make them work.

My other half and I have tried most of the flavours including the seasonal ones that come out throughout the year. Today, I got the following flavours:  

Top row-Pistachio & Raspberry compote and Orange & Carotte with Ceylon Cinnamon

Bottom row-Green tea, chanterelle mushroom and lemon  and Blackcurrant

They are not cheap and work out around £1.40 each but for a little a treat after a long day they are really worth it. Best enjoyed with tea!