Macaron Magic by Alchemy

I got my first taste of macarons some years ago from Bizu, and though it was good, I was not overly impressed. Also, the cheapskate in me thought it was a tad too expensive. I was more taken by their Valrhona chocolate souffle.

Lately, I seem to be running into a lot of pastry shops that offer macarons, and with my interest piqued, decided to have a go at it. In the process, I also learned that a lot of homebakers are selling these little goodies, which is how I stumbled upon Alchemy, a home bakeshop in Greenmeadows. I made a little research and found out that Alchemy sells not only macarons but other desserts like canelle, madeleine, creme brulee, and more. They even offer dessert bar packages!

Now, Greenmeadows is really quite far from our usual places. Fortunately, hubby had some business to take care of near the area, so I wasted no time in ordering two boxes of 16 macarons each. Yeah, yeah, I went into panic-buying mode as I had no idea when we'll be able to go back. To his credit, hubby did not blink when I told him how much I ordered. And after tasting them, I would imagine he was glad that I got a lot.

Alchemy's macarons are available in 10 flavors. The regular flavors are Chai Spice, Banana Walnut, Peanut Caramel and Salted Caramel, while the premium flavors are Dark Chocolate Ganache, Coffee Caramel, Mint Chocolate Ganache, Passion Fruit Milk Chocolate, Green Tea and Raspberry.

Alchemy's Flavor List
Hope they would offer Pistachio soon :)

For my order, I got one box with Dark Chocolate and Salted Caramel, and the second box with Coffee Caramel, Mint Chocolate, Banana Walnut and Peanut Caramel.

Achemy's macarons = total satisfaction!

Look at these little sweeties

We started with the Dark Chocolate Ganache. The ganache was rich and had a strong chocolate flavor. I got to say, it's the best chocolate macaron I've had so far. The next one, the Salted Caramel, was another hit with us. The rich caramel filling with a hint of saltiness gave the macron that chewy center that I look for in other macarons. I couldn't decide which one I liked better as both were really, really yummy!

My third pick was the Coffee Caramel, coffee-flavored shell with caramel filling. Nice coffee-flavor, not too strong, just enough to give an unmistakable coffee taste. The Peanut Caramel had the same caramel filling as the Coffee Caramel, except that it had a peanut-flavored shell, while the Banana Walnut had buttercream filling and made me think I was having banana walnut cake in every bite. The Mint Chocolate Ganache, on the other hand, had just the right amount of mint in the chocolate filling. I do not really like mint chocolate in any form, but this one I was able to take a bite of. I would stick to the Dark Chocolate one, though.

We were initially worried that the macarons might go stale as the reminder on the box say the enchantment lasts for five days, meaning we should consume all of it before the five days are up. However, it was not necessary as we finished both boxes in 3 and a half days!

A little reminder at the side of the box

Love the bakery-inspired whimsical design!

The simple signs says it all: Magic!

I know I'm no authority on desserts, not by a long shot. But I must  say, of the dozen or so different brands that I've tried, both from homebakers and commercial/known pastry shops, this is probably the best macarons I've had. Can't wait to for the next opportunity to go a little North of the Metro so I can get another couple of boxes (maybe more if I'm sharing, haha!).

You can check out/contact Alchemy through their Facebook page: Alchemy

Note: This is not a sponsored post

(Not So) Crazy Over Cronuts

These past few months, it seemed a lot of people are going ga-ga over a new pastry that recently made waves in New York. Called cronuts, croughnuts, doissants, and a whole lotta names, this croissant-donut hybrid has caused a lot of pastry shops scrambling to join the Cronut Craze. It's basically croissant dough shaped into a donut, fried, then filled with cream and topped with chocolate, caramel or some other flavor of choice. Cronuts have become so popular that one bakery-cafe has resorted to rationing, making the following announcement on their social media page: "Due to long lines for our croissant-doughnuts, we have to ration the pastries based on the length of line". Apparently, a person waiting in line that could stretch on for an hour or more would be given between 2-4 pieces of the pastry depending on  the number of people who lined up. Gah!

Now, I've had my fair share of waiting in line (sometimes for hours on end!), but one thing I have not done yet (and possibly never would) is to line up for long periods just to buy the latest craze. That's probably why I'm always one of the last to know (or taste) the new "IN" thing, teehehe! Not being snobbish, just lazy and a little practical. And hey, if something was really good, it'll be around even when the hype has died down, right? So I put cronuts in the on-hold file, thinking to give it a try when the hype has died down.

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing around when I chanced upon GourmetFinds, another home-based bakeshop. I actually checked it out because I was on the hunt for the best macarons in Manila, and saw on the product list that the bakeshop has jumped on the cronut bandwagon. Calling them DCs (short for Doughnut-Croissants), GourmetFinds offers four varieties:

Chocolate topping with Vanilla, Coffee or Nutella filling

Pistachio topping with Pistachio flavored filling

Speculoos topping with Vanilla filling

Salted Caramel topping with Almond Cream filling

There's a 4-day advance order requirement, and a minimum of 6 pieces per order with 1 to 2 flavors. As I was ordering a box of French macarons to try out, I thought why not get some cronuts as well. So I ordered a box, choosing Chocolate with Coffee filling and Speculoos with Vanilla. I initially wanted Salted Caramel as it is my favorite macaron flavor, but as I haven't tried Speculoos yet (yes, I have NOT tried it despite its popularity), I opted for the latter.

Here's my box of six:

Box of six DCs (Doughnut-Croissants), Php600

Slightly closer look

Almost all the reviews I've read about cronuts say that the pastry should be eaten immediately, not refrigerated and not re-heated. However, the box that I got was cool, which made me think that it came from a refrigerator. Also, there was a sign on the side that says KEEP REFRIGERATED. Obviously, these will have to be kept in a ref. At home, hubby and I got a piece of each flavor to try. As I took out the cronuts, my fingers got all oily, evidently from the oil used to fry the cronuts. Uh-oh! Not a good sign for me.

Note: GourmetFinds was kind enough to send an apology for the cool DCs, as the box was kept in an aircon room prior to pick-up. The gesture is much appreciated, though it was not necessary as the pastries were bound to get cold if not eaten immediately.

I wasn't too happy with the thought of eating what essentially was a cold, fried croissant, so I popped the cronuts into the oven toaster for a couple of minutes or so just to warm them up. I then sliced into it to check out what the craze is all about. As I have not tasted cronuts before, I do not think I am in the position to say what a good cronut should be. This is just to describe what I had.

The cronuts had delicate layers, light and flaky like a croissant, except that these had cream oozing out from the layers. Maybe I re-heated it too long, which made the filling all runny. Oh, well...

Nice, delicate layers, an indication of how much work
was put into making this pastry.

I first tasted the chocolate-coffee combination. Being a picky eater, I normally do not set high expectations when trying out something for the first time. But with all the hype, I probably set the bar a bit higher than usual. Something like, "I'm getting another box as soon as these are gone!" kind of reaction. However, the cronut was just okay for me. The coffee filling tasted nice, just the right amount of coffee flavor, though a little too sweet for my liking. The chocolate topping was also quite sweet. What I liked was the delicate layers of the pastry, really light and flaky, just as a good croissant should be. Obviously, these were made with good quality butter and other ingredients.

Chocolate topping with coffee pastry filling.

The Speculoos-vanilla cronut, on the other hand, was not as sweet as as the chocolate-coffee one. The vanilla filling was still quite sweet, but it was balanced by the mild sweetness of the topping. I have to say, though, that the Speculoos topping didn't make an impression on me. I know a lot of people raved (and are still raving) about Speculoos Cookie Butter, but in all honesty I really didn't get what's so special about it. If I have to describe it, I'd say it's pretty much like peanut butter without the peanut taste. Or maybe I'm just not partial to it. Sorry Speculoos fans!

Speculoos topping with vanilla pastry filling

That pretty sums up my first encounter with the cronut. I did not really expect to taste the best dessert/pastry ever (taste is subjective, afterall). But after all the raves that I've read, finally having a taste was a bit of a letdown. I liked the texture and lightness of the cronuts that I had, albeit a little too sweet. What put me off, though, was the combination of the butter in the croissant plus the oil used in frying the pastry. If you're like me that you slice off and discard the fatty layers of liempo and other meat because you have low tolerance for overly-fatty food, then the butter-oil combination can be a little too much.

Will I give other popular brands a try? Why not? It won't hurt to sample other versions, and I might grow to really like it. That doesn't mean I'm willing to wait in line, though. Never mind if I will be among the last ones to finally get a taste of all the other cronuts out there, I will take my sweet time until getting cronuts is as ordinary as buying a dozen glazed donuts from your regular donut shop.

Update: Bought a couple of cronuts from Le Coeur de France. The baker convinced me to try them after telling me that theirs are baked, not fried, hence less oily than the usual cronuts. Will post my thoughts on this baked version later.

Buddy's Dozen - Park Avenue Desserts Part 2

I've been on a dessert spree lately, so after trying out Park Avenue Desserts' French macarons and Molten Brownie Bites (see my post on PAD's macarons and brownie bites here), I went straight for their Buddy's Dozen, a dozen of Park Avenue Desserts' best-selling mini cakes.

I really like the packaging, very simple but with a touch of elegance

Park Avenue Desserts' best-selling mini cakes in one box!

It took some time before our little family of three finished the whole box, but we did it (well, almost), and here's the verdict.

Quadruple Chocolate Mousse

Heaven on Earth cake from Starbucks. Notice how
similar they look? Tastes the same, too.

Quadruple Chocolate Mousse -- What can I say? This is one of my favorites, and the little boss' as well. Layers of dark, milk and white chocolate, and coffee mousse on a thin chocolate cake base. I tried tasting each layer separately (quite hard as each layer was really thin and delicate) and was pleased to note that each layer indeed tasted differently, although I must admit the taste of the coffee mousse was lost on me. This cake is very much like the Heaven on Earth cake at Starbucks both in looks and taste, and left me wondering if PAD is the supplier of the coffee store's mini cakes.

The tear-shaped Roca cake that I ordered ala carte

The round Roca Cake that came with Buddy's Dozen

Roca Cake -- Chocolate overload! The chocolate covering this cake was so thick and rich that it was like  a round chocolate bar impersonating a cake! Chocoholics would love this cake, though those who aren't fond of sweets might find it a little too much. The caramel cream inside was almost lost in the thick chocolate frosting. The first time that I ordered this ala carte, the cake was shaped like a teardrop, but the one that came with the Buddy's Dozen set was round like the rest. I like the round one better, simply because it was a bit bigger, haha!

Muscovado Cheesecake

Muscovado Cheesecake - A very light cheesecake that tastes, well, like muscovado sugar, except that it's not overly sweet. I'm not fond of cheesecakes, but this one's good enough for another try.

French Apple Pie

French Apple Pie -- Again, I am not really a fan, but I definitely like this one. Just the right amount of sweetness and cinnamon flavor, and not too thick pastry which is the case in some apple pies. 

Lemon Meringue Cake

Lemon Meringue Cake -- Like their lemon macaron, PAD did not scrimp on lemon on this cake. Really tart lemon curd, and would go well with a nice cup of green tea with lemon. But what we really liked was the meringue on top, soft and just the right amount of sweetness. I would have liked it better if the meringue was a bit toasted like the ones on their promo photos as it would give the meringue a slight burnt-sugar taste.

Chocolate Mallow Malt Cake. 

Chocolate Mallow Malt Cake -- The little boss loved this because of the little marshmallows. It was good like the rest, but I didn't think it was that special. Just layers of chocolate cake with marshmallows and chocolate ganache. It didn't help that the marshmallows on top were quite burnt instead of just toasted. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but not as good as the Roca cake and Quadruple Chocolate Mousse, at least in my opinion.

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake -- I normally don't like red velvet cake, simply because I don't like its color (Weird, I know!). It was good, though quite crumbly. It actually felt like cake crumbs formed into a mini cake. It was just OK for me, though.

Mango Crunch Cake

Mango Crunch -- Crumbly graham crust with cream and mangoes. Hubby and the little boss liked this, too. Sweet cream, but not overly so, with little pieces of fresh mangoes in between and on top. Again, this one looked a lot like the Mango Madness mini cake at Starbucks, though with a slight difference in the cream topping. I didn't get a photo of the Starbucks cake, though.

Rum Bundt Cake

Rum Bundt Cake -- Comfort food. That's what came into my head the minute I tasted it as it reminded me so much of the cupcakes that I loved when I was a kid. I can't remember the name, but the texture and taste are almost the same. It's basically pound cake with rum and sugar frosting. I almost didn't taste it as it looked so ordinary. So simple yet so good. It would go so well with a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon.

Blue Velvet Cake

Blue Velvet Cake -- I wasn't able to taste this one as we had a few unexpected visiotrs and I had nothing to offer them but the mini cakes. It would have been rude if I asked our guests to let me have a bit of their snack, haha!

PAD's description of the Blue Velvet Cake: A stunning Blue Velvet Cake studded with layers of blueberry filling in cream cheese filling. Warning: This cake is addicting!

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake -- Another one that was served to our guests, so we'll just have to make do with the product description from PAD: The quintessential crowd-pleaser! Light and enticingly moist carrot cake covered in classic cream cheese frosting. Who doesn't get hungry just thinking about it?

What's My Name

What's My Name -- The third one that I didn't get to taste. Oh, well. Nine out of twelve ain't bad.

Product Description from PAD: Nutty, chewy oatmeal and brown sugar tart. Topping of tangy lemon cream and blueberries completes this new creation. It's so good that we don't know what to call it.

The stand-outs for me are the Roca Cake, Quadruple Chocolate Mousse and Rum Bundt Cake, while the Hubby liked the Mango Crunch. The little boss, of course, liked everything. But what I really liked about these cakes is that each one had just the right amount of sweetness. I'm defintely going back for more of these mini cakes, and the macarons and molten brownie bites, too!

Park Avenue Desserts can be found at #7 G/F MegaCenter, Paseo de Magalanes Commercial Center, Makati City.

Photos by Mike and Shella Esguerra

Note: This is not a sponsored post. 

Santis Deli-Cafe -- More than you usual deli

I've always liked Santis Silang for two reasons. One, the store may be small but it's complete. It has really good quality cheese, hams and other meat products, and hubby's favorite ladyfinger cookies. Two, the store is very accessible to me as I can drop by anytime since it's very near our house. Of course, it goes without saying that the staff there are among the most friendly and courteous I've met, and over the years, hubby and I have come to regard them as friends. They even call the little boss "Santino", as hubby used to joke that he was raised on Santis ham during my pregnancy. That's not entirely true, but the joke stuck, and the little boss is "Santino" to them.

Santi's menu

Fresh produce

Cheese, cured meats, hams, cold cuts, and sausages 

Steaks and other meat, fish and seafood

Imported items like chocolates, biscuits, teas, sauces, and more!

Wine selection

During a recent visit, hubby noticed the brochures for their Roast Beef Night and remembered the Chef mentioning it to him a few months back. He wanted to try it but never got around to it, and we thought the promotion ended. Apparently, it was a hit with their customers that they continued offering it every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Judith, the store manager, invited us to give it a try, and as it's been quite a while since we last dined there, it was not hard to persuade us. For good measure, we invited some friends who also like a good slab of steak every now and then, thinking that if we were splurging a bit, might as well have company, eh?

We got there early on a Saturday night as the place easily get full during weekends. As expected, hubby and our companions all ordered the roast beef.  Each order consisted of a generous serving of their US Angus Ribeye with a preferred side dish and sauce, a serving of salad greens with choice of dressing, and a glass of Argentinian red or white wine. Hubby and our friend decided to have red wine to go with their steak, while our friend's wife and their son had theirs changed to soda.

Hubby and the little boss while waiting for our companions

The Day's Special. But we were there for
the steak, so nobody really took notice.

Dessert choices which we opted to skip.

As I was sharing with the little boss, I got the broiled chicken in mustard, which I've had a couple of times in the past. It's grilled chicken fillet in a mustard-based marinade served with a side of home fries. The skin was removed, fried to a crisp, then arranged with the grilled chicken. The chicken was tender and seasoned nicely, with the mustard flavor not too overpowering. I have to admit to being a little disappointed with the fries, though. The fries used to be fresh-cut potatoes that were fried and lightly seasoned with salt and a dash of spice, hence the term home-made fries. The fries that accompanied my order were the usual commercial variety that one can get in a grocery. That aside, my chicken was as good as I remembered it to be.

Warm rye bread to start your meal.
The little boss liked it so we asked for another slice for him.

Broiled chicken in mustard with cripy skin.
I miss their old home-fried potatoes, though.

Hubby and I shared the salad that came with the steak, which we asked served with orange vinaigrette instead of our regular ceasar dressing. This is Tagaytay territory with Gourmet farms less than a hundred meters away, so it was no surprise that the greens were fresh and crisp. I particularly liked the vinaigrette, it was slightly sweet and light, very refreshing.

A generous serving of salad greens with your choice of dressing

US Angus Ribeye cooked medium-well,
served with baked potato and a glass of red wine.

I also snitched a few bites of steak from hubby's plate, and was not surprised that it was melt-in-your-mouth tender as a good quality ribeye should be. Hubby opted to have his steak with au jus instead of his usual gravy, and it was good decision as the natural flavor was not masked  by sauces or seasonings. I'd probably get a steak that good from famous steakhouses for more than double the price, and without wine or any other beverage at that. It was really good value.

We skipped dessert and opted to have coffee in a newly-opened local coffee place. But I know we'll be back should our craving for good quality steak hits again.

Santi's ladies. Forgot to invite Chef to join them. Sorry Chef!

Photos by Mike Esguerra

Note: This is not a sponsored post

Park Avenue Desserts Part 1: Macarons de Paris and Molten Brownie Bites

Browsing through an online buying site (I have developed a very bad habit of checking their deals on a regular basis), I chanced upon an offer for Park Avenue Desserts. Now I have a really sweet tooth, so anything that says dessert is sure to get my attention. However, I was hesitant to buy the whole dozen of assorted mini cakes in the deal as I felt that 12 cakes ware just too many for our family of three. Also, I checked Park Avenue Desserts' FB page and found out that they have French Macarons, so I decided to try those first. BUT, I did buy the deal for the mini cakes, too, though that would be the subject of another post.

Anyway, I managed to convince hubby to drop by Park Avenue Desserts in Paseo de Magallanes on our next trip to Manila. The place was not hard to find although it was at the very end of the row of buildings facing SLEX. The store was a bit small, with about four or five small tables inside and a few more outside. Though it was a bit cramped inside, the size actually made the store feel cozy and homey. There were chalk boards on the wall with the menu written on it, apparently the place also offers a selection of snacks and meals. But as I was there for the dessert, I went straight to their display cases and zeroed in on the French macarons.

PAD's display cases

Hard to resist those goodies inside the chiller case.

They have cronuts! Will try this some other time, though.

I don't remember what these are, sorry!

Little pastry chef

PAD has a lot of macaron flavors to choose from, and at the time of our visit, there were eight flavors available: Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Red Velvet, Tiramisu, Pistachio, Lemon, Mint Chocolate and Bubblegum. One box contains eight macarons in a plastic, shatterproof box, and I got one of each flavor except for Bubblegum, substituting it with another chocolate piece. Each piece had a generous filling of buttercream, while the shells were were light and crispy with a chewiness near the center, just the way macarons should be.

PAD's pretty packaging

The macarons in a plastic, shatterproof box. Nice!
A box of eight costs Php360, or Php45 per macaron.

Our box of sweeties before the little boss and I attacked them, haha!

I was expecting the Chocolate macaron to be my favorite, but surprisingly, I liked the Salted Caramel and Red Velvet better. The chocolate was good, but it didn't really stand out, at least for me. I guess I was expecting it to have a richer, more intense chocolate flavor.

Chocolate macaron. See that how thick the filling was? Yum!

The Salted Caramel was bursting with creamy caramel flavor that contrasted nicely with the hint of saltiness. It looked like it had the usual buttercream filling, but when you bite into it, you'd be surprised by the caramel hidden inside. Yummy!

Salted Caramel Macaron, my favorite of the bunch.
There's the yummy salted caramel in the center!

The Red Velvet, meanwhile, was very rich with its thick cream cheese filling, and oddly enough, tasted more chocolatey than the chocolate one. I was actually surprised that I liked it so much, given that I am not too fond of cream cheese on pastries. (I normally scrape the cream cheese frosting on cinnamon rolls if the frosting is too thick.) Unfortunately, I was not able to get a photo of it as the little boss claimed the Red Velvet macaron for his own and would not let go of it, only allowing me to have a bite because I begged.

The Lemon one tasted really tart and lemon-y, prompting hubby to comment that PAD was not kidding around with their lemon flavor. Lemon lovers would not be disappointed with this one, though I was not quite taken by it. I didn't get to taste the rest of the flavors, either because the flavor didn't interest me, or it was eaten by someone else, haha! The whole lot was gone by next morning.

Aside from the macarons, I also got a small container of their Molten Brownie Bites. 

Molten Brownie Bites, Php150 for a box of 8. Not bad!

 At first I couldn't understand why it was called such, until I bit into one:

There's the generous chocolate filling inside the brownie.
Nice and rich, though a tad too sweet for my liking.

Each round brownie had a chocolate center, much like truffles. The brownie itself tasted more like dense chocolate cake, soft and heavy, while the chocolate inside though soft was not quite molten. Perhaps next time I should pop them for a few seconds in the microwave to truly experience that molten chocolate bite. Hubby and I liked it, though after you've had a couple you'll feel like it's a bit too sweet due to the chocolate center.

It took our little family just a couple of days or so to finish those macarons and brownies, so naturally I had to get on the online buying site to purchase Buddy's Dozen, an assortment of 12 of Park Avenue's best-selling mini cakes. As we are only about halfway into finishing our dozen, I will post a separate blog on them. Now, back to those cakes...

Photos by Mike and Shella Esguerra

Note: This is not a sponsored post.