Bouchon Bakery's Macarons

If you haven’t been to Bouchon Bakery before, you must stop by next time you’re nearby.  They have 5 locations in the United States: two in California (Yountville and Beverly Hills), two in New York City, and one in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Although Bouchon Bakery is known for their breads, pastries, and confections they also have a full espresso bar as well as a café menu with sandwiches, salads, and quiche to make lunch on-the-go easy. 

One of my favorite confections from Bouchon Bakery is their macarons.  Macarons are soft, chewy meringue cookies made with ground almonds and sandwiched together with rich, velvety Swiss meringue buttercream.  The last time I visited, I bought one of each of their espresso, raspberry, and vanilla macarons as well as their seasonal flavor, which at the time was a malted chocolate macaron. 

I also tried their version of the San Francisco born classic: the ho-ho.  This Bouchon version of the ho-ho was composed of a chocolate cake rolled with Chantilly cream and covered in a rich chocolate shell.  Their ho-ho was delicious, but it’s a dessert that you definitely want with some milk. 

Ginger Elizabeth's Cupcake Day

If you’re ever in Sacramento, California, one of my favorite dessert places is Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates.  They specialize in chocolates (obviously), but they also have a good selection of cookies and desserts.  Every month or two, the boutique will host event days where special items are available such as cupcakes, custards, or gourmet preserves and jams. 

This past Saturday, Ginger held one of her amazing cupcake days.  This time she featured 4 cupcake variations (clockwise from front): Key Lime Pie, Salty Caramel, Tiramisu and Real Red Velvet.

Ginger Elizabeth's cupcake descriptions:

•  Tiramisu Cupcake - Coffee Syrup soaked "Ladyfinger" Cake filled and topped with Mascarpone and Marsala Cream
• Key Lime Pie Cupcake - Buttermilk Cake filled with Key Lime Curd topped with Vanilla Bean Buttercream and House-Made Graham Crackers
• Real Red Velvet Cupcake - Ginger's Grandmother's Light Chocolate Cake topped with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Salty Caramel Cupcake - Rich Chocolate Cake filled with Fleur de Sel Caramel and topped with Caramel Buttercream

I don’t know if I can decisively say that one cupcake was the better than the others, but the tiramisu cupcake came pretty close.  

Next time you’re in Sacramento, don’t forget to make a stop at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates!