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. 

Pineapple Sorbet

Now that the weather is getting warmer, nothing is more refreshing than ice creams and sorbets, especially fresh pineapple sorbet.  This pineapple sorbet is light, fruity and somehow incredibly smooth and creamy, yet it is made of only three ingredients.  Since pineapple is the main ingredient, you must use a fresh, whole pineapple, and cut it yourself (no canned pineapple!), but it is well worth the extra effort.  

Ingredients:

• 1 small pineapple, cut into chunks (about 3 cups)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup hot water

Instructions:

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water.  Puree the pineapple chunks and simple syrup (sugar-water mixture) in a blender.

Cover and refrigerate the pineapple puree until it is cold, at least 1½ hours (you can skip this step if the pineapple or pineapple chunks were previously stored in the refrigerator).  

Freeze the puree in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Pumpkin Muffins

The creamy, sweet cream cheese center contrasts nicely with the spices in these moist pumpkin muffins.  When eaten warm, the cream cheese center is soft and gooey as shown in the picture, but once the muffins have cooled completely, the center has more of a set, cheesecake-like consistency. 

These pumpkin muffins are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack.  The pumpkin in the batter keeps the muffin moist and the cream cheese center is the perfect addition.  This recipe is quick and easy to make, and the muffins can be prepared and baked within an hour.  

Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée is incredibly easy to prepare and makes an elegant dessert.  It’s the perfect dessert on warm days and tastes great served with fresh berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  The custard takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and is baked in a hot water bath.  It can be made up to a few days ahead and the sugar topping should be torched just before serving.