Macarons — luscious ganache, jams or buttercream sandwiched between dainty little almond meringue discs. What’s not to love! These colourful sweet treats have the power to intrigue any passerby as they sit pretty on the display window or counter. From classic flavours like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry as well as offbeat flavours such as lavender, pumpkin, coffee, and salted caramel, the macaron has had the world delighted for a long time now.
Kolkata’s bevvy of home chefs and bakers have a ton of interestingly flavoured macarons on offer! Here’s a handy list to help you build your own macaron rainbow:
Flury’s
Flury’s shelves are effervescent with macarons in different hues and flavours. There are seasonal picks — delicate macarons with rich mango buttercream in summer, and strawberry ganache in the winter. On Flury’s regular menu sits macarons flavoured with hazelnut, dark chocolate, lemon, pistachio, and one that no one saw coming, gulkand!
Price-point: Rs 100 per piece
Location: 18A, Park Street
Saldanha Bakery
Kolkata’s OG home bakers, Saldanha Bakery, added French macarons to their menu after the fourth generation of the baker family graduated from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2016. “We were taught how to make French macarons in school and I was so intrigued by them, I knew I had to introduce them to our menu once I was back in Kolkata,” says Alisha Alexander, the fourth-generation baker of the family. Saldanha’s makes macarons on order — choose between chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, caramel and hazelnut along with a host of seasonal picks.
Price-point: Rs 45
Location: 19, Nawab Abdur Rahman St, Haji Md. Mohsin Square, Esplanade
Little Pleasures
This vintage little Kolkata cafe has a Parisian flair to it. Naturally, their menu has a number of French desserts from choux pastries to Lemon Meringue Éclairs and macarons. Flavours up for grabs are chocolate, raspberry, salted caramel, and chocolate-raspberry which marries the decadence of chocolate with the freshness of berries. Visit either of the two Little Pleasures outlets in Kolkata and pair these macarons with the cafe’s signature desserts and a hot cuppa.
Price-point: Rs 100 per piece
Location: Hungerford Street, Elgin Road; and 60B, Sarat Bose Road
Patisserie by Franziska
If you’re a coffee-lover, Patisserie by Franziska whips up a macaron just for you! Their coffee macarons masterfully combine the bitter notes of coffee with the richness of dark chocolate to make an unforgettable macaron. Other than coffee macarons, this cute cafe offers pistachio and raspberry macarons. Seasonal and festive picks are also available.
Price-point: Rs 84 per piece
Location: 13C, Russell Street, Opposite Bengal Club, Park Street Area
Mrs Magpie
The pretty little cafe and bakery chain, Mrs Magpie, is known for its cupcakes and dainty macarons. Available in two flavours — raspberry and chocolate — these are beautifully decorated with unique, colourful patterns in icing. Come Pujo and Christmas, the macarons are dressed up in various festive elements.
Price-point: Rs 300 for 4 pieces
Location: Southern Avenue: 570, Lake Terrace Road (near Vivekananda Park); Salt Lake: EC 6, Sector 1; Park Circus: 21/1, Ward 64, Gorachand Lane Road; Ajoy Nagar: 1050/1, Survey Park Mailing
Le 15
When we think of macarons, the first name that comes to mind is 'Macaron Queen' Pooja Dhingra, founder of Le 15 Patisserie in Mumbai. While the hot chocolate and cake mixes are delivered to 12 cities across India, including Kolkata, we can only hope that the iconic Le 15 macarons will be added to the pan-India ship-list soon!
