Jerusalem offers some surprisingly good French treats
By AMY SPIROMacaron521(photo credit: AMY SPIRO)
What’s a French macaron? It’s a question I’ve answered a fair amount over the past few years.Not to be confused with the coconut Passover staple, macarons (not macaroons) are tiny sandwich cookies made of ground almonds, sugar and egg whites, filled with a variety of frostings or jams.The cookies, which typically come in a wide range of colors and flavors, are prized for both their delicate flavors and their pretty colors and appearance, all (supposedly) uniform in size and shape.Though macarons have been around for centuries in France, the past several years have seen them become “the next big thing” in desserts across the rest of Europe and the US – and even more recently, Israel. In fact, a few years ago, NPR audaciously declared that “macarons are the new cupcakes.”Macarons are pretty much ridiculously expensive, some even selling for NIS 8 apiece. Having made macarons myself multiple times in the past few years, I can tell you the real reason for that: the labor intensiveness. The ingredients are not too expensive: ground almonds, sugar and egg whites, plus the filling du jour. But the method – whipping the whites, folding in the other ingredients (one fold too many and you’re doomed to failure), piping the circles all uniformly and then sandwiching the delicate cookies together without breaking any – can be tricky. Still, many Israeli bakeries have handled the challenge admirably, one even churning out possibly the best French macarons I’ve had, while others sell offerings that might turn their customers off the Parisian treats for good.All tested establishments are kosher.Halehem Shel Tomer: A The macarons at Halehem Shel Tomer were a revelation: a perfectly crisp outside that gave way to a soft, chewy inside that practically melts in your mouth.In a word, perfect. The chocolate shell has a mild cocoa flavor; the orange filling is a nice, tangy complement, while the chocolate filling is luxuriously rich and dark.The vanilla, unfortunately, was just too sweet, though it still had the ideal consistency and chew. I was also disappointed with the limited flavor choices, and the fact that the cookies were not all uniform in size.Varieties: chocolate, vanilla, coffee, pistachio and chocolate-orange.NIS 30 for 100 g. (averages about NIS 6 each) 30 Aza Street, 2 Poalei Tzedek Street and 22 Halamed Hey StreetNess Patisserie: The colorful cookies at this new French bakery in the German Colony came in a crazy-wide variety of flavors, which I heartily enjoyed. They had an excellent texture, and the flavors were mostly strong and authentic. The strawberry version was sandwiched together with jam, a bit sugary but sweet tasting. The caramel cookie also had strong, genuine notes of real caramel.Varieties: praline, chocolate, coffee, pistachio, passion fruit, caramel, strawberry, lemon and vanilla.NIS 4.50 each 1 Rahel Imenu StreetMousseline: Mousseline is primarily an ice cream store (and the best one in Jerusalem), but it also sells a range of colorful macarons. The cookies had a nice crisp shell that gave way to a soft inside, and the macarons were all neatly sandwiched, but not all the same size across the different flavors. The berry flavor was fairly generic, but the mango was flavorful and sweet, and the passion fruit variety was particularly authentic-tasting – I even found a seed in the filling.Varieties: berries, chocolate, vanilla, mango, passion fruit and pistachio.NIS 4 each 6 Haeshkol StreetBistro Mimi: B+ This little French cafe and bakery (just next door to Mousseline) sells both the largest and the most expensive macarons I encountered (at least they weren’t the smallest). The cookies were a bit on the heavy side instead of having the traditional lightness, but they did have a nice combination of crisp and chewy. Part of the heaviness came from the decadent amount of filling.The sandwiches were neat and pretty, with particularly vibrant colors, though the cassis was a bit of an odd flavor for my palate.Varieties: nougat, vanilla, coffee, pistachio and cassis (blackcurrant) NIS 8 each 4 Ha’eshkol Street Grand Cafe: B+ Grand Cafe in Baka would probably rank highest on the list if I were judging macarons based on appearance alone. The colors were vibrant, the cookies were all the same size and were cleanly sandwiched together. The macarons were soft and pleasantly chewy, but missing the first bite many of the others had, leaving them a bit too much on the soft side. The blueberry version had little discernible blueberry flavor, but the peanut butter was tasty, certainly a step above Bamba, which is how the man behind the counter described it. The caramel version also had subtle but identifiable flavor notes.Varieties: blueberry, caramel, pistachio, peanut butter, lemon.NIS 5 each70 Bethlehem RoadBen Ami: C+ While macarons are known for their fun flavors and colors, the offerings at Ben Ami are decidedly uninspiring, and not particularly attractive. The box I bought (and the other ones I didn’t) were full of messy, cracked cookies in all different sizes, with filling oozing out. The white chocolate version is dry and crumbly, with a frosting that had crusted over on the outside, and the chocolate version had a cookie that was extremely soft, with no crisp outside, and was overwhelmed by way too much filling.Varieties: chocolate, white chocolate and coffee.NIS 37 for a 300g box (which holds about 13)38 Emek RefaimKurtosh: C Sadly the macarons at Kurtosh, the tiniest I saw in my samplings, were wholly unappet i z i n g , with a rock-hard shell that crumbled into dust when I bit into it, and very little flavor in any of the varieties, apart from being tooth-achingly sweet.The cookies also had peaks on either side, which prevented them from sitting upright without falling over, and the two sides of the sandwich were not evenly matched in size.Varieties: strawberry, lemon, pistachio and chocolate.NIS 3 each; NIS 10 for 4; or NIS 39 for a box of 20 3 Lunz Street Next month I’m taking on an Israeli classic, and as a relative newbie I need your suggestions: Where is the best and worst shwarma in town? Email triedandtastedjpost@gmail.com with your ideas. •
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