Surprise Sweets from my Sweetie

Last week my husband came home with two purple boxes. Was it our anniversary, my birthday, Valentine's Day? Nope, he just wanted to say "I Love You." Ahhh....what a sweeite!

So what was in the boxes? Macarons from Bottega Louie. I knew they had to be awesome because my husband liked them (he's a tough critic when it comes to macarons).

He hand-picked the flavors for me: Vanilla, Lemon, Chocolate Orange, Strawberry, Raspberry, Salted Caramel, and Grand Cru. We both agreed that the Salted Caramel was the best...absolutely delicious!

These macarons had just the right amount of crunch, no chewiness in sight. The flavors were scrumptious. The strawberry even had pieces of candied strawberry in it. High quality comes with a high price tag, right? These macarons cost $2.50 each. Ouch! That's almost as much as a cupcake, yet these delicacies were gone in two bites. Well worth it though.

Bottega Louie

700 S. Grand Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Do You Like Macarons?

As much as I love cupcakes, I love other sweets too. And my most recent obsession is macarons. They are everywhere! There are even macaron-only shops nearby. Crazy!

My friend who visited a few weeks ago, not only brought me lots of cupcakes, but she brought these macarons from Francois Payard Bakery NYC. And let me tell you, they were delicious!

The outside "cookie" was light and crisp, as it should be, and there was plenty of filling in the center. The flavors were outstanding! Definitely some of the best macarons I have ever tasted!

The website says these macarons sell for $2.25 each. Ouch! That's a bit pricey for something that's gone in less than two bites. But then again, it is NYC.

What do you think of macarons? I know they aren't taking the place of cupcakes, but do you like them too?

Review: Dolcissimo Bakeshop

In December I reported that Dolcissimo Bakeshop had returned to Orange County. I was so excited to find out it was only a few miles from my house! And then Daniel, the owner, invited me to come in and try out their treats. I couldn't have gotten there quicker!

Dolcissimo Bakeshop is located at the food court at Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, CA. I reviewed Dolcissimo when they were located in Costa Mesa over four years ago. I couldn't wait to go back and try out their expanded menu.

Good thing I have a large stomach and big sweet tooth because I went home with 6 cupcakes, 12 macarons, and 1 cheesecake in a jar. Today was my lucky day!

Let's start off with the cupcakes! Dolcissimo had a decent variety of cupcakes. There was about 10 flavors to choose from. I got Red Velvet (of course), Chocolate Fantasy, Strawberry Lemonade, Snickerdoodle, Diva, Chocolate Chimp. They have a revolving menu, so each day you can find different flavors.

Let me start with my favorites. Chocolate Fantasy was super chocolatey and oh-so delicious. I love that they used a milk chocolate frosting to keep it a bit lighter. Strawberry Lemonade had pieces of real strawberries in the frosting. And Snickerdoodle had a great cinnamon flavor in both cake and frosting.

Red Velvet did not wow me. The cake was gummy, and the cream cheese frosting was way too sweet and not tangy enough. The frosting on Chocolate Chimp was stiff and hard. That's probably from sitting out all day. Diva, a standard chocolate vanilla cupcake, was pretty standard.

Overall, the cupcakes were just ok. I like for a cupcake to stand out, to be memorable, to make me want to eat it again. These cupcakes lacked that quality.

Next up: the macarons. I got one of each flavor (12). The macarons had a good crunchiness on the outside and the fillings were excellent too, but there needed to be more filling! The proportion was a bit off. Besides that, these were delicious.

Last, but certainly not least: the cheesecake in a jar. There were four flavors to choose from and I went home with the caramel cheesecake. The night I opened the jar to taste it, I only planned on taking a bite. I was already full from all the cupcakes and macarons, but I wanted to taste this while fresh. Only one bite. Well, just two bites. And before I knew it, the entire thing was gone!

I am a big cheesecake fan and this one definitely lived up to my standards. Plenty of graham cracker crust at the bottom. The jar wasn't too deep that I couldn't get a scoop of the caramel, cheesecake, and crust together. These were so perfect that I have already been back twice to get more!

Dolcissimo has definitely upped their game since I last reviewed them four years ago. I am happy that another cupcake shop has opened in Orange County, but I was a bit disappointed by the cupcakes. They were ok, but not memorable. BUT I will visit them frequently for their macarons and cheesecakes in a jar.

Dolcissimo Bakeshop

2800 N. Main St.

Santa Ana, CA 92705

In the Main Place Mall

www.dolcissimobakeshop.com

Review: Lette

Our staycation in Los Angeles included stops at three different dessert shop: Mikayawa for mochi, 'lette for macarons, and Big Man Bakes for cupcakes (review coming soon!). Talk about a great day!

This was my first time in a macaron-only shop. Macarons are definitely starting to pop up in more places lately and I don't mind at all. I love that they are so little and guiltless. I don't feel bad eating a bunch at one time. I'm very good at rationalizing.

'lette has several locations throughout Southern California. The shop I visited is located in Little Tokyo in LA. BUT I just learned they now have a location in Orange County at Fashion Island. Yes!

Not wanting to be a pig, since we had just left Mikawaya, I only picked out five flavors. Coconut, Salted Caramel, Raspberry, Praline, and Passion Fruit were the winners. Actually, the winner was me because these macarons were soooo good. The Passion Fruit macaron was the best one I've ever eaten...like ever! 

The cream centers were divine. The texture of the "cookie" was perfect. I know that is hard to perfect too. The only flavor I didn't like was Praline and only because it wasn't very sweet. That's just a preference of flavor though. Surprisingly, I like the fruit flavors best whereas I usually try to avoid them with cupcakes.

Macarons at 'lette sell for $1.70 each, which options to purchase as gift boxes. They had a large selection of flavors to choose from, even near the end of the day. The products are high quality. I will definitely be paying a visit to my local 'lette now that I've experienced greatness. But I promise these won't detract me from cupcakes!

'lette Macarons

Locations: Beverly Hills, Little Tokyo, Fashion Island, Larchmont Village, Old Pasadena

Review: Merely Sweets

I've been waiting for Merely Sweets to open for several months. I announced in March that they would be opening within 60 days. Even though it took longer than expected, Merely Sweets was worth the wait.

Merely Sweets is located on Birch Street in Downtown Brea. North Orange County was in desperate need of a cupcake shop and I think this is a great location for one. The store was very clean. There were two display cases that greeted me as I entered the shop. The first one contained beautiful cakes, pastries, and tarts. The second case had the goodies I was there for: cupcakes!

Next to the cupcakes was a display of French macarons. I loved how pretty they looked with the rainbow of colors.

Toward the back of the shop was a wall display of decorated cakes. Another wall had this painted art.

I gathered my treats and headed home to try them out. I seriously couldn't wait!

First was the cupcakes. I had six cupcakes to choose from at the time I visited the shop. I chose three: Nutella, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Red Velvet (of course).

The Nutella cupcake was a vanilla cupcake with Nutella frosting. The cake was moist and the frosting had a good consistency that wasn't too thick. The flavor wasn't too exciting though. Maybe it would be better as a chocolate cupcake?

The Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcake was a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting. The frosting was my favorite part because it was smooth, but not too heavy or overwhelming, as some peanut butter frostings can be. The chocolate cake had decent moistness.

Last, but not least was my favorite cupcake of the three: Red Velvet. I always get a red velvet cupcake when I visit a new shop because it's the standard that I go by. This red velvet had dark red velvet cake (which means it's real) and a tangy cream cheese frosting. The frosting wasn't too light or whipped, it was more silky. The cake was also moist. This was a great red velvet.

Although I'm partial to cupcakes, I'm a lover of all sweets. I couldn't resist getting this Lemon Meringue Tart. The tart crust was baked perfectly. It wasn't too hard, but also not too soft or crumbly that it fell apart. The meringue was well done. I would have thought I was eating a lemon meringue pie. The best part though was the lemon. I only wish that there had been more lemon in the tart. I would definitely order this again!

French Macarons are bite-size treats that are beginning to show up more frequently in pastry shops. I had to get one of each color to make sure that all of them tasted good. That's my excuse anyway. I bought these on a Friday night and my first thoughts of them were that the centers were gummy and chewy. I have very little eating experience with macarons, but they just didn't wow me. The next day I nibbled on them again and thought they tasted better. How could that be? Sunday night I finished them off and thought they were fantastic! Maybe my pallet prefers them to be a little crunchier. They certainly weren't crunchy at the end, but there weren't as gummy as the first day I tried them. I loved them! Maybe it is me that is the weird one. My favorite flavors were the dark chocolate, salted caramel, and vanilla bean. I'm really looking forward to eating them again!

I love cake shops that have more than just cake. Merely Sweets delivers on providing delicious cupcakes, as well as other desserts. Their shop is clean and set-up well. Since they're located in a popular downtown area, they are open late (yeah!). The selection of cupcakes was a bit small (only 6 flavors), but there they have rotating flavors so you'll find something different each time. The packaging was well done, as my cupcakes didn't tip over while I transported them home. The appearance of the cupcakes and other desserts was professional. The cake on the cupcakes was moist. The frostings on the cupcakes were well-made and not overly sweet. The taste and consistency of the cupcakes and other desserts were delicious and make me want to come back for more. The prices were competitive and not unreasonable.

I would recommend Merely Sweets as a great shop to go to for cupcakes and other desserts.

Merely Sweets

260 W. Birch St., Brea, CA 92821

714-529-9909

Facebook: Merely Sweets

Twitter: @merelysweets

Website: www.merelysweets.com (currently under construction)