Full disclosure: The owner, Erica, is a friend of mine. I'd seen pictures of her cute baked goods on Facebook, ranging from cupcakes and cake balls to macarons and cookies. For my best guy friend's wedding, I decided to refer her catering business. They had already ordered a wedding cake, but needed an alternative for gluten-allergic guests. What better option than macarons? Most macarons are gluten-free, unless there's an ingredient added to achieve a specific flavor, such as Oreos in cookies 'n cream.
We set up a complimentary taste test with Erica, who readily met us with samples to try. Despite changing the order on her a few times, she was patient, easygoing, and very prompt with her responses. I'm not the most forgiving person when it comes to response time, so I'm tremendously appreciative of this last point.
In all honesty, I was a little nervous at first. I only knew that they LOOKED adorable, especially the ones with unique designs like Hello Kitty macarons or Minion cupcakes. I was fully prepared to step in and say no if they didn't TASTE good. What a relief. They were absolutely DELICIOUS, and I'm a tough critic on macarons. Everything about it is flawless. The shell is slightly crunchy but makes way for a soft, gooey center. The filling to shell ratio is just right, and tastes exactly as it's intended to be.
They ended up ordering 3 dozen panda macarons in a green tea flavor, and 4 dozen turtle macarons in pistachio. Yes, you read that correctly. Pandas and turtles! Erica had never made turtle ones before, but using just a Google image, created the perfect one. Best of all, regular macarons are only $1.75 each, and custom designed ones are $2! She can and totally should charge more.
On the day of the wedding, she showed up precisely on time, and set them up on the dessert table. We had anticipated that many of the guests would want to know who the talented baker was, so we asked her to leave her business cards. The macarons were a definite hit.
Erica, please open up a storefront so I can buy these wonderful treats whenever I want! read more