the beginning

Since elementary school, I have been obsessed with Food Network. For a good half of my life I was determined to become a chef and open a restaurant. My goals shifted from chef to confectioner to pastry chef to fashion designer to interior designer, but throughout it all, I bake.

You could call me a francophile. I am obsessed with all things French. The language, the clothes, the people, the food. On my first trip to Paris, last summer, I became infatuated with a certain french cookie, le macaron. They are essentially the best oreo you will ever taste. Two almondy-meringuey cookies sandwiched around a filling of ganache or jam. I am hungry just writing about them.

I have had this blog in the back of my mind for a while now. I just got back from seeing the movie Julie and Julia (I highly recommend it) and I have finally decided what to do here. I am going to purchase a couple of books, including Macarons by Pierre Herme, the master of macarons. I will translate the recipes, try them, and share my experiences (with plenty of pictures).

For anyone wondering about the name of this blog not having to do with macarons, I will also be talking about my second favorite thing, cupcakes (and my other dessert-related adventures). Since I bought a vegan cupcake book (Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero -- it's amazing), my sister and I have made dozens of cupcakes, vegan and egg/dairy-full. People began to request them for PTA and birthdays, so cupcakes are pretty big in our household. Though my sister is away at college, we continue to make cupcakes for almost every occasion.

Interestingly enough, there is no word for cupcake in French.

xoxo,

allie