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The Confectioneries in the Case
The glass case was a rainbow of pastel colors. Elaine stood on tiptoes, her hands clasped over her heart.
There were the dark browns of the chocolate, salted caramel, and coffee; the paler vanilla, coconut, orange blossom, praline, and hazelnut; and the brighter colors of lemon, raspberry, cherry with chocolate, rose petal, pistachio, bergamot, citron, mint, and blackcurrant violet.
She sighed longingly as the lid of the cotton candy pink box closed over the selection of macarons. She received the box with a smile and a murmured, "Merci beaucoup."
"Visit to Ladurée—check," Severus deadpanned, but eyed the box hungrily.
Cotton Candy, #93
Ladurée is a French luxury bakery. It is one of the top premier sellers of the double-decker macaron. A macaron is a sweet, meringue-based confection made with lots of eggs, almond powder or ground almonds, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling depending on the flavor.
"Macaroons can trace their story back to Italy, where the flourless and unleavened cookies were originally made with almond paste (in Italian, these cookies are called amaretti). Then two factions developed: some inventive bakers swapped in shredded coconut for the almond paste and others tried making it with ground almonds (finely ground into flour). The coconut version became really popular with the European Jewish community — the cookie was a perfect treat for Passover because it was unleavened. The version made with ground almonds (spelled macaron in French) was developed in the French court by chefs that the king's Italian wife, Catherine de Medici, brought from Italy."
According to the Food Network. Macaroon vs. Macaron: Two Very Different Cookies With a Linked Past [May 31st, 2013]