I LOVE macarons. I have never regretted moving to a vegan lifestyle, but if there was one thing I missed most it would have to be macarons. The French kind. Especially when they are super soft and cakey in the middle but have that hard and crispy outer layer. Laduree is a French company that specialise in macarons and whenever I used to see a shop or a stall (usually in places like Selfridges, Harrods or other very posh places like that) I would always stop to pick up a macaron (or 12) to really treat myself. Since going vegan though, Laduree was no longer somewhere I could go.
Until now.
I finally found a vegan option. Yes it is only the one option. But it’s something. Honestly I am quite disappointed that there is only the one option – yes macarons are quite a hard pastry to master but when your store is literally the master of macarons, surely a vegan version wouldn’t be that hard to make? Especially when I know that there is a local, home run business that can make vegan macarons in absolutely sensational flavours. Yet you’re telling me the greatest macaron maker in Europe (if not the world) somehow can’t master this? Poor show Laduree. Poor show.
That being said the hazelnut chocolate macaron that they did offer was, indeed, wonderful. Had it not been labelled vegan, you would not be able to tell the difference. It was the perfect cakey texture, while having that satisfying crunch of the outer shell that just hits all those dopamine sensors perfectly. It was indeed very light and airy, and was exactly what you would want with a macaron. Although as I say, Laduree is arguable the best macaron maker in the world so it would be quite the scandal if they made a dud macaron.
I only got the one (because as I say…this was the only vegan option) and it cost me £2.50. Which is not too expensive as a one off treat but is still quite pricey for something that is only about 3 bites big. But macarons are always quite expensive, because they are a delicacy treat. I have seen that you can buy frozen macarons in the supermarket that you then take home to thaw, but even those are about £10 for 5 so definitely not a cheap treat. And those packets are usually the supermarkets own brand of macarons, so paying £2.50 for a macaron from the leading macaron company doesn’t seem like too hefty a price tag.
As I say, my biggest disappointment in this though is that there is only one option. In this day and age, when it is possible to get a vegan alternative of pretty much ANYTHING that you could ever want or need, a company as big and as profitable as Laduree only having one vegan option is just lazy to me. I tried this one purely so I could try it and see if it was any better than the ones I can buy at a vegan market or a small business’ own stall or cafe shop, and honestly it wasn’t. It was still a very lovely treat, but why would I settle for one flavour from Laduree when I can go to a local business and get ten flavours?
Taylor Talks Vegan 
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