Macaron Happy Hour!

Good ideas often come about after a beer or two. Perhaps that's where we got the idea to host a happy hour of our own: Macarons are only $1.00 at our Hayes Valley store from 5-7pm, weekdays. Cheers!

We'll Be Havin' Some Fun

From Miette

We continue our salute to the seas of summer with a selection of treats that are not only delicious, but are essential to any seaside holiday. Set sail on the most buttery boat in town. My, she was a yar cookie... $5

From Miette

More of a land-lover? Stroll down the sand, collecting precious shards of glass polished to an otherworldly glow by the waves. But perhaps some rock candy would be just as pretty but more delicious? $3

From Miette

Pop in the water before the fog rolls in- of course, in this magical make-believe sea you can stay in the water for hours, with no threat of dense, freezing fog rolling in 5pm. You've got all day! Splash about, wave to seals, try not to get scooped up by a pelican.

From Miette

Ooo! A school of chocolate sardines! Watch out for that pelican, guys. $2.25

From Miette

Frolicking in the waves sure works up a fierce appetite. Even just watching someone else frolic! Stroll the boardwalk in pursuit of funnel cakes, slush puppies, vegan corn dogs, & hand-twisted lollipops. $4-$7

From Miette

Everyone looks better at the beach with a moustache. Forget the aerosol spray tan: you just need a nice 'stache. $1.50

From Miette

And despite the funnel cake sundaes & deep-fried cheesecake wrapped in a tortilla (real!), you're going to need snacks for the trip home. Jelly beans & sixlets will hold you nicely until dinner, when it's back to the world of shoes & clothes & sadly unfried foods. $3

Happy summer!

Summer by the Sea, Establishing Shots

From Miette

We live surrounded by the sea, here in San Francisco, and yet I can't remember the last time I even caught a glimpse of it. I might own those quintessential sailorgirl striped shirts from Gravel&Gold, but the only body of water they get anywhere close to is Mission Pool.

From Miette

So maybe it's time to hit the beach, get windswept, taste sea salt for its own sake, without caramel or chocolate. Rent a car, find a licensed driver (or if you are a licensed driver, invite a Miettegirl), or most magical of all, hop on the N-Judah.

I don't know if I can explain to native Californians how mind-blowing it was to me, a Midwesterner, that you can pay $2, and be taken all the way to the ocean. $2! I still forget it's possible.

From Miette

Lie on a blanket in the sand, forget that San Francisco is mere steps behind you, feast on fresh-baked bread and coffee/coconuts/toast (yes, bread & toast, the sea takes it out of you), and then, when you've achieved that glorious surfer hair usually only possible with Bumble & Bumble products, come back to the city, come to Miette, and gaze with nostalgia at our seaside-inspired sweets.


Summer Seas at Miette:
Licorice Pipes, Wax Moustaches, Red & Black Licorice, Pixi Stix giant & tiny, Peppermint Sticks, Saltwater Taffy, Sixlets, & much more to come.

An Extra Hour of Beauty Sleep

From Miette

New hours at our Octavia shop!
Weekdays: Noon-7pm
Weekends: 11am-7pm

Carrot Cake Just for You

From Miette

For years we made our carrot cake in a sweet little loaf pan, and called it the Picknicker. It was the perfect size for sharing, especially in the park on a blanket, ideally with a coffee from Blue Bottle down the alley. It was also a cake that former Confiserie-manager Kelly & I loved to share, with a cup of tea, on those days when 5pm arrived and yet we still hadn't eaten lunch, somehow.

Carrot cake makes an excellent lunch. Carrots! Walnuts! Coconut & currants!

From Miette

This is turning into a love letter to the Picknicker, but that's okay. It deserves a proper good-bye. After much deliberation, we decided the Carrot Cake was ready for a new form- actually, two new forms! The full-size 7-inch cake you see above, perfect for a party or a brunch. Carrot cake makes an excellent brunch.

From Miette

And now there are perky little Carrot Cake Cupcakes as well, just for you. The picnicker was too much for one person, and that says a lot coming from me. But a cupcake is just right.

Someday we'll discuss the custom of splitting a cupcake 4 ways. The mind reels.

Carrot Cake
7-inch: $24
Cupcake: $3.25
Available at Ferry Building & Octavia

Strawberries: Not just for daiquiris!

From Miette

It may be blustery & cold today in San Francisco but we're feeling sunny because look at the cute pink buttercream! Strawberries are back at the Ferry Building Farmers' Markets, as mentioned last week, and we can't get enough of them. Yellow cupcakes with strawberry buttercream? So stylin' & girly I wish they came in a dress.

From Miette

Even the Tomboy's sporting strawberry buttercream, though you know she is pouting about having to wear pink. You'll have to just deal, Tomboy, it's strawberry season!

From Miette

Strawberry macarons are like travel-size on-the-go strawberry shortcakes. Finally!

From Miette

And these babies manage to be strawberry-y & spare, in their black & white & pink splendor. Now that would make a cute shoe...

Cupcakes:$3.25/each

Tomboy Cakes: $30/six-inch, $50/eight-inch

Macarons: $1.75/each

All available at Ferry Building & Octavia!

Rosy drops of honeysweet prettiness

From Miette

Hard candies seem like such a no-brainer, right? They're the good ol' reliable candy you can always count on, just as delicious after spending months at the bottom of your bag, just waiting for that moment when you're fingers will happen upon them... Oh hey- candy!

Nothing's better than surprise candy.

From Miette

Still, with all the virtues of all the classic hard candies, we're always on the look-out for something a little more...fabulous. You know: French.

From Miette

One day one of our favorite vendors sent us a little brochure along with our usual chocolate shipment, just a single sheet with photos of flowers & herbs & tiny drops...and the rest is candy history. We love them! They're sweetened with honey, & taste just as pretty as they look.

From Miette

We especially love their dainty size- you can enjoy them without feeling like a cow chewing its jawbreaker-cud. Feel free to use that in your next brochure, candy-makers! I'm sure it sounds better in French.

French Drops
Top to bottom: Rose, Lemon Verbena, Raspberry, Garden Mint
New flavors to come soon!
Gift Bag: $5
Bulk (at Octavia only): $20/lb

P.S. The rose drops were honored to be featured in a breathtakingly beautiful issue of Martha Stewart Weddings!

No, We're Not On Some Crazy Strawberries-Only Diet!

From Miette

I sooo wish my refrigerator was like this: full of vintage charm & strawberries! Now that spring is here, the Ferry Building shopgirls jaunt out to the Farmers' Markets a few times a week to pick up flats of strawberries for us. The bakers incorporate them into buttercreams, mousses, & more, while the shopgirls place them delicately atop spring-pink desserts...

From Miette

...like this one! Super-moist chiffon cake is layered with soft-yet-bouncy strawberry mousse, topped with strawberries, and wrapped gently in an elegant little just-for-you wrapper.

From Miette

It doesn't get more single-serving-perfect than this petite buttermilk panna cotta, with its crown of fresh strawberries. Like something a fairy queen would served!

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Ferry Building Only (Octavia by special order)\

$5/slice

Contains gelatin, needs refrigeration

Panna Cotta

Ferry Building Only (Octavia by special order)

$4- bring back your jar for a $1 refund

Contains gelatin, needs refrigeration

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry Blossom!

From Miette

That's right! Inspired by Japantown's annual Cherry Blossom Festival, the gorgeous spread in Martha Stewart Weddings, and of course the carried-away pink-&-white blooming cherry tree in front of our confiserie, we're having a tiny cherry blossom festival of our own!

From Miette

Oh, sweet little Milkies! These glossy buttons are Denmarks version of m&ms, and all the more elegant for the missing m's. $3/bag

From Miette

Now, you have to give me a little creative license on this one: a bag of cherry jelly beans, while delicious, would not really evoke the whole glorious wonder of the cherry trees themselves. You know? We're counting on Pear, Toasted Marshmallow, & Strawberry Shortcake to evoke the lovely palette of leaves, branches, & blooms. $3/bag

From Miette

Lollipops so satiny you'll want to wear them as accessories. Satiny, sticky accessories... $3.50/each

From Miette

And eventually, if the all goes well, all these blossoms will lead to cherries! Fruit trees are such over-achievers. Either the flowers or the fruit would be more than enough, but they have to go all the way! Marzipan cherries, $5

Let's have another look at our very own cherry tree, proud producer of 3 cherries last year:

From Miette

Thanks sweet tree, you're an honorary Miettegirl.

Nope, the tree's not for sale

From Miette

The outrageous cherry tree in front of the Confiserie, with its fluffy, flouncy pink & white blooms, has inspired us to have a little Cherry Blossom Festival of our own. More to come soon...

Last-Minute Bunny Transfusion!

From Miette

Thanks to a late-night (afternoon) raid by your two stalwart candy girls, we have a bunch of chocolate bunnies for your baskets! Just look at them- those bunnies are ready to go!

Solid (Gold) Milk Chocolate Bunnies
$7.50
Ferry Building & Octavia

From Miette

We couldn't resist adopting a hundred of these little doe-eyed sweeties!

Semi-Solid Milk Chocolate Bunnies
$5
Ferry Building & Octavia

From Miette

And we saved the gorgeous-est for last...we now wait with baited breath each holiday to see what Diane of Maison Bouche has come up with. The answer is always "awesomeness". (You can also catch a glimpse of her Easter caramel boxes in the second bunny photo.)

Maison Bouche Dark & Milk Bars
$6
Ferry Building & Octavia

The Opposite of Peeps

From Miette

Inspired by this awesome mention in 7x7 magazine a few years ago, we put together a little easter basket, sans the usual eggs & pastels. For the serious licorice-lovin' bunny in your life, may we present minty licorice schoolchalk, honey licorice, licorice marshmallows, molasses-y licorice tubes, dark chocolate licorice lentils, french licorice drops, & let's not forget those little ammonia-bombs scattered in front. They might look innocuous & caramel-y, but they are salty & funky to beat the band.

We make custom baskets!
Licorice Basket shown above: $25

Parties fit for a Super-Glam Sugarplum

From Miette

It would be super fun to hold your next party at Miette Confiserie in Hayes Valley. I mean, it's fun to work there, so just imagine how great it would be to party there! Cupcakes & champagne! Cotton candy & champagne! Champagne bubble gummies & champagne!

From Miette

And of course, for kids' parties we would just stick to the gummies.

From Miette

Think of it as renting the darling-est candystore for the morning, or for the evening. Bring in whatever food, drink, & entertainment you dream of, & we'll provide space, tables, chairs, & a magical environment.

From Miette

Birthday parties, engagement parties, baby showers, wedding showers, chocolate-tasting parties...we'd love to have you.

Parties at Miette 449 Octavia 415.626.6221 Weekdays 9am-12pm $500 Weekdays 6:30pm-9:30pm $500 Weekends 9am-12pm $650 Weekdays 6:30pm-9:30pm $650 For details please write events@miette.com

When showing up empty-handed just won't do

From Miette

Hi! Can you imagine how cute you'll look on someone's doorstep, in your spring finest, sweet box of macarons in hand? Neighbors will start shouting, "No, come over here instead! We have Bellinis & a pinata!". You'll be totally in-demand.

From Miette

We sell a lot of macarons this time of year, in part because of the onset of Passover. Our little macs are flour-free & leavening-free, so they're quite popular for Passover desserts. And year-round for those who can't have gluten!

From Miette

And really, don't they look sweet & brunchy? No matter how many waffles or biscuits or hashbrowns you've had, there's definitely room for a tiny little almond cloud.

Macarons!
Price: $1.75/each
Availability: Ferry Building & Octavia
Current Flavors: Chocolate, Hazelnut, Grapefruit, Lemon, Pistachio, Rose Geranium, Vanilla

Surrender (to) the Pink

From Miette

After three years in pale ballerina-pink, our shop on Octavia is rocking a new look! We were all trepidatious about the Pink, wanting neither bubble gum nor barbie. Shopping for pink paint inevitably turns into shopping for make-up colors: yes, that would make a great blush, but would it work on a whole wall? We buckled down, abandoned all thoughts of lipgloss for a moment, & found this pretty shade. Hope you like it!

Hmmm...it would make a fantastic nail polish....

A Cake Worthy of a Bonnet

From Miette

You're all dressed up in your spring finery, basket on your arm, bonnet on your head, & you need a cake. You've been eating tiny chocolate bunnies & eggs (peanut butter filled, please!) all day, but that's just not enough. Those were just snacks: it's time for dessert. May we present: The Spring Scharffen Berger! Dark chocolate cake, a double-layer of dark chocolate ganache, & hand-piped spring blossoms. Would you like it to say "Spring", or "Happy Birthday Easter Bunny", or would you like just the flowers? Just let us know!

Spring Scharffen Berger
6-inch (serves 6-8): $30
8-inch (serves 10-12): $50
-Spring flowers are only available March 30th-April 4th
-For pick up on April 4th (Easter Sunday), place your order by 7pm on March 31st.
-You can order cakes by calling the Ferry Building at 415.837.0300, or Octavia at 415.626.6221.

Easter Parade (of Cakes)

From Miette

This year's Spring Cakes are so springy, we're going to need 2 days to cover them.

Or, I took photos of the Princesses & photos of the Scharffs under completely different circumstances, and they won't look good together...

Either way, double the springtime fun!

From Miette

We'll start with the Princesses, of course. They expect no less.

We usually make our Princess cake as follows: delicate sponge cake is moistened with St. George Raspberry Eau de Vie, spread with raspberry jam, heaped with pastry cream, dolloped with whipped & lightly-sweetened Straus organic cream, and draped in elegant green white chocolate fondant. Green, with a pink rose. Lovely.

But spring is the perfect time to indulge in sweet pastels the color of...

From Miette

...baby chicks...

From Miette

...robin's eggs....

From Miette

...or cherry blossoms. Order yours today!

Spring Princess Cakes
6-inch (serves 6-8): $35
8-inch (serves 10-12): $55
-Spring colors are only available March 30th-April 4th
-For pick up on April 4th (Easter Sunday), place your order by 7pm on March 31st.
-You can order cakes by calling the Ferry Building at 415.837.0300, or Octavia at 415.626.6221.