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

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

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.

Oh, you sugardaddy....

From Miette

All right! Steppin' it up a notch! If you want to shower your valentine with sweet candy goodness, it's amazing what you can get for less than $20. Don't be bullied into thinking that only $90 boxes of chocolates can express your love! It's the thought, and the awesomeness, that counts.
We've got your $20&Under Total Love Solution Gift Guide below!

Pictured above is the darling handmade box of handmade caramels from Diane of Maison Bouche. Twelve sweet, buttery, delicate caramels & a vintage cupid to deliver your heartfelt sentiment.
Maison Bouche Caramels $12
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

Continuing the caramel theme, we present the world's most decadent, luxurious, completely ridiculous caramel sauce. We're also carrying Anastasia's caramels, of course, but Valentine's Day is the perfect time to buy something your valentine would probably never buy themselves. But they will be soooooo happy that you did.
Sweet Revolution Caramel Sauce $20
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

Just look at that! What a charming box, all tied up with a sassy ribbon. Each elegant box contains 9 fantastic & creamy sea salt caramels covered in snappy dark chocolate. The quintessential Valentine's box of chocolates, in local, handmade form.
Au Coeur Dark Chocolate Caramels $20
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

Last of the caramels, but definitely not least, are our very own Miette fleur de sel caramels! Soft & salty & full of Straus organic butter, this is a gift your valentine can nibble on all week. Maybe they'll even share- I'm sure your valentine is generous, & all-around wonderful.
Miette Caramels*
Gift Box $18, Single Caramel $1.50
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
*We're also making chocolate fleur de sel caramel gift boxes!

From Miette

They don't fit in with our unintentional caramel theme, but we couldn't leave out the dragees! These vanilla candy coated almonds were one of the inspirations for our candyshop in Hayes Valley, and one of our all-time most popular items. We also have the classic multicolored variety, but thought the white ones were so lovely & pure- just like your valentine, I'm sure.
French Dragees
Gift Bag $12, or $35/lb
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

Cakes loving cakes!

From Miette

Once upon a time, two cakes fell in love. The Princess loved the Scharffen Berger's dark, mysterious nature, and the Scharffen Berger was delighted by the Princess' sweetness, delicacy, and gentle blush. Um...that's all I got. I'm sure they were very happy.

But check out those cute cakes! Perfect for a Valentine's Day who-needs-romance-we've-got-friends-&-movies party, or an intimate dessert with plenty of cake left over for breakfast in the morning. Call us, order a cake, and let the cakey romance wash over you.

Scharffen Berger Heart
Dark chocolate cake enveloped in two layers of dark chocolate ganache
6-inch: $30
Mini-Heart(not pictured): $5

Princess Heart
Vanilla cake soaked in St. George Raspberry Eau de Vie, raspberry jam, pastry cream, whipped Straus cream, pink fondant, & sparkly pink sugar!
6-inch: $35

For pick-up on February 14th, please place your order by 7pm on February 11th!

Heartstrings & Shoestrings

From Miette

We have to admit- we're total suckers for the fun, festive, silly romance of Valentine's Day. It doesn't have to be serious grown-up romance: pink & red & sparkly & heart-shaped is way more fun, and can be obtained on the cheap.
Presenting, our very first "$5 & Under" Valentine's Gift Guide!

It's just not Valentine's day without little chocolate hearts. Really, just one of these would make an adorable gift. Who could resist? Pictured above is $4.95-worth of milk, dark, and gianduja-filled hearts, if you feel like going all-out.

Gianduja Hearts $0.75
Ferry Building, Octavia

Milk & Dark Hearts $0.30
Octavia

From Miette

Red! Hot! Hearts! One of our favorite customers saw these & was like, "They still make these? I feel like I should send them a thank-you note!". Totally. They're teeny, hot, spicy, & classic. The bags in the photo are $3 for the larger, & $1 for the smaller. That's old-school value.

Red Hot Hearts, $1-$3

Octavia

From Miette

Shaun of Au Coeur makes perfect dark chocolate-covered caramels. Just perfect. They usually come in an elegant box of 9, but for Valentine's Day he's created these darling little boxes with 2 caramel hearts. Still elegant, still perfect, only $5.

Au Coeur Caramel Hearts $5
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

We just got a fresh batch of jelly beans in, and the pinks & reds are out of control! Cotton candy, bubblegum, pomegranate, sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry cheesecake, & cinnamon are just some of your festively-hued options. We make $5 bags & $1 bags, shown above, but you can buy as much or as little as your heart (or sweetheart) desires.

Jelly Beans $10/lb
Octavia

The sunshine of your love

From Miette

{NOTE: more under $10 added below!}

Hi! There is so much to be excited about today: a rare, sunny January morning(What? It's February?!), and the first Valentine's Day gift guide! I love gift guides. It may sound crass, but I looooooove reading gift guides during the holidays. It's very soothing to look at all kinds of prettiness, with no plans of buying anything. The mulled wine helped, too.

We're kicking off the romance with our Under-$10 Super-Lovin' Miette Experience*!

First! A brand-new, perfect-for-Valentine's-Day chocolate bar from the lovely Diane of Maison Bouche! Milk & Dark chocolate bars are infused with rose oil, then she adds crystallized mint for a perfect zesty freshness.
Maison Bouche Bars: $6/bar
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

If your Valentine isn't a floral flavor-lovin' type, but you'd still like to buy a pretty pretty bar of chocolate, look at Diane's other bars in all the pinks of your 11-year old dreams! From top, we've got Pink Pepper, Pink Grapefruit, and Crunchy Sables.
Maison Bouche Bars: $6/each
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

When I was growing up, my dear grandma bought me a decorated, royal-iced cookie for every holiday. They weren't organic, and the colors were definitely artificial, but I loved them & would never want to face a holiday without one- & now I don't have to. Buy one for your valentine & one for your grandma!
Miette Cookies:$8
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

There are very few places left to get a malt with your valentine, Archie&Betty&Veronica-style, but malt balls are pretty great, too. Here's one of our current gift bags!
Malt Ball Gift Bag: $7.50 (or $10/lb)
Octavia only (for now)

From Miette

Is this all a little too pink for you? We'll finish with more gorgeous bars from Maison Bouche- the Dame & Valet de Coeurs, or Lady & Gentleman of Hearts, from vintage French tarot cards. These bars are the Valentine's versions of Diane's popular Fleur de Sel bars in milk & dark chocolate. Fun fact: the Valets have been selling twice as fast as the Dames! Time to find more manly chocolates!
Fleur de Sel Chocolate Bars, $6/each
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

Check out this beauty! Dark chocolate is molded into intricate floral panels, & filled with fresh minty cream. Unique, sparkly, & awesome. Flowers & chocolate in one!
Beaux Gateaux Flowers $10
Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut

From Miette

I am a total sucker for the teenage French girl look of these hearts. So over-the-top, so fantastic. If you love someone passionately, or know that they love dark chocolate & gold-dusted-almonds passionately, this is the heart for you.
Michel Cluizel "Passion" Heart $10
Ferry Building, Octavia

From Miette

Another cutie from Michel Cluizel! Fantastic dark chocolate with an almond & hazelnut praline center. A little more restrained than the heart above, but still super-fun.
Michel Cluizel Praline Heart $6
Ferry Building, Octavia

Coming soon: Under-$5 Guide, Under-$20 guide, and lots more xxx&ooo.

*This is what happens when it's sunny in San Francisco in the winter: the "supers" & the exclamation points get out of control. I'm sure the fog will be rolling in soon, & everything will calm down.

The lovin' starts tomorrow.

From Miette

Yards of lovely Italian paper, snippy Japanese crafting scissors, and three movies* to keep me entertained while I cut hundreds of little hearts....

Yup, Valentine's Day is a'comin. In shops February 1st.

*Juno, Grandma's Boy, & Knocked Up. Excellent.

Miette Advent Calenday Day 21: Ah, from the mouths of babes

From Miette

This year, we've been very proud to offer, for the very first time, Adorable Milk Chocolate Mrs. Claus! Finally! We're not entirely sure what Mrs. Claus' role is in the North Pole pantheon, but we're sure she contributes quite a bit, and deserves to be commemorated in delicious chocolate form. She's rosy of cheek, pleasantly plump, and sporting a holly tiara that we all really, really need. Hey, you have to work Christmas eve, you might as wear a fabulous holly tiara.

One young customer was not very impressed, however. When his mom suggested Mrs. Claus as his treat, he retorted, "I'm not going to eat an old lady!". That's the kind of quote that gets us through the day!

December 21st: Mrs. Claus
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $2

P.S. Yes, I finally missed an advent calendar day yesterday. What finally did me in? The 1-2-3-4 punch of:
1.Tiny surprise birthday party before work for our fantastic assistant manager
2.glorious Chrislamikkah celebrations
3. Gingerbread house building competition- I mean party!
4. Miette stocking-stuffer holiday candy extravaganza at Jack London Square

To make up for my lapse, here's a new holiday feature: Wholesome Holiday Activity of the Day!
{Today's Wholesome Holiday Activity}: Watch "Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas" It is the most darling, simple, and sweet of all the Muppet movies, and you'll really feel like you're in the snowy countryside. They nailed it, right down to that particular winter light. Get cozy, and enjoy.

Miette Advent Calendar Day 18: I finally learned to spell "poinsettia"

From Miette

Live poinsettias are so fun in their over-the-top leafy splendor (I especially love the salmon-pink ones!), but sometimes one can't get one's act together enough during the holidays to care for a new, slightly high-maintenance plant. There's wine to mull & ribbons to curl! Six-inch ribbon curls!

But a chocolate poinsettia...dessert & decoration in one...now that's holiday efficiency.

December 18th: Poinsettia Bombonierre Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut Price: $10 Notes: Made in Italy; Each petal is a candy-coated chocolate hand-wrapped in cellophane

Miette Advent Calendar Day 16: So, the list has been checked...

From Miette

...and apparently, y'all have been quite naughty this year, because the candy coal is flying off the shelf. It helps that the coal is handmade, a delightful cinnamon flavor (we detect hints of tea-tree & other lovely herbs...), and your classic coal-miner font. Miners are all about the serif.

December 16th: Hammond's Candy Coal
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $4/bag (or $15/lb, at Octavia only)
Notes: I almost forgot the best part! The coal turns the deserving recipient's mouth blue! Don't tell!

Miette Advent Calendar Day 15: Tasteful, & Not-So

From Miette

Hammond's handmade candy canes have become a winter tradition here at Miette! Just look at how simple & tasteful & quintessentially candy-caney they are! Everything you could hope for in a candy cane, in seasonal flavors such as peppermint, cinnamon, apple pie, cranberry, and more!

December 15th : Hammond's Candy Canes
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $4
Notes: These are large! Approximately 10 inches!

From Miette

On a more personal note, the Candyshop girls would like to thank the dollar-stores of San Francisco, especially the one on 16th between Valencia & Mission, for stocking such awesome holiday decorations. We had our winter-holiday party last night, and there was hot-pink & gold tinsel galore. As much as we love double-satin ribbon, and hand-wrapped artisan chocolate bars, come quittin' time sometimes a girl just needs some glitter, some gaudy, and some Dolly.

Field Trip to a Christmas Cake Farm!

From Miette

Very soon, we will have our fancy-pants super-official holiday menus, complete with professionally photographed cakes in all their holiday splendor! In the meantime, here are a few shots I was able to get of the cakes in their natural habitat!

Above, you see the elusive Snowball! It is a wintery cousin to our Princess cake, and is delicate & lovely. The Snowball is 6-inches, and serves approximately 6 people. $35

From Miette

And there's a darling woodland Buche de Noel, adorned with handmade meringue mushrooms, holly leaves, & chocolate pinecones! We suspect this yule log might be home to a gnome!

The smaller logs are 4-inches, and serve 4 people, for $20. The large logs are 10-inches, serve 10-12 people, and are $65.

Call any of our shops to place an order! Please allow 3 days notice.

Miette Advent Calendar Day 7: Yul Brenner Really Had Something There

From Miette

Pinecones are totally edible. When they're milk chocolate.

December 7th: Chocolate Pinecone Ornaments
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $1
Notes: Made in Germany

MIette Advent Calendar Day 6: St. Nicholas in all his Sartorial Splendor

From Miette

Neither the Miette shops nor the Miette blog have any religious affiliation, but when we come across the best-dressed Santa variation we've ever seen, how can we resist? Along with the shamans of far-far-north Europe, St. Nicholas was the inspiration for our Santa Claus. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, and anonymous gifts to the poor, and was sometimes known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. The Wonderworker! You couldn't really hope for a better nickname. Even though we love secret gift-giving, helping the less-fortunate, and anyone who protects children & students (especially now during finals!), the real reason we fell for St. Nicholas is his amazing outfit. Who else would dare to dress in pink? Just look at the little scallops, and the fuzzy mittens! We suspect St. Nick may also be the patron saint of Miettegirls.

December 6th: Milk Chocolate St. Nicholas
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $5
Notes: Made in Germany

Miette Advent Calendar Day 5: Sweet Relish of Cookie!

From Miette

Thank you, candy-makers, for making our job so fun. Just look at that cute packaging! An amazing swirly font, tiny dots, little gingerbread cottages with smoke coming from the chimney! And inside the perfect little box you'll find tiny gingerbread-flavored pastilles. But the best part is that they don't really taste like gingerbread: they taste exactly like animal crackers! A little lemon, a little vanilla, some subtle warm spices, totally animal crackers! I couldn't tell you why that's our favorite part, I guess we're just contrary.

December 5th: Leone Gingerbread Pastilles
Availability: Octavia only SOLD OUT!
Price: $4
Notes: Made in Italy, Vegan

Miette Advent Calendar Day 4: The Danger Zone

From Miette

I have to admit, we like candy with a little bit of mystery. See the silvery little confection above? We're not sure if it's supposed to be a charming snow umbrella, or a deadly icicle all set to plummet from your tree. You know, icicles are so beautiful. I haven't seen any for so long. It's not their fault if people stand under them on unseasonably warm winter days. Let the icicles be free! They are the ephemeral stalactites of winter!

The icicles we sell are just milk chocolate.

December 4th: Milk Chocolate Icicle/Umbrella
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $1
Notes: Made in Germany

The Fellow of the Snow

From Miette

Really, we should just get all the Michel Cluizel wonders out of the way.

I'd like to introduce the "Bonhomme de Neige", seen around these parts for the very first time! I love that he looks as if he was outfitted by super-culinary French children: candied orange peel for the broom handle & scarf, gold-dusted milk chocolate dragees for antique buttons, and dark milk chocolate for all other details. Yes, gold-dusted! French children do not scrimp when it comes to their snowmen.

December 3rd: White Chocolate Snowman
Availability: Ferry Building, Octavia, Chestnut
Price: $15
Notes: Made in France