Cacao - Bethesda, MD

Disclaimer: Patisseries of Toronto goes international! Or at least, it goes wherever my travels take me. I would have expected the first non-Toronto entry to have been in Montreal, but my Easter visit to DC happened first and so I dedicate my first international entry to my hometown!

My mom's first experience of a macaron was in the Distillery District in Toronto and not very good so I had to make it up to her. Cacao has EXCELLENT hot chocolate (e.g. My parents wondered where I went when I suddenly left them, only to reappear several minutes later with hot chocolate and a boxed pastry). I'm not a huge fan of the yuppification of Bethesday Row, but it was worth it since Cacao has come along.

This dessert was a great combination of something new for my mom to try (raspberry macaron) and something for me (chocolate mousse). I didn't appreciate this aspect until I wrote my previous post, but 2009 must be the year of fuzzy desserts because the chocolate covering of the mousse was also fuzzy. Very rich, thick chocolate; I like my mousses on the dense side as opposed to being too aerated. The macaron was sweet and crispy on the outside but spongy and chewy in the center, all around great base for the chocolate.

Bonus points for aesthetics and the Easter theme. The white chocolate strips really did make it look like a bird's nest and the chocolate egg was edible. I'm not sure what I did with mini Fluffy Chick, but her fur/feathers were very soft. Clearly a quality bird ornament from a quality chocolate store!