Oh yummy!

French Macarons from La Vie En Rose Sweets

When in Manila, there’s no denying that French macarons are the trendiest pastries at the moment! A slew of specialty and small-scale patisseries have been whipping up their own variations of the sweet treat, making the once exclusive dessert more accessible than ever. Now I’d like to add to your long list of macaron options an extra yet worthy contender for your decision-making on where to get REALLY YUMMY French macarons, because a secret as great as this has got to be shared!

French macarons from La Vie En Rose Sweets by Cara and Rosenne Funk

Introducing: La Vie En Rose Sweets, a quaint pastry business run by mother-and-daughter tandem Rosenne and Cara Funk. Born out of a sheer love and fascination for creating delectable desserts, La Vie En Rose Sweets was conceived during a school bake sale. Cara and her mom have always loved French macarons, and decided to bake some of their own when they wouldn’t find any at local pastry shops, as French macarons weren’t as popular before as they are now. After finding a macaron recipe from an old magazine and spending eight months perfecting it, they now create one of the yummiest and most affordable French macarons (only Php 35 a pop!) in Manila. La Vie En Rose Sweets are known for their exquisite French Macarons, but they also offer cupcakes and cakes per request.

Believe me, I got myself a box of these gorgeous French macarons and it was love at first bite. My friend and I got to try the Strawberry Rose, Hazelnut and Chocolate, and Blueberry Cheesecake French macarons. Each macaron was bursting with flavor, the filling was just so rich and smooth! You can definitely taste the Nutella in the Hazelnut and Chocolate macarons, and the Stawberry Rose macarons were good enough to contend with any fancy patisserie’s version! It was that delicious! The macaron wafers were the perfect texture too, a nice crisp that dissolved into a delicate chewy consistency.

Here are Cara’s answers to a few questions I had about her sweet little project:

Strawberry Rose French Macarons adorned with roses and pearls

How did you get started with baking?

I grew up watching my mom, Rosenne, and grandmothers bake. I’ve always been fascinated with flavors and desserts, and with how my mom and grandmothers’ sweets made people feel special. I know it’s silly, but I find it something extraordinary how their care and effort could be translated into delicious things that people enjoyed. I baked everytime I felt disheartened or stressed about something. When I started working, I baked on weekends to find some sort of sanity. Baking gave me so much joy!

A little over a year ago, my friend invited my mom and I to join a bake sale at their school. That’s how we started La Vie En Rose Sweets, and sharing our love of baking with a wider group of people other than relatives and friends who came over our house.

Blueberry Cheesecake, Hazelnut and Chocolate, and Strawberry Rose French Macarons

I love your theme, it’s very sweet and French and romantic! Could you tell me more about this concept?

A lot of people look forward to sweets to feel good. We think that pastries and other forms of desserts give life the amount of romance, sugar or cream it needs to have some sort of magic or wonder. Sweets have this ability to make ordinary things feel extra special. It must be the serotonin released by all the sugar! That’s why we think that sweets give us La Vie En Rose, or a life in pink, wherein everything, for a moment, is lit up by the sun. We want our customers to feel like they’re stopping to smell some roses, taking coffee in an al fresco cafe or strolling with just the right amount of sunshine along a quaint street every time they bite into our desserts.

We have also found inspiration from both Edith Piaf and Louis Armstrong’s versions of the song La Vie En Rose which sings about how a touch of a loved one can make everything seem so extraordinary. In the same way, we want our sweets to be a reason to blush or feel rosy about.

At only Php 35 a piece! SWEET!

Do you have any other flavors of French Macarons available? Are you willing to accept special flavor orders?

Apart from our four main macaron flavors (Strawberry rose, Blueberry cheesecake, Mint & chocolate, Hazelnut & chocolate), we will be offering a Coconut and White Chocolate flavor soon!

We are also currently experimenting on some new flavors like Pinacolada, Margarita and savory flavors for our macarons. We are open to discuss some special flavor orders with interested customers but those will depend on the availability of ingredients. We are also very much open to flavor suggestions from our customers, followers and other macaron/dessert lovers!

We also make cupcakes in Berry Heaven, Pink Chocolate, and Salted Caramel Chocolate flavors.

So now the secret’s out! I can’t wait to try all the other flavors La Vie En Rose Sweets has got in store, especially the Mint & Chocolate and Salted Caramel Chocolate flavors, as the few ones I’ve tried are simply heavenly. But don’t take my word for it! When in Manila, have a box yourself and indulge in some delectable French macarons from La Vie En Rose Sweets!

Batch of 6 macarons (2 flavors max): Php 180, Batch of 9 (3 flavors max): Php 270, Batch of 12 (3 flavors max): Php 360