Macaron, the French confection made with egg which, granulated sugar, and almond powder, started to captivate Koreans about a decade ago. The luxurious confections’ increasing popularity even made popular brands like Laduree and Pierre Herme to knock on the door to the Seoul market.
However, their high price, which was nearly twice as expensive as regular macarons available in Korea, led them to failures, proving that Koreans aren’t willing to spend their lunch money to get a couple of French delicacies. With the exit of the French big names, the macaron wave seemed to be fading. However, it came back, only with a new face – the Fatcaron.
View this post on Instagram
As the name implies, Fatcarons (it’s “Ddungcaron” in Korean, a compound word of “ddungddunghada” (fat) and maracon) are “fat macarons.” Each Fatcaron is overloaded with filling and its taste is usually unconventional.
View this post on Instagram
One of the reasons for the popularity of Fatcarons is in their unique designs. Each Fatcaron, which is twice as thicker than a regular macaron, is made in a design that reflects the flavor. For instance, some pastry shops top s’more Fatcarons with toasted marshmallows and chocolate pieces, or sandwich a whole oreo between cookies and filling. Such unique and visually fulfilling designs made Fatcarons popular especially on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Even though macarons lost their original forms as Fatcarons, but there is a room for growth as a new kind of dessert. Because many of the flavors are inspired by other desserts or food in general, there are endless possibilities for new flavors. For example, some of the popular flavors include Creme Brulee flavor, Brownie flavor which uses brownie pieces as fillings, Oreo flavor with a whole oreo sandwiched between cookies and fillings, and so on.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
It is unclear whether Fatcaron will find a permanent spot in the Korean dessert scene or fade away. However, it is clear that many of the pastry chefs of Fatcarons put much effort to come up with another original flavor.
By Heewon Kim