French Made Baking, which only opened its storefront this past December 22, is tucked away on Kingsway just steps away from the Mount Pleasant Community Centre. I enlisted my favourite "lapsed Frenchman" Andrew to help me sample FMB's entry into City Food Magazine's Hot Chocolate Festival. Truthfully, I needed an escort to ensure I didn't buy every single macaron (one "o" thank you very much) in the shop. Macarons have become very trendy here of late - I have often quipped that "Macarons are the new cupcake" - and I can't say I've had many macarons as good as French Made Baking's offerings.

On this particular day, FMB's Hot Chocolate fest flavour was a dark chocolate Yuzu drinking chocolate. Incredibly rich, with a lovely hint of that Japanese citrus flavour:

Andrew contemplates. Yes, this will do. Baker David told us he adds coconut milk to give this drinking chocolate an even smoother flavour.

Of course we couldn't not sample the baked goods while we were here. Andrew chose this canelé, a rummy, vanilla-y, caramelized concoction that was met in your mouth good:

I chose a cassis-flavoured macaron at the staff's suggestion, even though I do not often choose fruity pastries. However, I can happily report that it was absolutely delicious, with a delicate flavour and the perfect, meringue-like texture. I will definitely be going back for more macarons, like this Cendrillon (cinderella) macaron, made from pumpkin:

Photo courtesy French Made Baking.