Instagram darling macarons will always be in vogue

Washington

FIRST there were cupcakes, frothy and pink with icing and suddenly everywhere, thanks to Carrie and company's frequent trips to Magnolia Bakery on hit HBO series Sex and the City. Then came doughnuts - retro, cheery and perfectly rounded within the square frame of an Instagram.

Next, the Cronut (and the endless queues to get it), as well as its many imitators. (Remember the doissant? No?)

Other desserts trended in its wake: Boozy adult milkshakes. Pie. Fro-yo. Cake pops. Whoopie pies. Rainbow cakes.

But if there was ever a dessert that reached the cultural prominence of cupcakes, it may be macarons, the dainty cookies, made of almond flour and egg whites, that come in a rainbow of pastel colours. In some ways, they were an unlikely candidate to become America's "it" dessert - too easily confused with coconut macaroons, always mispronounced (it's mac-a-ROHN, swallow the "r"), an…