A Gift of a Little Black Pastry Box

Recently, I was privileged to be at the receiving end of a little black box (oh God, no, not the airplane kind)...a little black pastry box, that is.  Well, I've heard of a little black dress (you know, that versatile little black dress that seems to fit any occasion that every stylish lady has in her closet at one time or another)...but not a little black box.

Well, now there's a Little Black Pastry Box of artisanal hand crafted pastries that's perfect as a gift for loved ones for any occasion.  I was introduced to these artisan handcrafted pastries recently when I received the gift of a little black pastry box....and not just one, mind you, but three such boxes! :O

And no....I didn't receive it because of a special occasion or a celebration of some sort.  I got it from my neighbour's daughter (it was a surprise alright!) who lives in Australia.  Well, it was her way of thanking me for helping her parents out when they were under home quarantine.  You see, my neighbours (who are retirees) visited their son in the US in February (just after Chinese New Year) and got stuck there for close to 6 months after the pandemic hit.  They finally managed to return in late July and had to undergo two weeks home quarantine.  They were actually lucky as they returned just days (three, I think) before the government announced that overseas returnees were no longer allowed to quarantine at home but had to do so at government designated places.  So, I was tasked with getting them their groceries during the quarantine. They just gave me a list or let me know what they need and I go out and get it for them.  It was no trouble at all.  Occasionally, whenever possible, I would tapau cooked food for them too (just to give them a break from their own cooking).

And this was my neighbour's daughter's way of saying thank you.  I told them it wasn't necessary + it was too much since my neighbour had already earlier brought home gifts for me from his son when they returned.  My neighbours (and their children) are just too courteous.  It's not that I went out of my way...I go out to buy groceries and food (for myself) too, so it was just a case of buying extra on my trips.

Anyway, coming back to the little black boxes, you can just google little black pastry box (I did) and it'll take you to their online ordering website and facebook in case you want to check them out.  With so much sweet stuff to get through, I had to call in reinforcements (aka my sisters-in-law) to help with the eating! ;P

Let me show you what's inside little black box no. 1...with a fancy French name of Fleur Pour Vous (RM53) which means flowers for you.  There's also a version of chocolate-flavoured cupcakes in colours of pink and peach (called Cupid Cups, RM48) that's ideal if you're planning to send it to the lady in your life.

They were pretty flower cupcakes in flavours of vanilla and vanilla mixed berries.  The presentation was absolutely beautiful.  Don't you think they're just too pretty to eat? ;)

I took close-up shots of the cupcakes to show you just how intricate the buttercream frosting designs were and how stunningly gorgeous the end result.  The dark blue and green ones really resemble chrysanthemums...and those roses in a lovely tiffany blue...pretty as a picture.

Luckily, they weren't just pretty, they were lusciously delectable too.  The cupcakes and buttercream frosting weren't too sweet though I was quite frightened off by the amount of buttercream initially.  Thankfully the buttercream wasn't cloying but because colouring was used to achieve the desired colours and design, watch out...you'll most probably end up with a blue tongue! :D

Opening little black box no. 2, it was certainly the most alluring and one with the most variations.  This gem inspired dessert called The Mystical Sapphire (RM109) will have the ladies swooning over its beauty. 

With a name like sapphire which, incidentally, it's my second most loved gemstone...after diamonds (coz diamonds are a girl's best friend mah :P) with a bluish theme (my favourite colour) coursing through four different desserts, it was a sight to behold when the box was opened.

With this box you get four different varieties of desserts:

• One jasmine mousse with cherry jelly & sapphire gems
• One chocolate mousse with mango jelly & clear crystals
• Four chocolate macarons with topaz gems
• Four chocolate pralines with white chocolate ganache & raspberry jelly dusted with blue & silver edible dust

The heart-shaped jasmine mousse is the perfect gift for your Valentine, don't you think?  I didn't taste this one.  The sapphire gems were just sugar crystals with some touches of blue colouring and edible gold leaf for that luxury touch.

Now the chocolate mousse was probably the most gorgeous of the lot.  They call this the blue marble and it looks like a shiny marble indeed.

Here's a cross section of it just to show you all the chocolaty goodness inside.  It was luscious...but also a little sweet for me.

The four chocolate macarons with topaz gems (similar to the sapphire gems) were adorably dainty.  The macarons with a chocolate ganache filling were super sweet (as most all macarons are).  Love the baby blue colour though.

Finally, four chocolate pralines complete the box.  You'd be better off admiring the stunning hexagon-shaped gems from a distance than eating it as they were beyond sweet (and all that glitter of edible dust will transfer to your fingers and lips).

Finally, inside little black box no. 3 was A Choux Box (RM59) of choux pastry in flavours of strawberry cream cheese, chocolate hazelnut and pandan.  There's also a version of plain ones (Choux Simplicity, RM39) in a mixture of vanilla and chocolate flavours.

I enjoyed these the most probably because I love to eat cream puffs (with just a simple pastry cream filling) to begin with for its light, crisp and airy texture. ^.^

My favourite was the strawberry cream cheese one coz it offered a slight tang in the strawberry topping from the sweetness of the choux pastry.  It was also a tad less sweet compared to the other two.

Oh my, these are so perfectly done with a shiny glaze on top...uniform, identical, cute as a button.....and absolutely desirable too.  Well, this one at least tasted as good as it looked.

Even the packaging is impressive.  A very good quality hard box in black that's stylish, elegant and ritzy.  In other words, so atas-lah (high-class)! :P  Guys, imagine sending this to your girlfriend, fiancee or wife....at the office....their colleagues will go "aww" and you will score some extra brownie points! ;P

I have to say I wasn't aware of their existence until I received a few of these little black boxes as gifts.  Personally, not to sound ungrateful or anything (it's the thought that counts and I do appreciate the gesture), I probably wasn't as ecstatic as I could be at receiving such sweet gifts since I'm not a sweet tooth person (neither is my family) and don't really eat sweet stuff all that much (I only did a little taste test and left the rest to my sisters-in-law).  But I know of many ladies who would love to be at the receiving end of something like this and who would be in awe when they open the box.

So, you may wish to keep this Little Black Pastry Box in mind when you want to order a box of love and happiness to impress that special someone in your life.  They make ideal gifts to that special someone (or even friends and family) for special occasions like Valentine's, birthdays, Mother's Day, anniversaries or just about any celebration.  It can also simply be for your own personal indulgence and guilty pleasure (we won't judge)! ^o^