I am so excited, not only
because this is my very first post and Christmas, but because I just received
all the tools I need to make macarons (not macaroons---the delicious coconut
treat). For those of you who do not know what a macaron is, I suggest you
quickly go to your nearest patisserie and eat one stat. They’re delicious gluten
free mini cookie sandwiches mainly comprised of almond flour, egg whites and
sugar. The filling ranges from chocolate ganache, a personal favourite of mine,
to any flavour of buttercream that you can imagine.
After graduating with my
bachelor of arts, I decided that I deserved to take one class outside of the
academics to delve further into my baking dream. I took the plunge and enrolled
myself into a macaron class with a lovely macaron goddess named Connie (of
J’adore les Macarons). It was the best decision I had ever made! I had had many
failed attempts at making the delicious, labour-intensive treats so this was
literally my last hope.
I am by no means an expert on
making macarons as I have only watched and helped someone make them, but I do
know the general construction of a macaron. It should have an outer shell that
is easily broken with the teeth with a soft and slightly chewy centre and
‘feet’. In the past, the ‘feet’ have been the hardest part for me to achieve (I
will hopefully be able to post a picture of a ‘properly’ made macaron soon).
For those of you foodies out there who absolutely adore Parisian
macarons and have tried numerous times to make them, I feel your pain! The
first time I made macarons the batter was far too runny and ended up looking
more like a squishy meringue rather than a colourful delight. Then the next
time they were far too overcooked and only tasted of burnt cocoa (note to self:
don’t try to make flavoured shells on your first go).
If you are going to attempt to make macarons, which I encourage you to
do, my advice is don’t get frustrated and make sure you have the proper tools
and ingredients. Don’t even bother trying to make them if you only have a hand
mixer. That is really difficult for me to say as I have been making around
fifty sugar cookies and meringues a week and surviving without a KitchenAid (or
a working hand mixer for that matter). I finally broke down though and decided
to make a conscious effort to obtain one. Luckily, my wonderful parents gave me
one for Christmas and my fiancé provided me with all of the rest of the tools I
needed (pans that bake everything evenly and quickly, a digital candy
thermometer, a food processor, a digital food scale and a sieve with really
tiny holes).
I have absolutely no clue as to how to use half the tools I have (is it
crazy that I have never even used a food processor for cooking?), but I am
ready for macaron battle. I unfortunately can’t share the specific recipe I am going
to be using as it was given to me through the class I took, but if you would
like the recipe and are in the area, I suggest you take a class with Connie (www.jadorelesmacarons.com). There
are many recipes for macarons online and hopefully all of my mistakes that I am
bound to make will help you get a perfect macaron that will surely impressive
your friends and family.
Beautiful
Baking Fellow Sweeties
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