Macaroons

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Posted at 12:30PM, 22 March 2010 by Carol Wilson - Food writer

Move over cupcakes! The latest trend for sweet-toothed foodies is macaroons; not English macaroons you understand, which are chewy confections of egg whites, sugar and coconut, but beautifully coloured French macaroons, or macarons.

Macaroons are crisp on the outside, yet delectably soft on the inside

These come in a variety of bright colours and are crisp on the outside, yet delectably soft inside and are made with ground almonds, egg white and sugar.

Macaroons are thought to have originated in an Italian monastery; the name comes from the Italian word macarone or maccherone meaning 'fine paste.' Later the chefs of Catherine de' Medici took the recipe to France in 1533 at the time of her marriage to Henri II.

Some French towns have become celebrated for their macaroons; in Montmorillon they're shaped like coronets and sold on their cooking paper; macaroons from Niort contain angelica and those from Nancy were originally made by the Carmelite nuns there in the 17th century.

The French love their macaroons, which are sold in patisseries in boxes, to give as gifts, and served in fashionable Parisian tea salons. Macaroons from Ladurée in Paris are particularly renowned and are made in a range of pastel colours and flavours such as pistachio, rose and jasmine, then sandwiched in pairs with a smooth ganache. Once cooked and filled, the macaroons are set aside for two days before going on sale, to achieve the finest texture and flavour. Fortunately for us, beautifully packaged Ladurée macaroons can now be bought in London.

Renowned chef Pierre Hermé, famous in his native France for his luxurious macaroons in unusual flavours, is also keen to introduce us Brits to the delights of macaroons and recently opened an outlet in London. The colourful array includes intriguing flavours such as Marron & Thé Vert Matcha (chestnut macaroon with a green tea centre); Fragola (strawberries with balsamic vinegar) and the Magnifique (raspberry and wasabi).

I love French macaroons, but they are expensive, so I've started to make my own. They're not difficult to make but it's worth remembering that whole, freshly ground almonds give the best flavour and the egg whites should be at room temperature. I like to make them in a rainbow of colours by adding a few drops of food colouring to the mixture.

What's your favourite macaroon flavour combination?

Comments

Cassandra Amy Rose

22 March 2010, 4:04PM
Cassandra Amy Rose

I've never tried macaroons, but I would love to make some. Where did you get your recipe from?

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carolann

22 March 2010, 4:58PM
carolann

click on the link for French macaroons in the text for a scrumptious recipe.

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jenny

22 March 2010, 6:57PM
jenny

I made these for the first time last week. I didn't want pistachio, so found a recipe from an article in the times. which turned out horribly, i then read the comments left on the article and a lady had said she didn't agree with the recipe given and posted her own, which i then tried & it worked beautifully. So i had bright blue puddles and perfect purple macaroons, which looked like the ones in the french recipe given here. A nice present for mum's birthday which have kept in the fridge for almost a week so far! its a fab feeling when they turn out right!

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Nicola

23 March 2010, 10:06AM
Nicola

I've not tried them before, but I think I better give them a go! They might look nice interspersed with the cupcakes Im going to make for my wedding!

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JaneN

23 March 2010, 3:17PM
JaneN

Help everyone! Have moved to Turkey, opening a small cafe, and I want to put favoured macaroons on the menu. Colours/flavours out here are very limited, but I can get hold of the Monin syrups...does anyone know, if I were to use, say, a few drops of the strawberry Monin syrup to flavour a macaroon, would this make the consitency of the macaroon wrong once cooked? I wondered if it would make the mixture too 'wet' - Thanks

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carolann

23 March 2010, 3:27PM
carolann

You could add the syrup to the ganache filling instead

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miniminx

23 March 2010, 3:57PM
miniminx

ooooooooh in turkey you could make fab rose-flavoured macaroons! and lemon - what else do they flavour turkish delight with?!

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Laura

25 March 2010, 5:44AM
Laura

I tried to make them a few weeks ago, I thought how difficult could they be? http://ourweefarm.blogspot.com/2010/02/good-grief-i-have-just-made-macaroons.html go on, have a laugh!

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Laura

26 March 2010, 8:48PM
Laura

I had some lovely macaroons from wittamer in brussels, the salted caramel ones were amazing!! I also bought some from paul bakery (in brussels) and they were so disappointing :(

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