Voilà! The winning MACARONS: flavours left - right: Citron (lemon curd) -Chocolat Caramel (with baileys caramel)- Framboise (raspberry coriander infused)- Fidel Castro (w chili flakes) - and finally Menthe Glaciale (peppermint chocolate filling).Here it is
le cours de macaron that I participated today from 8am-3pm at Savours School in Brunswick today! I had such a wonderful time, the chef or
le chocolatier by profession,
Paul Kennedy guided us (...did most of it actually..
ha ha I was told to stay put...) *cough* I'm accident-prone :O
So there were six Macarons flavors, each made differently according to it's country of origin, ranging from Italy, Spain and France. Surprisingly the most widely-used being the Spanish ones, the sugar doesn't need to be dissolved and less ingredients. However the macarons that I saw in Paris had a very nice gloss, and if you want to create that, then you must follow the French recipe, using more Almond flour.
Squeezing the paste from piping bag is tricky at first, you squirt from the bottom of the surface, be still, don't make a snake out of it, when you get the right size, flick the bag. Flick Flick Flick it! It will raise in the oven and it takes only 12-15min tops, bring it out and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes until it's ready for the filling.
Chef Paul said that Pierre
Hermé leave his unfilled
macarons for 24 hours until they softened, he is the iconic
créme de la créme of French patisserie chef, however even the
macarons from
Ladurée are very chewy whereas the ones we made today are crunchier.
Of course ideally we would leave them for more than half a day until they softened. It's up to you
really whether you'd prefer more of an Italian meringue texture or a
gooey bite. I prefer the
gooey gooey. To get the colours we wanted, you must experiment, trial and error, the
raspberry macaron flavour should be in a rich red colour, but the chef opted for something subtle, which I also liked. In the future, I would really like to use natural colouring...from fruits perhaps or jams...??
This is the French recipe, they are flatter, more chewy and is my favourite because we sprinkle them with expensive metallic powder (70 dollar a pop!). The filling today is changed to blackberry, frozen then mixed with sugar, melted to become a liquidy sorbet. Refrigerated and then glazed on top of the macarons.
Aaaah don't they look so beautiful? he he he, these are done, the top rack holds the raspberry flavor with metallic glaze, and the second rack is caramel macaron with baileys cream filling. Next time I'll use a bit amount of butter for the filling as I don't really like that creamy mousse taste in my mouth. I'd prefer the caramel to be pure melted sugar, dark and clear.
I really enjoyed myself today, I wish I could rewind and go back again. I told my friend who 
came with me that for a day, I felt I was back in Paris. I didn't feel like I was in Melbourne, sorry, I have this love-hate relationship with this city.
Moreover, I can't wait to practice baking them, it'll be a challenge but I'll let you know how it goes of course. Next time, I'll tackle it using natural coloring perhaps, more classic flavors like vanilla, coffee, and pistachio. If you are interested in the course, go www.savourschool.com.au It's worth it! and you'll meet fancy characters while at it!
It takes a life to entertained a world.
Mesdames et Messieurs, je te présente, le hamburger. Taa daaaaaa...dripping with ketchup (red strawberry sorbet) stacked with Kraft cheese (white chocolate), patty beef (chocolate cream), fresh sliced tomato (sliced strawberries) and minty peppermint leaf (exactly what it is) and two very delicious buns (do I really need to explain myself?). So here it is, the joke of the day. Enjoy le hamburger macaron only in Melbourne.
Voilà! The winning MACARONS: flavours left - right: Citron (lemon curd) -Chocolat Caramel (with baileys caramel)- Framboise (raspberry coriander infused)- Fidel Castro (w chili flakes) - and finally Menthe Glaciale (peppermint chocolate filling).
Paul Kennedy guided us (...did most of it actually..ha ha I was told to stay put...) *cough* I'm accident-prone :O
Squeezing the paste from piping bag is tricky at first, you squirt from the bottom of the surface, be still, don't make a snake out of it, when you get the right size, flick the bag. Flick Flick Flick it! It will raise in the oven and it takes only 12-15min tops, bring it out and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes until it's ready for the filling.
really whether you'd prefer more of an Italian meringue texture or a gooey bite. I prefer the gooey gooey. To get the colours we wanted, you must experiment, trial and error, the raspberry macaron flavour should be in a rich red colour, but the chef opted for something subtle, which I also liked. In the future, I would really like to use natural colouring...from fruits perhaps or jams...??
Aaaah don't they look so beautiful? he he he, these are done, the top rack holds the raspberry flavor with metallic glaze, and the second rack is caramel macaron with baileys cream filling. Next time I'll use a bit amount of butter for the filling as I don't really like that creamy mousse taste in my mouth. I'd prefer the caramel to be pure melted sugar, dark and clear. 
came with me that for a day, I felt I was back in Paris. I didn't feel like I was in Melbourne, sorry, I have this love-hate relationship with this city.
pistache
citron
cerise
menthe glaciale
chocolat
café
Can't wait to have my homemade bread in the morning! So this batch is filled with lots of cranberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds and a few other nameless nuts and sweet raisins. I used self-raising wholemeal flour and a few tablespoons of honey.
Stuffed with mixed nuts and cranberries. Really yum with yogurt, or toasted with a smear of honey or jam. A sweet tartine for breakfast.
French macaroons at a local boulangerie at Rue de Sevres near Le Bon Marché in the 7eme arr.
feeling it will have similar-like effect of the cupcake phenomena when it first entered the New York scene and burst like waterfalls to every bakery and cake shops around the world. Little did anyone know outside of Paris, what is a french macaroon. Most of you reading this would probably already know what is the true french macaroons and how it actually look like (the image above is a giver) however for a minuscule of you who come across this article by sheer accident, here is a petit l'introduction to the differences of the macaroons you grew up eating - to the french version that for many le boulanger and I will tell you that this little gem is the true flag of France.
a cracky surface with a chewy texture made from egg whites, sugar and ground almonds. When I was growing up in Jakarta, I blurry remember eating them for the first time as a gift from someone who just came back overseas. I loved it instantly, from the sweet perfumy aroma from the almonds to the way it blends perfectly over a cup of hot milk. This version is called amaretti, originally from Italy and thought to have been made by the Italian monastery way before the 16th century.
beginning of the 20th century. Today, Ladurée sells up to 16,000 macaroons each day from their three green painted salons, my favourite one is at Rue Bonaparte and my heart smiles each time I passed it on my way home. With more than 20 flavors and a new one added each month to last only for a couple of weeks until sold out, Ladurée is the true maker of french macaroons.
waiting for their turn to be serve, and then goes the next daunting task of choosing which flavors you're after. Try the classic ones first if you're confuse, I always go for caramel with a salty after-taste from the au beurre salé, then for your next visits roll out your tonque with framboise, citron and fleur d’Oranger.
Two different Warhol exhibits at two different galleries in Saint-Germain. One was in Place de Furstenberg and Rue L'Université, is it Warhol season?
I am back and feeling fresher than ever today eventhough it was raining hail this morning, and my hands and feet are close to freeeeziiingg...yes that's Melbourne!
Grapeseed is at 1084 High Street, Armadale. Tram no. 6 from Melbourne Central.
