The Official Magazine Of The naTiOnal Baking indusTry assOciaTiOn

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ISSUE: #1: October november 2009

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StELLar… Baking’s brightest young stars

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French MacaronsThis is an article about one of the world’s favourite petit fours. Two delicate almond meringue domes sandwiched together with a flavoured filling to become le macaron de Paris (or “French macaron” to most of us).

DuncanMarkhamDuncan Markham is an award-winning writer and editor from Melbourne. He thinks about food constantly and has two food-oriented websites: Syrup & Tang and www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com, which provides independent reviews of culinary books. In December 2007, he published a series of articles on macarons (www.syrupandtang.com/macarons) so that he could then eat them guilt-free under the guise of research.

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For Parisians, the French and the travelling rich, the macaron de Paris has been a familiar friend for many a year, with industry greats such as Ladurée and Pierre Hermé transforming this singular bakery item into a thing of beauty, great style and even greater demand. Queues snake out the door of Hermé’s boutique on Saturdays as connoisseurs (and others) wait to try his latest flavours or to taste his famous Ispahan (a rose macaron with rose/lychee cream and raspberry jelly).

What makes the macaron so utterly irresistible? Part of the allure is their simple symmetry, whether unadorned or decorated with colours, fruits, rose petals or gold leaf to become a thing of great beauty.

Secondly, their texture is like nothing else. Biting into the delicate shell, it gives way with the slightest crunch and compresses to yield a mouthful of delicate, rapidly dissolving meringue and often exotically-flavoured filling.

Finally, the challenges of their creation and successful design of flavours and fillings will always ensure they remain the mark of a truly great pâtissier with demand far outstripping supply.

A caution for industry bakers: the macaron is the diva of the biscuit baking universe. Abandon dreams of consistent supply, quick turnovers and profit margins. The perfect French (Parisian) macaron belongs to the artisan trades, sitting in sweet splendour alongside sourdough and sugar work as a labour of love for only the most passionate (or obsessive).

Those that persevere however, will be sweetly rewarded with both throngs of faithful followers and the pleasure of creating new and exciting flavours. Furthermore, it pays to consider how you can enhance the flavour sensation of these pâtisserie divas, as it is this creativity that attracts a following.

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You are limited only by your imagination, so think about what you want to achieve and get to work, but be warned – macaron and get to work, but be warned – macaron aficionados are a picky bunch. It pains my heart to throw even one in the bin, but there heart to throw even one in the bin, but there has been cause. I was amazed at a window full of overcooked (brown!) macarons in a shop in Chartres, and have chewed my way through macarons filled with hard, cold, greasy buttercream in Paris, Sydney and Melbourne. I’ve seen lumpy things (like small cowpats) sold for premium prices and have heard tell of an Australian restaurant serving macarons filled with split crème pâtissière.

And finally, a word of advice. If you embark on a journey into macaron mania, don’t do it without tasting the real thing first. Nowadays, the great creators have boutiques in many Asian metropoles, so you don’t have to travel far to see what the hype is all about because to date, Australia has lagged far behind in achieving reliable quality.

Whether your tastes run to rose and lychee, mint, passionfruit, jasmine tea, wasabi or even a special edition tomato sauce (Monsieur Hermé, what were you thinking?), once you have perfected the method, the taste, texture and colour combinations are almost endless. Experiment and enjoy!

focus“if you haven’t yet

experienced the world of

the macaron, i present

here an analysis of this

shapely beauty...”shapely beauty...”

enlightenment

Remember, Macaron.

France produces many

varieties of almondy

biscuits called macarons,

some ancient, some

tasty, but the Parisian

macaron is younger,

more beautiful, most

delicate. And don’t even

mention macaroooons:

those heavy, almondy,

nay perhaps coconutty,

creations which have

their place in the world

of baking but pale into

proletarian insignificance

next to a macaronic

beauty.

Parisian macarons come

in approximately three

sizes: tiny 2-3 cm (often

restaurant petit fours),

small 3-5 cm (most

popular, also referred to

as gerbets), and large/

standard 5-8 cm.

There are probably five

main types of filling: jam

(the original, now rare),

ganache, butter cream,

thickened creams,

caramel.

Smooth, shiny shell

Ruffled Foot doesn’t poke out

Filling stays within the borders of the shell

fo

cu

sin

Text and images © Duncan Markham 21

recipesRECIPESFROM THE CWA

Recipes courtesy of Country Women’s Association from their latest cookbook ‘Cakes….Traditional, Tempting, Tried-and-True’

Custard cakeJOAN BEITZEL, FORREST BEACH BRANCH, NORTH QLD

ingredients110 g butter1/2 cup sugar1 egg3/4 cup self-raising flour1/4 cup custard powdericing sugar, to serve

custard2 egg yolks, well beaten1 cup milk2 tablespoons sugar2 tablespoons custard powder1 teaspoon vanilla essence

SERVES 8

instructionsMake custard first. Beat egg yolks with some of the milk, then heat the remaining milk and the sugar. Add egg mixture and custard powder to the milk and stir constantly over low heat until custard boils and thickens. Transfer to a container, cover with cling wrap to prevent a skin forming, and allow to cool to room temperature for easier spreading.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease an 18-cm sandwich tin and line the base and sides with greased baking paper.

For the cake, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg, beat well, then add sifted fl our and custard powder and beat until soft and smooth.

Spread half the cake mixture over the base of the prepared tin, cover with custard, then spread remaining cake mixture carefully on top. Bake for 35–40 minutes.

Dust with icing sugar before serving. This cake is delicious if eaten while still warm.

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