Who loves macaroons? But who also knows/ has heard that they are super difficult to make? Well, recently I went on a trip to Paris, and it was one of the things on my to-do list, so I absolutely had to try it out! First things first, I do the obvious of typing in to Google, "macaron class paris". And none other than "La Cuisine Paris" shows up, a baking school in Paris that specializes in baking/pastry classes taught in English. And while it'd be cool to learn how to make macarons in French, I think that I'd be already lost enough as it was, so I thought I'd stay on the safe side. :) After looking up their reviews on Yelp and Travel Advisor, just like everyone else these days, I found that they had remarkable reviews and thought that I'd give it a try. As for booking the classes it was really easy and efficient, and I was also really impressed by the wide variety of classes that they had, that I ended up signing up for both this class and the Breakfast Pastry and Croissant class (as you can see in my previous post).
Now fast forward to Paris (as I had booked the classes about 1-2months ahead of time, but you don't need to, I just wanted to make sure that it worked in my schedule, and that I had all of the confirmation ahead of time), I was super excited and with good reason, as I absolutely loved the class! Oh as a side note, the class I took was called "Les Macarons: Intensive Technical Macaron Class Paris" it was a 3hr class, where I learned how to make the four classic fillings, and both the Italian and French techniques. The four fillings that we made that day were chocolate ganache, pineapple compote (changes depending on the season and your instructor), creme au beurre (buttercream), and creme patisserie (pastry cream). At the class that I took there were 5 of us plus the instructor, who was amazing, his name was Chef Romain, but from what I've heard, all of their instructors are excellent :)
In the beginning of the class, we were each given our own plastic aprons where we wrote our names in the middle of the apron, and went around the room telling each other a little bit about our previous experiences with baking, etc. Again, I was fascinated to learn that so many of the people in the class were from all over the world, like Australia, Texas, etc. The first thing that we did was make the four different fillings and since there were 5 of us, it was pretty easy to share, as the maximum is about 8 people per class. Each of us made different fillings, with one of us helping each other with all of the different fillings. The filling that I made was the pineapple compote, which I was really happy about, as I'd never made it before, so I was able to learn something new. :)
Next, we each made the macarons using the Italian method, and made them different colours using a dry powder, which was a really important tip, to make sure that the macaron mixture, doesn't become too watery. In our group we picked pistachio, and the other two mixtures were red and purple. All of the colours were beautiful and super vibrant :) I was happy to learn that making the macarons weren't too difficult if you have the right tips and instruction, and in my opinion, were way easier and less steps to make then making Croissants. Of course, there's the difficulty of determining when the peaks are stiff, and how to determine when the mixture is glossy enough, but it really is just a lot of practice and experience. After that, we learned how to pipe the macarons, and fortunately, I found this fairly easy, my only problem was spacing, as I put them too close together a few times, but other than that mine turned out really well :) Chef Romain also taught us how to make heart-shaped macarons but I decided to focus on perfecting a circle first. Oh also, we didn't need to draw any circles on parchment paper, as we learned to freestyle, and used silicon baking mats. As for making the macarons the main tip/trick I learned, was the saying press-press-press-hold-cut (translation: while putting pressure on the piping bag holding it with your two fore fingers and thumb, and your other hand at the hand wrapped at the top, say "press" three times either out loud or in your head, and then stop putting pressure on it meaning the "hold", and then swipe across to finish the top of the macaron without any pressure and voila!) Another tip is to make sure that you hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle (completely vertical), and that you space them out about 2-3 inches apart. Another tip that I learned from Chef Romain, is that it's not necessary to "tap out the air bubbles by tapping the tray a few times before putting it in the oven, unless you aren't confident with them, as it generally makes no difference". Also, try to make them all around the same size, as you'll have to match them up at the end.
Next, we moved on to the French method, where we decided to make them yellow. Overall, this method was much quicker to make, but if you want a fool-proof method go with the Italian method. But as for taste, they literally turn out the exact same and have no difference in texture, according to Chef Romain, and I have to agree, after seeing them both it'd be hard to tell the difference unless someone told you. Here's an extra tip for baking the macarons in the oven, make sure to pre-heat the oven fully to dry it out, and after 5 min of baking you should open the oven door about 2-3 times to let out the air quickly, unlike any other pastry/dessert. Also, you can rotate the pans if you are doing multiple batches at once. In the meantime, we all filled our piping bags with the different fillings, as we had chilled them in the freezer/fridge, while we were making the macaron mixture. You can either make your own out of parchment paper or just use a piping bag, which is way easier, but both methods work.
Also, another tip that not a lot of people tell you, which is that all of the flavour is in the filling, as the macarons themselves have no flavour at all, as they are made out of egg whites and sugar, so make sure to fill the macarons fully, but not overflowing. Also, you should twist the tops of the macarons on to the other halves. Before you do that though, you should match the macarons, meaning match the halves together to make sure that they are the right size, because even though while you were making them, you swore they were all the same size, they generally won't be out of the oven. This will also help with efficiency in filling the macarons, even though it may feel a bit taxing, it'll be worth it. Oh also, you can tell if you made your macarons right if they don't stick to the pan, because they shouldn't, also they should have "little feet" at the bottom. Additionally, they shouldn't be hollow in the middle or sticky. Another little tip, is that you can't eat the macarons until the next day, I mean you could but they'll be hard as a rock. Something about the moisture etc, makes it so that you can't eat them right away but trust me the wait will be worth it. And you should put them in the fridge, and if you make a fruit compote macaron filling as well as other fillings, you should place them separately, because otherwise they will make the rest of the other macarons soggy.
Overall, this class was a lot of fun, and after trading around different colours, and filling our boxes with macarons, we were given maps of the different boulangeries and restaurants, that have amazing groceries and pastries. I would definitely recommend taking this class, and if you can't make it to Paris, then check out a Macaron class near you, as it's always nice to have instruction on a more complex desert like macarons. Plus, they can give you tips on what you should/shouldn't do, to make you an even better chef :) Below I've added pictures from the class I took, and I hope that you enjoyed my review and journey of baking macarons in Paris! Also, thank you for taking the time to read this as I know its really long, so pat your self on the back, and get back to baking :)
Here is the link to their website: lacuisineparis.com
The Pistachio Green Macarons are filled with a Pineapple Compote and were made using the Italian Method, while the Yellow Macarons are filled with a Chocolate Ganache Filling and were made using the French Method.
Here are the Italian Method macarons I made straight out of the oven.
Pistachio Italian Method Macaron Mixture!
The red macarons were made by our instructor, Chef Romain, using the Italian method :)
Photo with Chef Romain after class!
Finished Macarons in a box! Green-Italian; Yellow-French