I scream for ice- cream too but my real can't resist them, finish the whole box by the time I'm on the bus treat are macaroons. Call me a decadent Marie- Antoinette type if you like but when it comes to sugar (and sugar only) I am happy to be more divine right than democracy. Yes they are frivolous, expensive and filled with calories but I love 'em.
So in an effort to economise and also develop my lil' old self I went to this 'All about Macaroons' class at L'atelier des Chefs between Oxford Street and Marylebone.
The course is £72.00 and lasts two hours- so it's not cheap but it is in a totally state of the art kitchen and you learn in small groups. I didn't attend in a blogging capacity of any kind and spent my hard earned money on this course and I felt I had good value for money; the teaching was interesting and precise but the class still felt like fun and leisure.
I consider myself to be quite a good 'pastry chef' i. e. maker of puddings- but only a fare maker of savoury food and was worried I would struggle. There is no doubt that making macaroons requires concentration but I was amazed that as long as you follow the recipe they are quite easy and you really do get an extremely professional batch of macaroons at the end. I'd have paid for mine!
All this got me to thinking about my fantasy macaroon flavours and so far I've come up with:
Violet
Elderflower and gooseberry
Blood orange and rose water
Rhubarb and custard (a personal favourite- I'm going to try and make these!)
Pumpkin
Lavender
Black Cherry
Nom. Nom. Nom.
What flavours of macaroon would you like to buy or make?
This sounds absolutely great. And so fun! Do you have any photos? I would love to see how they turned out. And as for flavours can I start with all the ones you suggested (bar Black Cherry) and then go from there?
ReplyDeleteHow incredible - I have to go on that course !
ReplyDeleteRhubarb and custard? Excellent!
ReplyDeleteI think lavender cream has potential...sage? (okay, sounds, odd, but it would be sweet...pick a fruit to add if you must...)...
You have me thinking, but the nom noms you started already are getting in the way. ;)
OOh I made my first macaroons on Saturday (Nigella's chocolate)and was surprised how easy they were. Next ones rose for a friend, though I love the idea of Elderflower and Gooseberry.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds brilliant. I'd love to do this.
ReplyDeleteI always think of Macaroons as being too hard, maybe I should try Nigellas like Joan.
As for flavours.. something with white chocolate? And lavender sounds so gorgeous. Who am I kidding, they all sound great!
x
Yumm...Macaroons! I am thinking yes Lavender and perhaps pumpkin for fall!
ReplyDeleteI love that you said that your good at the pastry but not so good at the savory. I am great at the cooking, but am a horrible baker. You've inspired me with this course.
Keep us posted on flavours!
will definitely try to attend this one time, thanks for the link! I would like to try out Geranium and vanilla.
ReplyDeleteall your flavours sound yummy too. I love the way they melt in your mouth, little clouds of heaven.
Hi Marie- I have some ongoing camera not charging issues which is why there are no pictures here. Really what I need to do is just take a deep breath and buy a new one! Glad you approve of black cherry, as far as I'm concerned there aren't enough cherry things in the world
ReplyDeleteHi MAM- you do, it's very fun and people are so impressed that you can make macaroons- far superior to cupcakes in my opinion
Hi Scentscelf- I have a lovely lavender essence from a farm in Kent that I have used for lavender icing/ frosting and I think it would work well with these. At the class we used lavender pods to infuse jam which worked well too. I love thinking up recipes!
Hi Joan- thanks for commenting. Well done! Nigella is the master of making things easy. Rose ones are my favourite of all, hope they went well
Hi BPT- I thought of them being hard too but they aren't hard so much as very precise, you can't go wrong or fudge things but if you stick to the recipe it's pretty easy! White chocolate- yes!
Hi Marion- that's interesting you are the other way around with your cooking- it's timing I struggle with with big supper type cooking sometimes. We don't have enough pumpkin things in the UK and I rather love it so think pumpkin macaroons would be a good way to start
Hi Lobster and Swan- thanks for stopping by- I love your blog! I think you'd really like the course and know you are a macaroon fan. I agree geranium would be delightful, I am on the look out for essence actually but I guess you could infuse cream using flower heads couldn't you.