There were only 8 class participants (a mom & daughter from Irving, Texas; a mom & daughter from Massachusetts; 2 friends from California; a journalist from Washington, and me). The classroom/kitchen was located in the cave (cellar) of the cooking school, and all the equipment resembled what we normally use at home (making it easier to replicate the recipe in our own kitchens). I was paired up with Jessica, the journalist from Washington, and really enjoyed the small group format. Not only did Jessica and I have FUN, we snapped lots of photos along the way.
Each cooking pair chose a color for their cookies, and I (of course) was thrilled when Jessica agreed on yellow!
Our instructor, Eric, was born in France, but grew up from the age of 8 in California. He studied French literature in college, then returned to Paris to pursue his passion as a pastry chef. He was an excellent teacher, keeping everyone on track and sharing lots of tips for making the perfect macarons.
There are quite a few steps to creating these FUN cookies - preparing the ganache filling (which was placed in the freezer to thicken), preparing the almond paste, preparing the Italian meringue, combining the meringue and almond mixture to the perfect consistency, piping the cookies onto a baking sheet, baking, cooling, piping filling onto cookies, and assembling.
Despite the fact that Eric thoroughly explained and demonstrated piping the cookie dough, as well as coaching each of us individually, our cookies were less than uniform in size.
Did you know that assembled macarons are best enjoyed 24 hours after baking to allow the cookies to absorb the filling and become softer? I have to admit that despite not being quite as uniform as those found for sale in Parisian bakeries, our macarons tasted perfectly delicious!
Have you made macarons? Or taken a cooking class? Please share your experience in the comments.
Looks like a really fun way to "see" Paris. You do look like you had a very fun time. I'm sure the journalist was happy you were there for cookie scoop & not the scoop on inside Washington!
ReplyDeleteI have taken a cooking class, it was a vegan protein class; never made macarons & I see them for sale all the time, I just would never spend that amount on a cookie how ever delicious & the only time I have tasted was at a wedding reception.
How fun, you look as though you had a blast! Macarons are The Boy Child's favourite, raspberry flavour.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun!!! Yes, I've taken several cooking courses, and made macaroons just once. They were OK, but no one particularly cared about them, so it wasn't worth perfecting.
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