Pierre Herme Macarons

So...FINALLY, i decided that it was time for me to try some of the famous Pierre Herme macarons and see what the fuss was all about. I went to their counter in Selfridges and despite the price tag £1.85 per macaron, there was a line which gave me some time to decide on my flavours! There were so many and they all looked so pretty! I manage to decide on 3 flavours i.e. passionfruit and chocolate, coffee and liquorice. I was abit disappointed at the packaging where the macarons just came sealed in a plastic food bag despite it costing so much.

There were gift boxes you could get which looked lovely and would make a nice gift but as i was just going to eat it myself, figured i would do without it (for now at least)..

Now, the experiments begin!

First, the "look" test..

In an attempt to better myself, i compare my macarons to Pierre Herme ones (very daring i know!) I figure everyone has to start somewhere!

Can you spot the home made one yet?

Now?

I sent these photos to a few of my friends and family members, and i am quite pleased to say that they had difficulty identifying which one particularly was mine and which was pierre herme! i am sure with closer scrutiny and in person, they could have identified it, but that made my day!

Second test - the "taste" test

I cut the macarons into bite sized pieces and distributed them round the room at my sisters'. I guess its abit hard to do a real taste test, as all the macarons were different flavours, so you would basically choose the ones you fancy! whoops...didnt think this all the way through..

Verdict: The Passionfruit & chocolate flavour was a winner! Closely followed by my rum and raisin chocolate..woo hoo!

We found that the Pierre Herme macaron shell itself was quite dense, and wasnt as crunchy/chewy as mine was which was preferred (yes, that was just amongst my family members though!) I guess its a very personal preference. The flavours were very nice though..

Oh well, am happy with this batch definitely, but i have a lot of work to do to get my macarons consistent.Will enjoy the journey though..

For your reference;

Pierre Herme macarons i bought were the passionfruit and chocolate (i.e. the yellow one with chocolate flecks right on top in the photo), coffee (bottom left in photo) and the liquorice violet (the one with the pink and black shell, bottom right of the photo)