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)

Luxemburgerli

Sometimes asking questions can be a good thing.. :) 

When i brought my lychee and rose macarons to work one day, one of my colleagues who was worked in Switzerland said to me that it looked like a bigger version of something he used to have in Switzerland called luxemburgerlis. I was baffled. I have never heard of luxemburgerlis ever! Googling it up i realised he was right! It looks so similar to macarons but they are tiny! I was quite curious and asked him how it tasted, what sort of fillings were usually used etc. Turns out, luxemburgerlis are only made in Switzerland and are produced by Sprungli (http://collection.spruengli.ch/luxemburgerli.php?lang=en&cat=). Sigh..

Turns out though, my colleague actually asked his friend that was visiting from Switzerland to get a box so he could bring it to work.... :) 

Here it is, all the way from Switzerland...!

Looks so cute, almost too good to eat!!

i said ALMOST! i was the only one admiring them and taking photos...the rest of my colleagues were chomping away..it was goooood....

And because i was the one who asked for it, i could take the balance home...YAY! :) 

yummm...

Look how it compares to a macaron in terms of size..

how cute...! So whenever you are in Switzerland, you know what to go try!

Macarons part 6: Rum and Raisin macarons (MacAttack Challenge #22)

Since i had some rum and raisin leftover from the ice cream i made, i decided to venture on to make some Rum and Raisin macarons.

For the macaron shells, i used the same recipe i have been using in my previous posts. I used "caramel" colouring to get the brownish-hue as i will be using a chocolate rum and raisin ganache which will be relatively dark.

I start off by making my chocolate rum and raisin ganache.

Ingredients:
180g white and milk chocolate mix
25g rum
60g raisins

Method:
1. Heat rum and raisin puree in a saucepan until boiling
2. Add chocolate and leave to stand for 1 minute
3. Whisk to obtain a smooth mixture
4. Transfer to shallow bowl, cover with clingfilm and refridgerate overnight.
5. Before using, heat ganache in microwave in 2-5 second bursts.
6. Whisk on high speed for 30 seconds

Next - the macaron shells!

As per usual, beat the egg whites till foamy, add the dehydrated egg white and sugar and beat till stiff peaks form. I added some caramel colouring into the meringue mixture before stiff peaks form.

Mix the meringue mixture together with the sifted ground almond and icing sugar mixture. Once macaron mixture has reached the right consistency (usually after 50-60 folds), fill up a piping bag, and start piping onto trays lined with parchment paper.

Let it sit for 45-60 minutes until the macarons are no longer sticky to touch.

I honestly can say that i still wait anxiously for my macarons to rise and for the pretty ruffled feet to form and when they do, i still get excited! Woohoo!

Leave to cool, and then remove from parchment paper, match proportionate sizes together and start piping the filling and sandwich together.

Pop into the fridge in an airtight container and wait till the next day to sample it.

What a coincidence, just read on the Mactweets blog http://mactweets.blogspot.com/ that the Mactweets Mac Attack Challenge #22 is to do with liquor! perfect timing..