Jour du Macaron

This might be one of my most favorite blog posts...ever.  Or maybe its the photos.  Or maybe its the ridiculous amount of fun we had participating.  Either way, hope you enjoy.  


You know those little round French cookies that are popping up all over the United States that everyone calls a macaroon?  Well, we've had them in France for hundreds of years.  The American macaroon is made with meringue and coconut and often dipped in chocolate.  The French macaron is also made up largely of meringue, but the base is almond flour or ground almonds, confectioners sugar, and the filling made up of jam or ganache.  They are not, I repeat not the same thing.  It makes me cringe when I hear an American call a French macaron a macaroon.  Yikes.  The more regular flavors of macarons include pistachio, raspberry, vanilla, and chocolate you can find at most any boulangerie, but only the daring folks at Pierre Hermé dream with foie gras and cinnamon.  


He is not the first person to dream up the idea of the macaron we have today.  We can, in fact, give props to the other famous macaron maker, Ladurée.  They didn't come up with the idea of the macaron, but more pieced it together and made it famous.  Pierre Hermé is hailed for his pioneering with perfection, his ability to make your taste buds dance with a variety of genius applications of chocolate, and his strange and daring use of savory ingredients in sweet confections such as:  roasted corn, foie gras, balsamic vinegar, and olives.  He even had a macaron a few years ago which was ketchup flavored!  

I should introduce you to the day of the macaron first.  Le Jour du Macaron is a day 8 years ago, Pierre Hermé and a couple of other boulangeries/patisseries got together to raise money for a cause. The association changes each year, and this year it was to raise money for Autism Awareness.  So, although I didn't have much to give, I felt so inclined to help out such a great organization to which my mother has dedicated her life to...not to mention get a few discounted macarons.  In years past, it has been the rule that you had to visit all Pierre Hermé locations and get a sticker from each one in order to receive your free macarons.  But this year, as long as you put a donation in the donation box (any amount) you got one free-ish macaron.  Pretty sweet deal, no?!  If you bought 10 euros or more, you got a poster of all the macarons offered on the special day.  Which, I might mention that on the jour du macaron Pierre created special flavors that aren't available any other time during the year, and the flavors change each jour du macaron.  We also decided to make it a race to visit them all, even though it wasn't necessary...that's 8 very cheap macarons...why not?  (Normally 1.95 euros a piece.)

I of course, had to have the poster, so I bought a box of 7 macarons for 12 euros, and skipped out on getting a macaron at a couple of other places instead.  It was worth it.  

From left to right:  L'Infiniment Marron Glacé; Le Fortunella: Kumquat, Star Anise and Kumquat Confit; Olive Oil and Mandarin

I might go so far as to tell you that these might be my favorite sweet treat in all of the world.  So dainty and elegant!  I would rather have these over any DQ Brownie Delight, granny's homemade chocolate pound cake, or my own lavender creme brulée.  They are deliciously sweet and when done right...melt-in-your-mouth perfection.  The proper macaron is a bit crispy on the outside but as soon as you sink your teeth into into the top it melts and gives way to a soft, chewy inside.  The filling brings a second burst of flavor, most likely the flavor that shines and gives life to the cookie.  The only problem?  They are way too small.  

They are certainly pretty as a picture.   

From top to bottom:  L'Églantine, Fig, and Foie Gras; Ispahan: Rose, Litchi, and Raspberry; L'Americano Pamplemousse: Orange, Campari, and Grapefruit Confit; Le Métissé: Orange, Carrot and Cinnamon.
The Ispahan is one of his top sellers which he named as his "Chanel Suit" of macarons.  

Since they are made with mostly almond flour, you can make them into any color, which at first glance excites the eyes, but its the cream or confiture filling that gives it the most flavor and zest.  Chocolate macarons are the exception, because the cookies are made with cocoa powder as well to give it color and taste.  Chocolate macarons are also some of the hardest to make because of the chemical composition of the flour, egg whites, cocoa powder, and other ingredients.  

Galeries Lafayette Boutique

Rozy and Laura making their choice.  

Yum!

We had a brochure with all the available flavors on it and every so often we would stop, pull out our pens and cross off which ones we had already bought and which ones we had eaten.  It was quite a sight!  My favorite one that I ate that day?  L'Infiniment Vinaigre Balsamique: Balsamic Vinegar.  It was seriously the bomb.  I enjoyed the more girly flavors such as raspberry and orange, of course, but its the balsamic vinegar that surprised me and actually made me go back to buy another one.

From top to bottom:  L'Ispahan: Rose, Litchi, and Framboise; L'Americano Pamplemousse: Orange, Campari and Grapefruit Confit; Le Montebello: Pistachio and Raspberry Compote.  On its side:  Olive Oil and Mandarin Orange

Top left corner:  Ispahan: Rose, Litchi, and Raspberry
Bottom left: Mogador: Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit
Middle top:  Crème Brulée
Middle bottom: Cassis
Top right: Chocolate and Earl Grey
Bottom Right:  Infiniment Rose:  Rose and Rose Petal

The green are Infiniment Fresh Mint; the white ones in the back are Infiniment Jasmin with Jasmine flower and Jasmine tea; the orange ones in the front are Éden: Peach, Apricot, and Saffron.

Rozy calculating her macarons for the day! 

I went off the deep end a couple of times.  This happens to be chocolate and foie gras.  A surprisingly delicious macaron.  Sweet and a tad salty, with the foie gras not too overpowering.  To put it in a few words, I would order it again...by choice.  

We started at 9:30 am, and were finished by 2:30 pm (with a 20 minute sandwich break) and had just enough time to gather at Tuileries to enjoy the sunshine and a couple of our macarons.  The problem was that we had too many to choose from.  I'm guessing we had at least 60 between the 5 of us.  I still have a couple hiding somewhere in my refrigerator and will have to eat them before our ski trip this weekend.  Could be a good breakfast before we head out Saturday morning?

Enjoying the sunshine!

These are the kind of days I love living in Paris.  I love being able to spend the day hunting down random macaron locations and dodging in and out of metro after metro eating perfect pastries here and there.  It makes me happy!  We quickly came to the conclusion that Le Jour du Macaron might even be better than Easter.  Maybe.