Alliance Française de Charlottesville Blog: Pastry Fit for a Queen

We have all heard of macarons but knowing the difference between itself and a toasted coconut, delight called a macaroon, can be difficult.

A macron is the pastry we will be talking about today. It is delicate, airy, and resembles some sort of a cookie sandwich. They often remind me of meringues, as the consistency is very similar. They are constructed by using almond flour, sugar, and egg whites (that gives it the fluffy texture). The final product of the macaron, is two shells held together by some form of filling, whether a jam or ganache.

The pastry that is delicious but we are not talking about today is a Macaroon. This is a baked creation made of egg whites, sugar, and shredded dried coconut. These are pretty dense in consistency in comparison to the Macaron.

To make the distinction a little easier and for pronunciation purposes Macaroon (/rün/) vs. the Macron (/roh/). Note the difference in o’s.

Macarons (not the coconut confections!) have quite the history. The earliest records of them date back to the time of the Renaissance in Arabic countries, such as Syria, which is still one of the top exporters of almonds.

After the fall of Constantinople around the 1450’s almonds made the move to mainland Europe, in particular, Italy.

Later in the 1660’s macarons were baked for special occasions. These beautiful pastries had an appearance at many weddings, fairs, and holy celebrations.

A few hundred years later in the 1890’s the macaron became famous in the neighborhood of Belleville in France.

Now macrons are produced all around the world and can be found in the U.S.A. In 2010, “Macaron Day NYC” was established in New York City. During this day, paralleling with Macaron Day Paris, participating bakeries offer a free macaron to those looking to explore and discover the taste of the famous French cookie.

Knowing and having heard that these delicate confections are difficult to make I challenged myself to see if they really do live up to their difficultly level. I browsed the internet for different recipes and decided that the best way to start was with “Easy French Macarons” as I am obviously a beginner. After a little bit of searching I decided to go with a Martha Stewart recipe which claimed they would be easy to make. The recipe is as follows

1 and ¼ cups of almond meal

1 and ¾ cups of confectioner’s sugar

¼ teaspoon of salt

4 large egg whites

½ cup of granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Any form of strained jam or ganache

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First, I whisked the almond meal and confectioner’s sugar together. Then sifted over a large bowl.

Second, Beat egg whites until nice and frothy…so about 2 minutes. I slowly added granulated sugar and almond extract and then mixed it again for about 4-5 minutes to receive shiny peaks.

Next, I folded the egg whites into the flour/sugar (which can be a very daunting and annoying task) until the mixture is evenly combined. Mix until the consistency of honey (do not fold too much but just enough to mix all the ingredients). You can add food coloring at this point if desired.

After that, I transferred the mixture into a pastry bag and cut off ½ off the tip. I piped out rounds of mixture measuring 1 inch.

Finally, let them dry for 30 minutes to an hour… Preheat the oven in the meantime to 350. Then I baked them for 14/15 minutes and let cool.

The best part, putting the jam or ganache in-between the shells and enjoying!

I made bilberry, vanilla macarons and they were delicious!

A pastry fit for Marie Antoinette? She has been famously connected to macarons, which is greatly portrayed in the movie Marie Antoinette.

If you haven’t seen the movie Marie Antoinette you should put it on your list of "must watch". Kirsten Dunst, who plays Marie Antoinette is often surrounded by luscious, regal piles of macarons and cakes. It’s worth watching the movie just to drool over the desserts.

Ladurée now has new flavor called Marie Antoinette. Its appearance is quite unique; a creamy tan ganache that carefully holds the two teal shells in place. It is flavored with their Marie Antoinette tea, which can be described to taste like Chinese black tea with rose petals, citrus, and honey.

"Let them eat cake" also known as “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” is proclaimed to be what Marie Antoinette said during the eve of the French Revolution. Interestingly enough, the translation in English is not exactly the same as it's French original.

It has been noted by many that Marie Antoinette in fact did not say this quote at all, but rather it was Marie-Therese 100 years before.

What do you think? If Marie Antoinette did in fact say it do you think it could have been a cause of the revolution? It might have been rather insulting to hear "let them eat brioche", a more expensive bread containing eggs and butter, if they didn't have any bread at all.