MAKING MACARONS

Macarons a true French classic, so well know around the world, a little luxury we can enjoy ever so often. The first time i tried them i was hooked. Of course there are flavours I prefer to others, for example pistachio and Salted caramel. I would never choose Rose or Licorice, but they are all incredibly popular. Laduree are the market leaders, Pierre Herme is more experimental, but many bakeries are making macarons. I always wanted to be able to bake my own. The first time I tried it was a catastrophy. They looked like a colourful flat biscuits that stuck to the baking sheet. I was very disappointed and demotivated and it took another few years before I tried again.

Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes and after few times I had some positive results. My colleague was organising a Hen night at the beginning of march and she mentioned to me she wanted to get some macarons from Laduree. I offered to make some for her. It was an exciting challenge. And I had to make them all Lactose free, which isn't easy as the non dairy product don't have the same rich taste. In the trial I made Lemon and raspberry, but eventually we decided to make pistachio and salted macarons. I enjoy the process of making them. It takes time and I am always improving my skills.

I was very pleased with the end result. The first time they looked quite professional and evenly sized. I also had great feedback which was very motivating. The fact I used lactose free butter and soy cream did not affect the taste and they were still indulgent. Macarons are naturally gluten free as there isn't any flour, just ground almonds. I would love to know which flavours do you enjoy.