Macaroon School

Last week I took a cooking class at Divertimenti called "Macaroons and More." I am sure I don't need to reiterate my love for all things macaroon. Perhaps you also remember several of my botched attempts at creating these little masterpieces for myself? Need I remind you of my infamous turdaroon???

Here are some things I learned from my macaroon class:

• Once you make your macaroon, the macaroon should sit for at least 24 hours before eating them. This allows the flavour from the filling to infuse itself into the porous shell.
• Once you pipe out the macaroon shells onto your baking tray, you need to let them sit and they should develop a sort of tough skin. I did know that the macaroons are supposed to sit before going into the oven, but untill I actually touched it myself to see what it should feel like, I didn't realize that my texture was way off (and was much too soft).
• Once you pipe the filling onto the shell, it is best to pipe a bit into the centre, and rather than spread it out with something like a knife, twist the macaroon onto the filling. This creates a nice clean and uniform edge.
• Macaroons should be stored in the fridge, and actually you could even freeze them!

So, what were the macaroons like that we made in class? They all looked pretty damn good to be honest. I was impressed and would be very pleased if I could now replicate them at home ... BUT... they are not Laduree. They did not have the same light as air texture which this housewife has grown so fond of. And speaking of Laduree, guess what? There's now a new special edition box in moiré pink. Not only is it incredibly pretty, but it has a sort of fabric texture which seems to replicate "movement" when exposed to light. Simply lovely! I bought a box of 8 (yes, so naughty, this was less than an hour after leaving my class by the way!). I bought my two favorite flavours: pistachio and coconut.

I thought I could don a little Marie Antoinette wig and a Dior couture ball gown (which only comes out for macaroon eating rituals) and sit languorously on a chaise lounge, while you pop them into my mouth. What do you think of that? Positively inspired, right?

P.S. Please stay tuned for upcomming macaroon making attempts. I am absolutely determined to get this right! Since the last time I posted about an attempt, I kinda stopped trying. Recently however, I saw a tweet from Jamie at Life's A Feast about a macaroon challenge. The challenge involves making violet macaroons with a vanilla bean buttercream. Sounds cool, right? I figure, this is the impetus I need to get my lazy self in gear and create a masterpiece. If you would like to take part of in this challenge, click here for more information. Challenge your favourite housewife... if you dare ;).