The macaron has a history stretching back hundreds of years, and over the past five or six years Parisians and foodies around the world have fallen for these small, round cookies: two shells sandwiched around a filling, shaped like a hamburger, sweet, brightly coloured and shockingly expensive. Many Thai bakeries now make and sell macarons, even if customers aren't yet queuing up for them in great numbers. The macaron originated in France during the hard times of the French Revolution, when the system of government was overthrown. Italian missionaries living in France looked for a way to make a living from almonds, sugar and egg whites, ingredients that were inexpensive yet nutritious. They whipped the three together and baked them in the oven, creating a flying-saucer-shaped treat with a slightly crisp outside and an inside that melts in your mouth. With its perfectly balanced sweet flavour and cheap, easy-to-find ingredients, the macaron became widely popular.
Later, someone sandwiched two macarons together with a filling in the middle, the form we still enjoy today. The modern macaron was revolutionised by French pastry wizard Pierre Hermé, who used fruits from around the world to create a range of macaron flavours, until it became popular worldwide. Today the macaron is both a delicious dessert and a fashion item, with top chefs competing to create macarons that look beautiful and taste delicious.
What Makes a Good Macaron?
The macaron's charm isn't just its bright colours. A good macaron starts with its shape: a flat dome that looks perfectly round from above, with a smooth, shiny top thanks to finely ground almonds. The crucial part is the base of the shell, called the "foot" or "skirt": a thin, crisp, lace-like ruffle around the edge, which takes a fairly tricky technique to achieve.
Another key element is the sweet aroma. The secret is that after sandwiching two shells together, you keep them somewhere cool overnight so the flavour of the filling soaks into the shells. The moisture from the cream filling also gives the macaron a soft, chewy bite. The filling and shells should taste perfectly balanced, the top and bottom shells should be equal in height, and the filling should be piped just to the edge so it shows as a fine line all the way round.
Macarons in Thailand
In Thailand, as tea, coffee and bakery shops boom on every street, the popularity of this French dessert has grown too. Flavours are adapted to local tastes in each country, with varied flavours and modified looks depending on each chef's creativity, giving food lovers plenty of macarons to choose from and enjoy.
Feel like making macarons yourself? Here's a recipe to try.
Macaron Shell Ingredients
- 200 g icing sugar
- 120 g ground almonds
- 100 g egg whites
- 20 g sugar
How to Make the Shells
- Separate the yolks from the whites. Make sure the mixing bowl is completely free of grease, or the meringue won't whip up properly.
- Put 100 g egg whites in the mixing bowl and set aside.
- For the dry ingredients, sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
- Add the ground almonds, stir to combine and set aside.
- Whip the egg whites until almost fluffy, then gradually add the sugar in about three additions, and keep whipping until fluffy.
- Fold half the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites until combined, then add the remaining half and mix well.
- Fit a piping bag with a 1.2 cm nozzle, fill it with the mixture and pipe rounds onto a tray. Leave at room temperature for 20 minutes so the outside dries slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C. After the 20 minutes, put the tray in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 130°C. Bake for 18 minutes, then let cool.
Vanilla Cream Filling Ingredients
- 125 g butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 80 g icing sugar
How to Make the Vanilla Cream Filling
- Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until soft and smooth.
- Sift in the icing sugar and beat well.
- Add the vanilla extract.
- Beat until everything is combined.
- Spoon into a piping bag and pipe the filling onto the baked macaron shells.
- Sandwich with another shell, and they're ready to enjoy.
