Here comes an inconvenient truth for a pastry chef: I don't fancy macarons.

And actually, I've never quite got what all the fuss is about either.

I find macarons to be a great creativity ground for flavour pairing, yet I always end-up feeling like I'm eating a mouthful of sugar. On the other hand, I must agree: they look attractive in shape and colour, thus they are indeed very à la mode.

Being Trendy Puts Quality at Risk

These days, to stay up with trends, macarons are a must-have in your assortment. Just like chocolate truffles were in the 80's, until they became marginalised by the mass market flooding with too many failures of the delicate bonbon.

The trend of macarons is surely in its peak period when, around the world, you see them popping up everywhere. Today, it is the archetype of a fashionable sweet gift, the world's top pastry chef's signature creation, the most talked about pastries from people pretending to know everything about them, and what more to say when even McDonald's France is proposing macarons in their outlets (the ads show a pair of hands holding it as if it was a burger) or in the US, Starbucks is selling them in their outlets countrywide.

Now, this worries me as I can foresee a near future where the chocolate truffle history is brewing and getting ready to be repeated. Can you imagine eating at a nice restaurant to celebrate a very special occasion, getting macarons as petit-four and all of a sudden exclaiming: "mmhh...the ones I had at McDonald's in Paris were better!" What a benchmark of shame for any craftsman of taste!

In finality, I am surely not blaming the macarons for what they are, nor do I suggest boycotting the delicate sweet treats. I am simply concerned with the way some companies are taking advantage of yet another money-making opportunity without caring about quality.

As for your macaron-hunting quest, trying to unveil the perfect one I guess is pretty much like wine: it's up to everyone's preference. Indulging yourself with macarons is definitely a good therapy, or perhaps is it a bit too à la mode?

Our Macarons

In our pastry kitchens, we typically adjust our dessert recipes with an average of 15% to 20% less sugar compared with the same recipes we used in Europe; thus, I am quite surprised about all the infatuation that still looms around macarons. I guess the main factor remains fashion as well as the subliminal image conveyed by advertising.

We've found them more pleasant to eat using acidic or sour flavours, cutting the sweetness of the shells with tastes such as yuzu, lemon, green apple or passion fruit for example, or even salty caramel, but that's as far as it goes.

In my opinion, what I found suits best the purpose of the macaron is to simply use the shells as a supporting element in sweet creations. For instance, we're using them to be filled with a delicate light yuzu cream, and some fresh roasted pears seasoned with fresh thyme. As soon as the ratio of fresh fruits and yuzu cream levels the sweet shells, the balance is reestablished and the experience becomes pleasant.

In another application, we simply use the macaron shell as a base for fresh strawberries with some vanilla and fromage blanc cream, where again, the sourness, this time from the fromage blanc, balances the sweetness. Our French restaurant (Caprice) occasionally serves the plain shells flavoured with lemon zest as an accompaniment for pan fried foie gras, which makes it quite an interesting take.

Yuzu Cream Recipe

You surely stumble upon dozens of different macaron recipes, so I won't bore you yet again with my recipe. Instead I'd like to share with you the yuzu cream recipe we use in our macarons, which can be served with different fruits: 

Ingredients

48ml Fresh Milk

8gm Gelatine leaves

360gm White Chocolate

150ml Pure Yuzu Juice

390gm Whipped Cream

Method:

Soften the gelatine leaves in the cold milk

Melt the white chocolate

Melt the gelatine leaves in the same milk it soaks in

Add the gelatine and milk mixture to the melted white chocolate

Add the yuzu juice and mix into a smooth mixture

Finally, add the whipped cream delicately to the chocolate base

Allow to set in the fridge for about 1 hour

Before use, whisk the cream and pipe into your macaroon