Tiramisu Macaron

Tiramisu is pretty hard to beat...that perfect combination of silky, creamy mascarpone with espresso soaked spongy ladyfingers.  How's any dessert to top that?  Well, unless it's tiramisu in a macaron, of course.  Everything is better in a macaron.  Everyone knows that.

Macaron Hearts - Rose & Lychee, Coconut & Strawberry

Hope everyone has had a sweet, sweet Valentine's Day!

Coffee macarons with espresso-chocolate ganache

It's notorious.  Macarons are finicky.  Just a couple of extra turns in the batter can make or break your macarons...though it does not have to be disastrous every time.  I've had the most success with macarons using Italian meringue (a meringue made with boiling sugar), with Pierre Hermé's recipe.  In fact, ever since adopting this recipe, every batch was a success!  Having said that, macarons are not something you can whip up on a whim, nor is it something to be made while multitasking.  If you are more of a free-spirited cook, stop reading this and jump to the page on ice creams, macarons will only set you up for countless disappointments.  Though if you are focused, well-planned and precise in following the recipe, macaron success shouldn't be far away!

Pistachio and Chocolate Macaron

Ever since adopting Pierre Hermé's macaron-making methods and proportions, I have never failed in my macarons.  They came out exactly the way I want them EVERY TIME.  Letting this recent streak of success get to my head, I decided to change up the recipe a bit.  I substituted half the portion of almonds with pistachios, hoping to enhance the pistachio flavor.  And I failed.  Miserably.  The shells came out with very little, if any, feet.  They were flat as a pancake and the texture was too soft and chewy, lacking that signature "eggshell crunch" of a true macaron.  So I baked a second batch with the original recipe, followed it to a tee, and guess what?  Perfect shells.  Please accept my most sincere apologies, Monsieur Hermé, I will never, ever, mess with your genius recipes again.

Ispahan Macaron - Macarons with lychee, rose and raspberry

Another genius creation from my pastry hero Pierre Hermé.  This is a romantic little macaron, with sweet and floral notes of rose, lychee and raspberry.  The first bite releases an intoxicating perfume of rose essence, followed by a fruity lychee white chocolate ganache, the surprise is hidden in the middle:  a cube of raspberry puree jelly, adding just enough tartness to balance the sweet white chocolate.  Bliss.  Little morsels of edible bliss.

Black sesame & matcha macarons

I have a love-hate relationship with macarons.  Obviously, they're adorable and delectable...what's not to love?  They're also notoriously temperamental and finicky.  My first five batches of macarons have all gone terribly wrong to varying degrees.  Though the more I failed (and yes, I have sacrificed countless eggs), the more obsessed I became with getting it right!  So I started reading other people's blogs and collected books dedicated to the little sweet monster.  When my macarons finally started looking right consistently, the feeling was indescribably exhilarating!  I have to admit, they're not my absolute favorite thing to eat (a little sweet for my taste), but I make them intermittently to taste the sweetness of success.  Yes, it's minute in the scale of things...but we can all use a little win once in a while, non?