My First Taste of French Macarons

I've been wanting to get my hands on a French Macaron for the longest time, I've seen and read tons of bloggers going crazy over them, I want to try my hand on making my own French Macaron but then I have no idea what they taste like so before I do any damage to my kitchen. I have to give these babies a taste, however, I often find myself out of luck in finding the time to get them. It's either I have to do some overtime work in the office or I'm to tired and lazy to go out and buy them.
My lucky day finally came when I got off from work very early and off to the mall I went. Since this is my first time to try French Macarons, I, of course went to the best patisserie in the city, Bizu. They got these gorgeous  and expensive pastries that I treat myself to during special occasions. Each macaron cost P 45.00 which is a bit steep considering they are kind of small cookie. The packaging for my 2 macarons are abysmal, the lady server just put then in little clear cellophane plastic. I mean, considering that they are a bit pricey, a good packaging would have been greatly appreciated.
For my first try I wanted to try them in their purest and simplest form, vanilla and chocolate. The chocolate macaron has a chocolate ganache filling with a crisp shell and chewy insides. Which was good however I noticed that when I bit into it, it got this off after taste and didn't like that much, I'm not sure if it wan't as fresh at it was suppose to be when I got it but it was very off putting. Huge disappointment! Next is the vanilla, inside is a buttercream filling! Uh! I hate buttercream, so that being said I didn't enjoy this flavor. Another thing that I noticed first hand is that they are very skimpy with their fillings! You can't even see them when they were sandwiched together. Another thing is are they suppose to be hallow when you bit into them? I thought they shouldn't be but here it is right in front of me a macaron with hallow inside. Tsk! tsk! and here I got them from the best pastry shop here, I mean, these are their signature product. Lastly, are they suppose to be really sweet? It's like eating candy sweet, not at all what I expected.  
I'm not sure if I just put macaron on the pedestal thinking they are one of the best pastry that I could have ever eaten but I prefer eating chocolate chip cookies compared to these. Such a huge let down this experience. Will I ever try them again? Maybe but it is definitely not going to be something that I would crave.

nikcreate

I'm a nine to five pencil pusher who loves to play with flour and paper during my free time. Dreams of going to Europe and eat croissants and make pastries all day long!

5 comments:

  1. aw, i'm sorry your first macaron experience wasn't a good one! it does sound like that shop made some mistakes, like selling the chocolate ones when they were old! and they are not supposed to be hollow inside the shell, either. too bad! good ones are hard to find though, even from professional bakeries (unless of course you are lucky enough to be in paris!). maybe you should just make your own!

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  2. The Macarons looks great.

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  3. Well, I faced the same dilemma- trying to make something I had never tried! I focused on the photos and the descriptions. The 2 different methods- French + Italian- for my palate produce different cookies: who woulda thought?! The Italian method actually uses quite a bit more sugar and I found that the cookie was far too sweet. The French method was just right for my taste. They came out equally well. If I make the eggwhite too stiff, they are a bit drier and crunchier, if I stop beating a bit sooner, they settle more and are a bit softer. Both fabulous.

    I have since tried store bought macarons. Granted they are not Pierre Herme, but I will stick with mine, even the screw-ups!

    If you haven't read this, it is the best overall everything.
    http://www.syrupandtang.com/200712/la-macaronicite-1-an-introduction-to-the-macaron/

    The only ones that have been "incorrect" but still tasty, have been the chocolate ones. Even David Lebovitz' recipe did not produce a correct chocolate one for me, and I have tried all the over/under mixing combo's I could!

    Enjoy!!!

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  4. Hello
    Im a fan of you blog! I love baking too!
    Im based in the UK and will be going back to manila soon. I would like to bake for my family there. Since we both use pretty much the same recipe books, like the hummingbird bakery cookbook which is my fav, I would like to ask if you change the temperature of the oven when you make them there? I know bec of the humidity factor in the Phils the baking time might change. Do you do the same? Thanks for your help!

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  5. I'd like to try making these, too! :)

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