Anyone Can Cook! Baking Macarons in Paris
By: Christina Szewczuk
June 25, 2024
Macarons, the quintessential icons of French pastries. They are adorable, delicious... and quite difficult to make! So, who better to learn from than a French Pastry Chef?
Our family walked to Pâtisserie Á La Carte from our Montmartre hotel early in the morning to begin our culinary adventure. My daughter is quite the little chef at 14, but the rest of us are not winning Kitchen Superstars anytime soon. I say this so you realize that this class works at any skill level. (Seriously, my son has burned bagels in the microwave before. We are not a family of bakers. If we can do it, so can you!)
Upon our arrival, the bakery window lit up and the Chef welcomed us into her workspace. Three stations were meticulously arranged along the table, allowing us to work in pairs. This is a small group class capped at six participants. A father and daughter duo, also Americans, were in this group along with our family of four. It was the perfect size, giving us plenty of individual instruction from the chef. Everything is provided for you down to the plastic apron you’ll don throughout this experience.
We began by making three flavorful fillings. Available to us were dark chocolate ganache, blackberry and passionfruit. We were able to use any combination of these to fill our macarons. After we made them, they were stored in the refrigerator for future assembly.
Next, we created the actual cookies. This was several more steps than I could have imagined. We chose our colors and began melting sugar to a very specific temperature and then quickly mixing it in with the other ingredients. She taught us about sifting, cooking techniques, ingredient selection and their importance, and optimal mixing methods. She was kind, knowledgeable, and pleasant to chat with.
After the cookies were baked and cooled, we took out the fillings, filled the pastry bags and began the assembly process. Carefully peeling the macarons off the silicon baking mat, we began to pair them up so they would be fairly equal in size once filled and capped. We learned a technique so the filling wouldn’t ooze out the sides. Using that technique, we filled our macarons, capped them off and completed each of our batches.
After participating in this experience, I have a new appreciation for the art of making macarons! With the difficulty in baking them, I now understand why they are so pricey. Although she supplied us with a recipe, I highly doubt I would be able to recreate the experience at home. This is a “remember when we made those macarons in Paris?” moment that will live in our memories forever. Our whole family fully enjoyed this activity. I highly recommend adding a cooking class to your Paris itinerary. It was fun, unique, and educational… plus, the perk of leaving with 4 dozen macarons!
** A special thank you to Pâtisserie Á La Carte for making this a memorable experience for us. It was truly a highlight of our trip!**
This is an experience that either I or your Wishes Agent can add to your itinerary for you. Feel free to contact me or your Wishes Agent for more information!