For weeks now I've been in a baking frenzy, preparing for my Mad About Macarons class. And today I had nine, wonderful women join me at Adriene Rathbun's for a Social, in-home cooking demonstration. It was so much fun.
I showed them how to make a basic, round, french macaron. Then we attempted a pink bunny macaron. And we finished the class with a demonstration on how to make two kinds of macaron fillings - vanilla buttercream and whipped chocolate ganache. I also brought to class an assortment of other fun macaron ideas to try - Hello Kitty, bumblebees, Very Hungry Caterpillar, turkeys, birds, graduated colors (ombré), snowmen and Mickey Mouse.
I had a fantastic time. I hope they did too. And I hope they'll all attempt this tricky little recipe in their own kitchens soon. Remember, practice makes perfect.
If you'd like your own copy of the recipes and instructions - I highly recommend this PDF from Irina Kogan of PastryPal.com. After testing about six different recipes, with varied success (mostly failure), this one was by far THE BEST. Her tutorial gives wonderful, step-by-step instructions, recommendations on what you might be doing wrong, and variations to try.
Here are a few photos from today's class. These gals can rock a pastry bag, that's for sure... Watch out, Martha Stewart!
