A writer recently recounted her trials and tribulations in making the French delicacy du jour: the macaron.
She hastened to add that she was talking about the colourful macarons made famous by Pierre Hermé and Ladurée, and not macaroons, which, she said, have only ground almonds in common.
Actually, she was wrong. The ingredients that macarons and macaroons share are egg whites and sugar (the ones for diabetics use sugar substitutes). They don’t necessarily contain almonds – other types of nut can be used – and some varieties, such as the coconut macaroon, don’t have nuts at all.
There isn’t only one type of macaron, just as there isn’t just one kind of macaroon.
The French Cookie Book, by Bruce Healy, has recipes for 11 types of macaron – and I doubt it’s a definitive list.
Macarons d’Amiens are composed of a thick paste made of almonds, confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, apricot jam and vanilla extract. The paste is rolled into a cylinder, cut into pieces and rolled into balls, then flattened, brushed with water and baked, after which they are sandwiched together into pairs.
Macarons fins contain almonds, egg whites, confectioner’s sugar and crème fraiche. The ingredients are mixed together, piped from a piping bag, baked, then sandwiched together. Macarons aux avelines and macarons aux pistaches contain, respectively, filberts (or hazelnuts) and pistachios – without an almond in sight.
