The first time we laid eyes
on a macaron was at its birthplace--the original Ladurée at 16
Rue Royale Paris. The macaron was invented by Pierre Desfontaines, a member of
the Ladurée family in 1930. His idea was to combine two biscuits and
fill the middle with ganache. As little girls looking at the large display of
pastries on offer at Ladurée, the macaron was not an obvious choice. It
looked a bit boring next to the intricate Millefeuille and bland compared to
the rich chocolate tarts and eclairs. It reminded us of little biscuit
sandwiches. In those days, it also only came in classic singular flavours such
as strawberry, lemon, pistachio and chocolate.
Over the years we have
sampled countless macarons but nowhere delivers to us the feelings of
anticipation and satisfaction as Pierre Hermé does. Pierre Hermé is described as the Picasso of
haute patisserie. This is a big statement and one that he
deserves. He has transformed the humble macaron into little pieces of art. He
is quoted on pierreherme.com-- “Macarons
only weigh a few grams, but that’s enough to leave your sense quivering with
pleasure. Their thin, crisp shell, slightly rounded shape, tempting colours and
tender interiors draw devotees to devour them with their eyes, and caress their
smooth surface. Their flavours solicit the nose and, when one bites into that
crisp shell, the ears tingle with pleasure and the palate is finally rewarded.”
Our love affair with Pierre
Hermé started five years ago, when we
visited the shop at 72 Rue Bonaparte Paris. There was a long glass counter,
under which a spectacular selection of rainbow coloured macarons was on display
that transported us back to our memory of our first encounter with “the little
sweet sandwich”. Hunched over the glass counter, our mouths salivated as our
eyes scanned the colourful offerings. After a box of 7 assorted flavours, we
became self-proclaimed fans.
Until Pierre Hermé
opened their shop in Belgravia London, we hauled big boxes packed with our
favourite flavours everytime we visited Paris. Since 2010, we have been able to
enjoy macarons whenever we desired. At any point, the shop has about 10
flavours on offer and the flavours are often seasonal (apart from classic
flavours such as salted caramel, milk chocolate & passion fruit, Vanilla,
Chocolate which are available all year round). Our absolute favourite flavour
is White Truffle & Hazelnut, which is only available in the autumn/winter
months. We discovered this flavour two years ago and it has become a reason for
us to long for the arrival of autumn. Pearl white with an iridescent gleam, it
offers whiffs of White Truffle scent accompanied with a crunch of hazelnut
slivers that are wedged in the midst of cloud like ganache. Words cannot
describe how heavenly this little macaron is. We were at the shop twice last
week, leaving with boxes of 7 each time. If white truffle is not your taste,
there are plenty of other flavours that will make your knees weak, the
following are our favourites:
Violet & Aniseed
Orange & Carrot with Ceylon Cinnamon
Rose, Litchi & Raspberry Compote
Lime, Raspberry & Espelette Pepper
Green Tea, Chanterelle Mushroom & Lemon
Pistachio, Ceylon Cinnamon & Morello Cherries
Wild Rose Hip, Fig & Foie Gras
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