move over Ladurée, it's time for Pierre Hermé to reign over the maracon kingdom...
On rue Bonaparte, in the chic St Germain des Prés area of Paris, it is not uncommon to see a line of elegantly dressed ladies snaking from a tiny boutique up towards the fountains of Place Saint-Sulpice. But it’s not handbags or shoes they are queuing for. It’s macarons.
These chic little cakes are not to be confused with British-style coconut-laced macaroons. A pair of smooth almond meringues sandwiching a rich ganache, macarons are reassuringly expensive. Expect to pay nearly €2 (£1.80) for one hardly bigger than a button on a Dior jacket.
The owner of this macaron mecca is Pierre Hermé, enfant terrible of Parisian pâtisserie. Until Hermé opened in 1996, the old-school Ladurée bakery ruled the genre with its elegant creations in pale green boxes. Then Hermé blazed onto the scene with modern shops and wacky flavours like ispahan (rose, raspberry and lychee) and magnifique (wasabi with grapefruit).
The 48 year-old, the fourth generation of Alsace bakers and pastry chefs in his family, leads me up the narrowest of spiral staircases to his office above the shop.
Pride of place goes to a Japanese slot machine dispensing tiny models of his cakes to hang from your phone. His first shop was in Tokyo, where the residents are so crazy about his creations that there is even a range of Pierre Hermé-label mobile phones in macaron colours.
He shyly shows me his notebook of intricate sketches, including designs for a 10ft 6in (3.2m) wedding cake for a Dubai princess and bespoke flavours for private customers, as well as the cakes and macarons sold in the shop.
But is it possible to recreate these mini almond meringues at home? "Of course,’’ he says. ‘‘I baked them all with my stepdaughter Sarah who’s 12." Making them at home is not, however, something you can knock off in 10 minutes. The consistency must be right and the fluid mixture is tricky to pipe. But taking a tray of shiny macarons out of the oven is very satisfying. And there’s still two weeks to practise before Easter.
Pierre Hermé macarons are available at Selfridges Food Hall, Oxford Street, London W1 (selfridges.com; 0800 123400) : source of text here
...but of course they're only available in Paris, Tokyo or London -- why am I surprised?!! so not fair.
These chic little cakes are not to be confused with British-style coconut-laced macaroons. A pair of smooth almond meringues sandwiching a rich ganache, macarons are reassuringly expensive. Expect to pay nearly €2 (£1.80) for one hardly bigger than a button on a Dior jacket.
The owner of this macaron mecca is Pierre Hermé, enfant terrible of Parisian pâtisserie. Until Hermé opened in 1996, the old-school Ladurée bakery ruled the genre with its elegant creations in pale green boxes. Then Hermé blazed onto the scene with modern shops and wacky flavours like ispahan (rose, raspberry and lychee) and magnifique (wasabi with grapefruit).
The 48 year-old, the fourth generation of Alsace bakers and pastry chefs in his family, leads me up the narrowest of spiral staircases to his office above the shop.
Pride of place goes to a Japanese slot machine dispensing tiny models of his cakes to hang from your phone. His first shop was in Tokyo, where the residents are so crazy about his creations that there is even a range of Pierre Hermé-label mobile phones in macaron colours.
He shyly shows me his notebook of intricate sketches, including designs for a 10ft 6in (3.2m) wedding cake for a Dubai princess and bespoke flavours for private customers, as well as the cakes and macarons sold in the shop.
But is it possible to recreate these mini almond meringues at home? "Of course,’’ he says. ‘‘I baked them all with my stepdaughter Sarah who’s 12." Making them at home is not, however, something you can knock off in 10 minutes. The consistency must be right and the fluid mixture is tricky to pipe. But taking a tray of shiny macarons out of the oven is very satisfying. And there’s still two weeks to practise before Easter.
Pierre Hermé macarons are available at Selfridges Food Hall, Oxford Street, London W1 (selfridges.com; 0800 123400) : source of text here
...but of course they're only available in Paris, Tokyo or London -- why am I surprised?!! so not fair.
