Macaroons

I sit here in this hostel canteen full of noisy Spanish students, staring desperately at my laptop and trying to think of what to write. But as I realise that my hostile glares don’t seem to silence them, I move to the quiet but stuffy underground study room. The gentle hum of the computers relaxes me and I recall to my mind a subject of much worry and debate in the kitchen I work in- macaroons.

On my first day working in the pastry section, a commis and I were discussing our list of things to be done for that day, macaroons were on the list. I asked her if she had the recipe and she nervously replied that she did, but only our head chef is allowed to make them. We would have to go without them for the day. Confused as to why this was, I wondered for some time how complex the recipe must be that only one person out of the five of us was qualified to make them.

I came to realise that they are indeed volatile little things. These little pastel buttons of almond meringue are any pastry chef’s worst nightmare. Once every week, I watched our chef bobbing about the kitchen, sieving, folding and piping. That week his batches of rose macaroons were perfect, shiny and smooth. The next week, his pistachio ones were cracked and dull. “Putain” he exclaimed as he stomped about pulling items out of the fridges at random and slamming doors. He would do this for an hour or so before the poor man could muster up the courage to brave another batch.

One day, to everyone’s amazement, he allowed a commis to try the recipe. I watched the steely concentration on her face

as she weighed the precise measurements; the end result was great; to chef’s delight. The next week she tried again, and they collapsed into shrivelled hard pellets.

The next week it was my turn. My hands shook as I tried to pipe each one to exactly the same size. I stared at the oven with dread the entire time they were cooking, but miraculously, they turned out really well. The next week the panic set in as I tried to re-create last week’s success knowing that it was unlikely. But again, they were fine. Ever since then I have had a bizarrely good track record with these, if you have the courage to have a go at making them, here is the recipe:

Coffee Macaroons

405g almond powder

735g icing sugar

375g egg whites

100g caster sugar

50g trablit (coffee extract)

Put the almond powder and icing sugar into a blender and blend for a minute or so to break up any lumps. Sieve and set to one side.

Whisk the egg whites until fluffy and stiff, add the sugar in 4 parts, whisking well in between each addition. The egg whites should now be very white and firm. Now add the trablit and whisk to incorporate.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add a third of the almond. Fold this in gently until it is all incorporated then proceed to do the same with the other two thirds. Now comes the stage where the macaroons can go very wrong. You need to knock some of the air out of the mixture so the macaroons aren’t too fat, but if you do this too much then the mixture will turn to liquid and you will have flat macaroons. Beat the mixture until it is shiny and thick.

Put the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe circles onto trays lined with silicone pads. You now need to leave them out for 30 minutes before cooking; this helps to form a smooth skin.

Cook them at 155 degrees for 14 minutes, I wish you success!