Macaroons

No messing about with the title. No word play. Just Macaroons.

Which is not to say I haven’t spent the last twenty minutes trying to come up with something. Discarded were “Make Room for a MacaRoon” and “Make a Roon” (witchy). And I was going to kick off with a childhood reminiscence- there was a patisserie with amazing macaroons down the road from the dentist my mother took me to. When I went for the yearly check-up she’d let me have one BEFORE seeing the dentist. We started calling them plaqueroons. I decided against telling that story.

I have a real soft (and chewy) spot for macaroons. Maybe it’s dentine memories, or that they’re the perfect combination of crisp on the outside, soft on the inside (the biscuit equivalent of an armadillo). I suspect it might have something to do with the fact that you can eat the paper on the bottom, there’s a strange liberation from the norm in this. Or at least, I think you can eat the paper? Can you eat the paper?!

Claudia Roden’s macaroon recipe contains the best line in her entire book. It’s one that’s now being used quite regularly in my household to describe the general state of being human, when life can be difficult and simple all at once:

Claudia says: “Although they are very easy to make, they are very tricky.”

Just brilliant.

She’s right, they are very easy. Although my heart sank when I read that I needed to make something “walnut-sized” again. I couldn’t believe that after the Menena experience (see my post Me-ne Me-nena) I still hadn’t got my nuts in a row and purchased a walnut for accurate sizing.

Mix 200g of ground almonds with 150g sugar and a few drops of almond essence, add the white of one egg and work the mixture into a stiff paste. Remove your family heirloom sizing walnut from its hyperbaric chamber. Size the mixture correctly then shape into round flat cakes. Put on a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and bake for 8-10 minutes.

I’ve always found the blanched almond on top of the macaroon a particularly appealing feature. I didn’t have any so stuck a whole almond in while the macaroons were still cooling (I was in a rush). The results were predictable. I dented my macaroons. And my baking pride, because I’d excitedly announced to Tamara (she of the glorious mother with the cheesecakes see my post Beginnings) that I’d bring something for tea. I put some crushed almonds into the dents and cycled to East London. When I arrived, the nuts had, unsurprisingly, flown their nests. Tamara and Dan were patient while I made them turn their backs as I reassembled them. Tamara then took the photograph above which shows the almonds just about staying put.

T and D were kind about them, and I’ll revel in even the smallest praise from soon-to-be chocolatiers!

The rest of Claudia’s macaroon entry has a wonderful tip on a Jewish pastry shop in Rome. I’ll leave that for you (whoever you are!) to discover on reading, and see you there.

And don’t worry, I didn’t eat the greaseproof paper……much.