Small Triumphs – Mothers Day & Macarons

No one has attempted as many bad batches of those perfect Parisian cookies as I have. My macarons have stuck to the paper & lost their bottoms, cracked at the top, failed to rise, had big awful air pockets…you name it, I have seen it.

I have tried the French meringue method, the Italian meringue method & the little known Swiss meringue method all with disappointing results. All in all I would say I have made over 35 batches of failed macarons in the last 2 years.

Much of the problem lay within my own patience. I have incorrectly read recipes more times than I care to mention.

I am thrilled to tell you however that on Friday night, under the influence of 2 large glasses of riesling & quite a lot of peer pressure from my dear friend Maggie I was able to produce a near perfect batch of macarons! They were quickly sandwiched with salted caramel buttercream & consumed with vigour. In the end it was the classic French meringue recipe that worked for me, indeed it was exactly the same recipe I had used on my first attempt however it was executed with much more care & respect.

I am still no authority in these things but when I have produced a few more successful batches I will be posting a very detailed step by step picture tutorial because I am sure I am not the only serial macaron killer.

Saturday was spent doing work experience at The Flower Garden in preparation for Mothers Day.  Saturday could be summed up in one word: BUSY. I am not sure why I was surprised. I spent the majority of the day making up arrangements for the front of the store however I simply couldn’t keep up with the rate at which they were being purchased. Every time someone walked out the door smiling & holding one of my creations I felt a swoon of happiness. “I wanted to shout out, you there! I made that! I am glad you like it”

At the end of the day I received the most wonderful compliment from the boss’ son that I have a bright career ahead of me & he thinks I am wonderfully creative.  I am pretty much in love with being a florist right now (even if I am not technically being paid for it)

These were my small but significant triumphs this weekend.