July wasn’t an easy month, and with that i felt the need to mark some of the difficult days with some beauty. And what could be more delicately gorgeous than french macarons, made famous by the Parisian patisserie Laduree, but now sweeping the globe as the latest chic treat for young and old. My friend Lora was the first to master the art, and educate me on the maracon/macaroon debate (the latter a coconut affair with a glace cherry on top – so wrong). The prospect of using a piping bag seemed like way too much precision to appeal to me, but as it turned out, a very therapeutic afternoon was spent early last week squeezing these ‘little shits’ (self-named, in reference to the brown ones) onto my pencil-marked baking parchment. Before long i was applying pink colouring like a 4 year old, and turning out the following on day 3 of the maracon challenge…

Sadly, day 2 wasn’t such a merry affair, with these lime and basil macarons from Ottolenghi demonstrating all the classic flaws: cracked tops, lack of feet or ‘pieds’ (the little bubbly bits at the bottom of each half – very important), and a notably dry texture. They should be light and chewy to the taste, ‘melt in the mouth’, not the crisp sweetness of a classic meringue, though the ingredients only differ by one, namely the addition of finely sieved ground almonds. But let us not be deceived; the secret of the macaron lies not in the mere components, but the skill of the patissier at the helm. 

Macarons come in many fantastical flavours, and traditionally with a buttercream filling. I find the additional sweetness a little overpowering so i have taken to adopting a chocolate ganache filling in preference, which can be laced with alcohol of your choosing.

Macarons also provide a welcome opportunity for some very pretty photography subjects. 

But what to do with all those pesky egg yolks? There’s only so much eggs benedict one can eat, though in this house we may be attempting to break some kind of world record. This calls for another culinary creative outlet: home-made ice cream.

I perused and subsequently bought this lovely book in Waterstones last week. I have found there aren’t many reliable ice cream recipes online, so this was a welcome addition to my expanding cook book collection. This guy has been making ice cream for the family business in the Cotswolds for years. Intriguing flavours include sloe gin and damson, earl grey tea, and chocolate chilli rosemary. I made a start with coffee choc chip.

My most recent macaron batch, mocha, was perhaps my favourite. A bit bumpy on the outside, but chewy and just enough coffee and chocolate to bring about a nice flavour blend.

The macaron challenge ended on day 4, but i like to think that’s because i have mastered the art perfectly….