Macaroon Master

On a recent trip to Paris my first stop was Pierre Herme, the Macaroon spot. With inventive flavors like ketchup, vanilla mint, apricot pistachio and jasmine tea it is easy to see why there is a line out the door.

Interestingly enough, one of my former culinary teachers studied pastries with Pierre Herme and they remained good friends after they graduated. Many years later Pierre told him his secret trick to creating incredible macaroons. He said it was having a piece of parchment paper with measured circles to use as a guide. This doesn't seem like a big trick but if you've ever made macaroons you know how temperamental they are and it's important to maintain an even distribution of your batter.

Alas, Pierre Herme's macaroons are so perfect it makes you want to leave it to the pro's. But Macaroons are not the only thing he's good at. He's as crafty as MacGyver. Behold the mother of all pastries:


I will try to describe it for you. If I was on my death bed, and there was one last desert I could eat, this would be it. It seems so simple, a light meringue on top with a perfectly sweet and crunchy crust, in the center the most flavorful vanilla filling... ohh my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Check out the other pastries you can uncover at Pierre Herme's shop. I am the numero uno hater of waiting in lines but if you're in Paris this is one place that is definitely worth the wait.