Secrets of Macarons

I have had my copy of this book for a number of years and am now back to buy another for a family member. This book is excellent in explaining how to bake a successful macarons. It explains clearly and in depth the role of each ingredient and then explains carefully the method for each recipe. In order to be successful when baking macarons it is IMPERATIVE to read the book carefully and then to follow the recipes EXACTLY. I have read some of the one star reviews for this book and frankly they are bizarre. One complains that the ganache is too runny - well, of course it is when first made but you have to allow for it to set! Read the book - it tells you this. Someone else complains it is elitist. No, it is not; there is nothing especially technically difficult when making macarons but you MUST FOLLOW THE RECIPE EXACTLY hence the focus of the book. There is lots that can go wrong when making macarons and ultimately experience is key. Follow this book PRECISELY and practice. You will get perfect macarons in the end.

This is a beautifully produced little volume, which is only about a centimetre thick and little bigger than a paperback novel, yet manages to cram in everything there is to know about making macarons. The embossed silver title and the artistic cover photograph indicate that you are in for a treat before you even open the book. Inside, the photographs, which appear on every page, are stunning. The book is split into two equal halves; the first half deals with ingredients and techniques, while the second part describes classic macaron recipes. The book's thoroughness is apparent right from the very first section on "the almond", three pages of pertinent facts plus detailed answers to questions such as "Can I use whole almonds and grind them myself?" (Yes). Every aspect of technique is described and illustrated in detail, including both french and italian meringue recipes. The section on making different ganache bases (with dark, milk, or white chocolate, or fruit coulis) alone is worth the price of the book to me.The second half gives detailed recipes for nine classic macaron flavours such as raspberry, pistachio, and chocolate, as well as some interesting variations. All are illustrated with photographs to make your mouth water. The basic (italian) macaron method is repeated word by word for each recipe. This can seem a bit unnecessary, but it does save you from having to flip back to the techniques section to check the tricky details. One criticism is that the text is printed in a tiny font. In fact there is so much information on each page that I suspect the original book was larger and has been shrunk down for this Murdoch edition. That's right, Murdoch Books Pty Limited produced this. It is a reflection on how interconnected our world has become that this book was written in French, translated into English, printed in China and published in Australia to be sold by Amazon in the UK.All in all, a sophisticated addition to any cookbook libray and a must for macaron lovers. Last week in Paris the price of macarons was 64 euros per kilo, so you will recoup the modest cost of this book with your very first plateful of dainty homemade treats.

This book was recommended by a friend and I love it ... the only successful macarons I have made are using this book.

Bought this as a little something to give to my other half who is also in the Catering industry...I honestly wish I had bought myself one of these also as I really want to use this for myself but I am giving it to Him for Valentines day. Easy to follow recipes, prompt delivery and a nice sized book so it's easy to just carry if you want to use it in the Kitchen at home or take to each others house for a bake off.After training with Michel Roux Jr it's nice to have a book in the house to be able to use and look at for quick recipes and hints/tips. I would definitely recommenced this to fellow Chef's or Foodies alike!

There are some nice varied ideas in this book but sadly I failed at the first hurdle. Trying the Italian method, I bought my sugar thermometer and my sugar syrup went well, however splitting the egg white amount in two, as in the stated method (one half unbeaten into the icing and almond mix, the rest beaten and sugar syrup added), my meringue mix was just too sloppy, I tried a second time, same result, but I plowed on and carried on mixing, piping and drying. The macarons just did not bake and we're far too soft and ended up in the bin. Back to the French method and they were perfect. I will use some of the filling and decoration ideas but can't really see how the basic method in this book works....or perhaps it's just me !

I have been making macarons for a few years so I’m not a complete novice although by no means an expert. I agree with another reviewer who found that the macaron mix came out too sloppy because of the instruction to split the egg whites and whip half and add the others unwhipped to the tant a tant. I also agree that the raspberry ganache recipe is hopeless and far too runny to be used as anything other than a sauce. I thought that paying for a published, printed book would guarantee good recipes that worked so I didn’t waste ingredients, but evidently not. As others have said, the book is basically one basic macaron recipe, plus some ideas for fillings. I wouldn’t mind that so much if the fillings actually worked, but after the raspberry ganache, I’m reluctant to risk wasting ingredients trying any more sadly.

This is a great book with so much information about all of the basics and ingredients involved! It explains what eggs do, what sugar does (what happens when it is cooked, what happens when you mix it with eggs, etc), and it shows examples in pictures of what can go wrong so you can troubleshoot and improve your macarons. For the price of this book I was not expecting this level of quality, and I am very happy with my purchase.