I am not sure when macarons made their way from French patisseries into the Indian markets but I feel, these small nuggets of goodness travelled into our hearts, thanks to all the cooking shows and English food channels. Even then, not all bakeries make this difficult-to-get-right cookie.
Just three ingredients – egg whites, almond flour and sugar but still one of the more technical and fussy cookies to make. I dabble with baking cakes and cookies at home pretty successfully but this is something that I haven’t gathered enough courage to try.
The perfect sweet treat with a light crispy exterior and a wonderfully chewy interior, what’s there not to love. Colourful, beautiful and you can fill them with anything from ganache to jam to curd or buttercream and they will not fail to tempt even the most disciplined ones.
On a recent trip to Gurgaon, my friend and I stopped by at Theos in Cyberhub for breakfast. But this post is not an appreciation post for the award winning bakery. The regulars at Theo’s already know how pretty the place is, how warm and inviting the interiors are and how attentive the staff is. This post is about these trays with neatly arranged macarons on the bottom shelf of their huge and almost endless display counter. We had a passionfruit and a blueberry one that day. One bite and I was completely bamboozled! They had managed to get it so perfect.
I had a flashback to three earlier occasions (twice in Mumbai and once in Chandigarh) when I got a box of macarons home and was extremely disappointed. It had made me question the craze for these cookies internationally. They were dry and lacked any flavour. But what I held in my hand sitting at a corner table in Theos in Gurgaon took me on a quick trip through the streets of Paris. I loved them so much that I went back the next day and had some packed to bring back home.
Priced at Rs.110 per piece, they are not cheap by any standards but if you are like me who loves desserts with textural differences and ones which are not sickeningly sweet, you would love these. I just hope, Theos gives macarons a slightly more important place in their display counter.
Do pick up some if you are in that side of the city and you won’t be disappointed. You know what I want you to grab, right? Delicate, delectable and oh-so-yum macarons!
