ok campers, christmas is officially one week away. if you’re like me, you’ll engage in some panicked online shopping this week in an attempt to avoid visiting those seemingly unstaffed shops that rhyme with mavid pones and nyer. 

but before you start freaking the feliz navidad out, i may have a solution for you. the macaron masterclass at sydney’s baroque bistro is a brilliant gift for the foodie in your life. and, seeing as the masterclass takes six hours, it’s also a brilliant gift for someone you’d like a six hour break from. i was recently given the masterclass as a birthday gift and decided to document the process for anyone who has ever thought about making/successfully made/unsuccessfully made macarons. this is how it went…

i arrive at baroque in the rocks at the frightening time of 9am on a sunday. this certainly isn’t an outing for church goers and/or people who like to go hard on a saturday night. who knew those groups had anything in common? 

i’m instantly greeted by a delectable display of perfect macarons and begin to feel rather excited. established in 2009, baroque is a delectably french combination of a bistro restaurant and patisserie. having recently concluded that baroque’s are the best macarons in sydney (a big call i concede, but you know i’m right), i was keen to find out their secrets. 

the class is run by the insanely talented chef jean-michel raynaud. i won’t go in to his exceptionally long and illustrious career, but needless to say meeting him was kinda like meeting a pastry rock star. i am delighted to find out that he is absolutely lovely, patient and kind. i guess you’d have to be if you had eight non-chefs invading your kitchen every sunday. that’s pretty much my worst nightmare. 

first, there’s a detailed discussion about macarons, and yes i said macarons, macaroons are the coconut cookies- don’t get it confused, people. next, we learn our day will be broken up into two parts. in the morning we will focus on creating fillings and ganache, with some time to practice piping shells. then there’s a light lunch (win) before we return in the afternoon to make the shells, pipe the fillings and assemble the macarons.  

the macarons on our agenda today are dark chocolate and salted caramel. we split into teams of two to make our ganache fillings before jean michel demonstrates the intricate process of creating a macaron shell. we learn that it is incredibly important to make the shell using an italian meringue base- meaning a meringue made with sugar syrup as opposed to one made simply with granulated sugar. this is a more difficult process, as sugar syrups are notoriously prone to crystallisation, but the result is a beautiful smooth, shiny macaron. we watch jean michel expertly pipe the shells into perfect circles. doesn’t seem too hard, i think..

… turns out it is quite difficult. we each get a tray and a piping bag and set off attempting to recreate what our remarkable teacher accomplished so easily. while i have piped before, this is slightly more difficult as it is important to ensure that the ‘peak’ that forms as you pull the piping bag away is in the middle of the shell, otherwise it will rise unevenly. control over the bag is also important to ensure you don’t overpipe and end up with burger-sized macarons, although i can’t help but think that would be awesome. the above is my tray, which according to jean michel is “not bad for a first go,” but clearly ain’t perfect. we dust our uncoloured test shells with pistachios and get ready for lunch. 

which, it turns out, is fantastic. we receive a generous serving of baguette sandwiches, roast vegetables, fries, salad and more. the food in the bistro is delicious and i make a mental note to return again for their famous sunday roti du jour (roast of the day).

back to the kitchen and we get cracking on our flavoured macarons. we combine our glossy italian meringue with icing sugar and almond meal, as well as chocolate food colouring. i try to avoid eating directly from the bowl.

next, we pipe. this time with the aid of a handy template which sits under a silicon baking mat. after a helpful tutorial from jean michel, i feel my piping instantly improve and am happy with my second tray. 

off they go to the person sized rotating oven for perfect, even cooking.

before we know it there are approximately three million macarons before us and i am desperate to dig in. i eat two within thirty seconds and another one a minute later. feeling sated, i take my remaining macarons and pop them in a box to take home. 

though jean michel was very complimentary and told us they were excellent for a first attempt, when prompted he did admit that they weren’t quite up to baroque standards (see bottom right macaron for further reference). nonetheless, they taste amazing and we all feel a great sense of pride at our creations. 

baroque’s macaron masterclass is $220, which includes lunch, a baroque apron, an entire day with one of the country’s finest pastry chefs and a box of your very own macarons. after taking part in the class i can say it is a wonderful experience and well worth the price. jean michel is a fantastic teacher and his relaxed attitude makes it a joy to learn how to much such a typically frustrating dessert. 

if you’re interested in the macaron masterclass check out www.baroquebistro.com.au and be prepared for everyone you know to ask you to make them macarons all. the. time.

merry christmas!