Muji Macarons

Firstly, a quick thanks to everyone who turned up at Asia House in London to hear me witter on about Japanese food last Tuesday. The event was a sell out, which was a massive and lovely surprise. So thanks again, especially to all those who asked really interesting questions, and stayed on afterwards to chat.

Now, as a kind of addendum to my thing in the Guardian today on how some foods just don't travel, how about this: a kit for a classic French patisserie, bought in Japan, and tested out at home this weekend?

I found it in the flagship store of Muji, in Yurakucho. It's part of a new range of products they are making to try and get families to spend quality time together. So, rather than buy a pack of ready made macarons, they thought it'd be nice to get parents and children to make them together (they also have a self-build cardboard chair).

I bought them because I was deeply sceptical that you could make macarons - the most notoriously temperamental of baked goods - from a kit.

The kit included two measured sachets of icing sugar, two of almond flour, one sachet of cocoa powder (to flavour the chocolate macarons) and one of caramel powder (to flavour the caramel macarons). There were also some chocolate buttons to make the ganache filling.

You have to provide the egg whites, whipped to soft peaks, plus a little milk or cream for the ganache.

A Japanese friend kindly translated the instructions for me, and I set to work. This is the result:

 A little flat, perhaps (I must have over mixed the whites, cocoa powder, sugar and almond flour just a tad - told you they were temperamental), but otherwise I reckon it's pretty much the Platonic ideal of a chocolate macaron. Which, sadly, was not something you might say about the caramel ones.

Look, they weren't cooking fast enough, so I did what any other man would do and, instead of waiting a few minutes more, I turned the oven up, ok? They tasted fine enough.

Will macaron kits catch on? I could imagine so, being this easy, but I doubt Pierre Hermé is quaking in his boots just yet.

 

Comments

[Kerry]

I love the photo of the colorful macaroons. Did you take that in Japan?

[Michael Booth]

Hi Kerry,

Sorry, I should have made that clearer: this was a shot of Pierre Hermé's shop in the 1e in Paris. Paradise!

Best

Michael

[Stephenie Fenton]

Can you post or give the instructions in English? When my husband and I were in Tokyo we bought a box not realizing that there would be no English instructions inside the box. Oops. My Husband is from Paris, and we wanted to see how they would turn out.