Pierre Herme Macaron & Chocolates

Pierre Herme Macaron & Chocolates

Pierre Herme was recently awarded Best Pastry Chef by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and has been the lead trendsetter of macarons for years. He started his pastry career at the age of 14 and worked his way up quickly to become a pastry chef at age 20 and following that success he started opening his own boutiques in Paris and Tokyo. To this day he is the youngest person to be awarded France’s Best Pastry Chef of the Year and has been name the “Picasso of Pastry” by French Vogue. Though he is famous for his luxurious macarons he is also a master with beautiful plated desserts, tarts, chocolate truffles and more.

As a girl in the pastry field I was looking forward to this moment because Pierre Herme is a God in my career field. It was an honor to be able to walk into his boutique in Paris and try his macarons and chocolate truffles. The funny thing is, I don’t even like macarons. The trend of macarons hit the United States years ago and since then foodies have dubbed different bakeries having the best macarons. Intrigued I always tried them and always thought people were crazy for loving them so much. After awhile I gave up and decided I just don’t like macarons and will never understand the hype for them. Until I went to Pierre Herme. Oh….my…gosh!!!!

Macarons

Pierre Herme’s macarons were bites of heaven. The textures and flavors were all perfect! This is when I finally saw the light, the light of macarons! Today I am happy to call myself a macaron lover and I have Pierre Herme to thank. His macarons were as light as a cloud with a crisp and crunchy exterior. The process of making macarons takes a lot of patience, consistency, detail and precision. It is why it is extremely hard to find the perfect macaron, like a perfect man (I now have found both). Pierre Herme does all of his techniques with perfect execution, his macarons don’t just look luxurious they even taste luxurious. His meringue cookie like I said is as light as a cloud, but has the perfect contrast of texture. The cookie has a nice bite and is not overly chewy. Once I get past the cookie my taste buds get hit with the filling, and it is luscious with its silky smooth texture and powerful flavors. My mouth is watering just remembering how delicious every bite was. The macaron flavors vary from something new and exciting to standard. I went with two of his signature flavors and one ephemeral creation. Here is what I chose:

Infiniment (Salted-Butter Caramel)

You can never go wrong with a good salted caramel, being one of my favorite flavor combinations and a classic macaron of Pierre Herme’s – it did not disappoint. The salted-butter caramel ganache filling sandwiched between two perfect cookies was magical. Sweet caramel with a hint of burnt after notes followed by a salty finish to brighten the sweet flavor. Absolutely beautiful.

Mogador (Milk Chocolate & Passion Fruit)

I love passion fruit so I was really excited about this macaron – chocolate combined with passion fruit…yummmm. This macaron was amazing! No wonder why it is everyone’s favorite! A subtle flavor in the cookie with a burst of flavor in the filling. The chocolate ganache never overpowered the passion fruit and vis versa, the flavors complimented each other and brought out the best in each – like a good marriage. The filling had a touch of passion fruit gelee that added a burst of tartness and brightness. Hands down my favorite of the three macarons.

Medelice (Lemon & Flaky Hazelnut Praline)

This was my ephemeral macaron and it was delicious. Whereas, the other macarons had powerful flavors this macaron was more subtle all around. The nuttiness from the hazelnut praline was natural and present following with the citrusy and refreshing flavor of the lemon. The lemon was surprising well balanced with the nuttiness of the hazelnut praline.

The chocolate truffles

The chocolate truffles were some of the best I have ever had. They melted blissfully in my mouth and I could taste both the exotic chocolate and powerful flavors.

Infiniment Praline Pistache

Pistachio praline, roasted pistachios, enrobed in dark chocolate
Wow, this tasted like I was eating a chocolate covered pistachio – this truffle was authentic and natural with silky chocolate to finish the flavor profile. Great texture and well balanced flavors. I could taste the nuttiness of the pistachio praline while I experienced the exotic feeling of the chocolate.