Macarons

The Macaron Lenoir

In 1945, just after the war, in a small bakery in Tessé-la-Madeleine, Henri Lenoir and his wife had the idea of launching a speciality cake. After several years working on it, the Macaron Lenoir was born in 1952.

Later, their son Gérard, and then their grandson Henri continued with the family recipe, which has become the famous speciality of Bagnoles de l’Orne. Henri Lenoir described his macaroon as “traditional” because there is no buttercream in his recipe. He wanted to create a biscuit with a very soft interior which resulted in a gooey centre with a good almond flavour hidden beneath the crispy shell.

Although Henri Lenoir’s kitchen is based in Loré, a small village 12 miles from Bagnoles de l’Orne, his chocolate and confectionery boutique “Le Casati du Lac” is located right in the middle of the resort. How would you like to taste one of these mouthwatering macaroons?

The origins of the macaron

Originally, the macaron was a small round almond cake derived from the meringue. It appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages, developing a number of forms and flavours. The recipe included ground almonds, sugar, icing sugar and egg whites.

The French macaron is a culinary speciality that is now found in several French regions. This small cake, which is crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, was originally served singly before being sandwiched together in around 1830.

The Parisian macaron appeared in the 19th century and uses butter cream or jam to sandwich the two halves together. At the end of the 2000s, a new generation of macarons was born that had a different flavours in the filling and the shell, such as the pear and orange or chocolate and raspberry.

A macaron recipe

It has to be admitted that getting these macarons right the first time is not easy! But with a bit of practice, you can be proud of having made your own macarons. Here is how to make around fifteen chocolate macarons replacing the buttercream with melted chocolate and a little almond butter.

The shells

Mix 80 g of icing sugar with 60 g of ground almonds. Melt 100 g of dark chocolate then add to the mixture.

Whisk two egg whites with a pinch of salt and add 40 g of icing sugar without stopping whisking. Fold gently into the previous mixture.

Pipe small amounts of the mixture onto a baking sheet covered in baking parchment. Cook for 12 minutes at 140° C. Remove the macarons from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.

The ganache

Melt 60 g of chocolate over a bain-marie. Away from the heat, add a tablespoon of almond butter. Use a teaspoon to spread the ganache on the shells and stick the macarons together in pairs. Place them in the fridge overnight before eating!