Took in another French macaron making class, this time at Sur la Table. They just opened a store at a mall near me - so happy that I can now just run in and pick up my cooking/baking needs!! We had about 15 people in the class, a mix of singles, friends and mother/daughter groups. We made three macaron flavors - chocolate salted caramel, lavender with white chocolate ganache and hazelnut with praline buttercream. We certainly had fun, and learned a couple of new tips, but sadly each batch had some kind of problem. I have made many a macaron and know just how fussy they are - look at them wrong and they blow out - but some of the ladies were kind of grumpy about the whole thing. The chef was very apologetic and very sweet, but I do think they need to test the recipes a few times before getting all of in a class. AND they need to make larger batches - before our filling had set, the other groups had theirs filled and completely eaten. That was so odd to me ... eat a couple, but leave enough so that everyone has a few of each to take home. Ahh well... Here's the thing I really took away from the class. Practice makes perfect. It's not the equipment, it's all what feels good and works for you. And if you fail, try again.
P.S. How about those tatts? Crazy huh?