America has chocolate chip cookies. The French have macarons. So beloved is this petite meringue sandwich, in fact, that the man behind the esteemed Relais Desserts organization, Pierre Herme, declared March 20 "Jour de Macaron" (Macaron Day). All of his sixty-some patisseries across France put aside the tarts and entremets, serving strictly macarons for one day only.
Our local pastry hero Belinda Leong of b.patisserie knows this first hand. She worked at Pierre Herme (a.k.a. the "Picasso of Pastry," according to French Vogue) in Paris for one year. It's only natural she's bringing Macaron Day to San Francisco.
Mastering the technique of a macaron can be a pastry chef's Achilles' heel. Underwhip the meringues and they'll bake off to a funny shape. Underbake them and the center is gummy. So it's worth your time to go try Leong's textbook specimens. When they're done right, each bite provides a textural roller coaster ride. Crisp exterior yields to chewy middle yields to soft buttercream, jam or ganache within.
b. patisserie will post up at Village Market tomorrow starting at 11 am, and the flavors Leong has concocted sell themselves: passionfruit-chocolate, salted caramel-cocoa nib, Vahlrona milk chocolate-coconut, raspberry cream cheese macarons, and a bunch of others listed right here on b. patisserie's Facebook page.
Get there before she sells out, and Leong will sweeten the deal, adding a free macaron to every purchase. We'll be there. Now can somebody please get on chocolate chip cookie day?
