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PERFECTING THE MACARON CAKE
PERFECTING theMACARON CAKE
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BY SANDRINE WALLACE
Sandrine Wallace is the founder and owner of French Pastry by Sandrine in the Midwest. Since 2018, the bakery offers traditional and authentic French desserts, including the incomparable French macarons. Sandrine grew up in Southern France and has been baking for years. She shares her love of creating authentic French pastries, but puts all her authentic savoir faire in developing an original and unique range of macarons flavors, more than 120, available all year long. The birthday macaron cake has become Sandrine’s signature cake. frenchpastrybysandrine.com instagram.com/frenchpastryby
Macaron cakes are popular and versatile. They can be in the shape of digits for birthdays, monograms for weddings, or simply roundshaped for any occasion. Here are some pro tips to create one for yourself or your clients.
CHOOSE YOUR FLAVORS.
Pick two favors or three, maximum. Too many flavors is overwhelming. Some combinations are really popular, like pear and almond, lime and coconut, strawberry and banana, and dark chocolate and peppermint. But there’s really no rules for combinations here. All the cakes are filled for a soft and moist texture.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE.
Slice your completely cooled cake with a long knife. Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip like Wilton #8B with the flavored filling of your choice such as ganache, cream cheese frosting, or buttercream. Dollop the filling over your cake base, add sliced fruit or berries, and cover with the second half of the cake. Repeat the piping step on top of the cake, covering all the surface again with dollops.
DECORATE THE CAKE.
This is when your creativity comes into the picture! Fruit, chocolate balls, little French meringues, candies, doughnuts, French macarons, and flowers are all great options. When it comes to toppings, anything is possible, but keep the following guidelines in mind.
1. Pick two or three colors.
Like too many flavors is overwhelming for the palate, too many colors is overwhelming for the eye.
An exception to this rule is a rainbow cake.
2. Coordinate the color of your frosting with the natural color of the fruit used as toppings. You can stay monochromatic or go with a complementary palette. 3. For fruit like bananas and kiwis, only place them inside the cake, as oxidation will turn them brown very quickly. Pick fresh fruit in season or used canned fruit.
4. Focus on each section of the cake to make sure they are each as detailed.
5. Use all kinds of floral items like different types of greenery and both small and large flowers. 6. Adjust the theme to the season or to the personality of the recipient. Don’t be afraid to be bold!
7. Remember, harmony is the key: harmony of the colors and harmony of the flavors. ACD
