Understated Elegance

Macaron are like distinguished French ladies dressed in shots of shantung silk, taffeta, tuille, ribbons and lace.  Their skirts come in every colour imaginable and sit perfectly with little frills on the bottom.  But for most women, world-wide, it's all about the heel and with macaron it's the "pied" or foot.  Shoes come in a vast array of styles: ballet flats, kitten heels, French heels, Mary Janes, pumps, peep toes, sling-backs, stilletos and wedges. And, the feet in macaron can also come in a vast array of sizes and shapes.

When making macaron, some like the effect of stilettos (really high feet) - they stand out and have the "wow" factor but sadly often contain nothing more than air pockets inside the shell.  Others, however, prefer simple understated elegance and opt for dare I say it French heels, which are also perfect for macaron as they are a medium height "pied". This type of foot for macaron, should not contain any air pockets and the batter should rise nicely throughout the inside of the shell.  The outer "croûte" or crust of macaron  should be as fine as eggshell. Like French women they look rather polished on the outside but when you delve into that crisp exterior it gives way to a soft, mellow centre.

At the end of the day, how you want your macaron to look is a personal choice and part of the fun is experimenting and trying new things (styles).  If you get sick of your stilettos why not try French heels for the day but definitely stay away from those ballet flats as they're not an attractive look for a macaron.