Mademosielle:
What a fab way to spend a Thursday evening, decorating and eating Macaroons whilst also learning how to make a very tasty Rhubarb Martini from my mother!
I met lovely ladies over very tasty Italian prosecco. The Oh La La Macaron event was held in a recently refurbished room that although small is the perfect size for special, intimate celebrations such as baby showers, birthday parties, wine tastings, business gathering etc, with a modern, elegant kitchen hidden in the back to cater for your guests as well as a bar.
The tables were beautifully laid out with everyone having their own selection of christmassy decorated Macarons to taste throughout the evening. But before we got ourselves stuck into decorating our own,
Hattie, the talented Macaron maker, showed us how to make them and taught us the difference between an Italian and French macaron. Can anyone guess the difference?
I think the best part of making macarons is piping them onto the baking tray and slamming them down on the table to flatten and make them take their shape as a circle in order to get that famous crusty edge to the macaron.
We were then given plain macarons, of different colours to decorate and put us in the Christmas spirit!
It was really relaxing and therapeutic decorating them and the best part was that we got to take them home in a sophisticated box tied with ribbon.
My favourite Macaron was the Gingerbread Man. I don’t quite know what was in it but i think it was coffee or mocha flavour but at the same time had a refreshing taste to it. Whatever it was, I would have it again!
A good way to illustrate the evening would be like a slumber party but without being in our pyjamas or on our beds but we had everything else!
Madame:
Deep in the heart of London’s diamond district in Hatton Garden, is another jewel to be discovered.
Oh La La Macarons is a bespoke boutique bakery with a new central London HQ that also offers a brand new event space ideal for hosting a variety of events from product launches, photo shoots, wine tastings, team building, hen parties, incentive days, etc. The ‘Macaron & Martini Workshops’ are also run here.
Bespoke orders can be made in any colour or flavour and can even have your logo printed on the top, making them uniquely special. Always using the best quality ingredients, the macarons are naturally gluten free and are ideal for sharing, be it with family, friends or for your team or clients.
What better way to spend an evening than learning all about this luxury patisserie delicacy as well as making, mixing, piping, decorating and finally eating, these melt-in-the-mouth jewels of the French patisserie world at a Christmas ‘Macaron & Martini Workshop’.
This is exactly what we did recently to celebrate the launch of Oh La La Macarons new, bright, elegant event space.
Of course, it’s not all sugar and spice! The evening’s proceedings were helped along with Rosé Prosecco (non-alcoholic option too), plus a lesson in ‘free-fall’ cocktail making.
With a rainbow of coloured base macarons to choose from and some specially made Christmas inspired designs too, the evening was a great start to the festive season.
As the volunteer cocktail-maker, I was responsible for creating a Rhurbarb Martini ‘free-fall’, which means measuring each of the ingredients by eye by counting the seconds until you stop pouring, rather than using a measuring cup!
This is far more difficult than it sounds – believe me!
However, under the watchful expert eye of the in-house mixologist, I managed to create a delicious ‘shaken’ not ‘stirred’ Rhurbarb Martini, decorated with a delicate basil leaf and dried rose petals! What could be more perfect!
Back to the Oh la la! With an interesting lesson in making the perfect mixture for the macarons, we learnt some top tips for future baking. After the dilemma of choosing the colour of your macaron bases, the decision of which flavoured butter cream filling comes next. From apple and salted caramel to chocolate ganache, coffee and mint, the
combinations are endless.
Then it’s time to let your imagination go and to decorate! Using a selection of edible glitter, writing pens, iced decorations and icing the evening was a macaron grotto with endless decorating ontop of these colourful jewels of delight.
Baking is an art and a science and it takes time and skill to get it right. No one is perfect and with each macaron hand-piped, sometimes there are some not so perfect shells or breakages. In order to have zero waste these delicious morsels, are added to the newly launched ‘Letterbox Macaron Brownies’. The broken macarons are mixed in with the brownie mix and thereby creating another irresistible treat with a hidden crisp crunch!
After an evening of creative inspiration, chat and learning the art of macaron making, we headed home with our creations in a beautiful box and gift bag.
We are sure your will want to try the macarons yourselves, so don’t delay and get them delivered direct to your door! Just visit the website and order some macaron magic.
So try something different for your next birthday, surprise party, hen night, baby shower; sparkle like Oh La La Macarons alongside London’s other jewels!
Make your ocassion as bespoke as the Oh la la Macarons!
www.ohlalamacarons.com
November 2022