Macaron Origin: Where Macarons Come From and the History of France's Favourite Pastry

Lift the lid of a pastry box in Paris and there they are, lined up like little jewels: pistachio green, raspberry pink, the deep brown of bitter chocolate. You bite, and the shell breaks with the faintest crack before giving way to something soft, almost chewy, and then the ganache melts. It lasts three seconds. It took four centuries to get there.

The macaron comes from a long family of almond biscuits that reached France from Italy around the Renaissance, made of almonds, sugar and egg whites. For centuries it was a single, simple biscuit made in convents and towns across France. The colourful Parisian macaron, two shells joined by a filling, appeared in Paris in the late 19th and early 20th century.

What is a macaron?

A macaron is a small, round French pastry made from almond flour, icing sugar and egg whites. In its Parisian form, two smooth, shiny shells with a ruffled little foot at the base, the famous pied, are joined by a filling of ganache, buttercream or fruit. Its whole magic is in the contrast: a delicate crust outside, a moist, tender heart inside.

It is not to be confused with the macaroon, the coconut biscuit popular in the United States and the United Kingdom. Both words come from the same French root, but they are two very different sweets.

Where do macarons come from?

The honest answer is that the macaron has many parents. Almond sweets travelled from the Middle East to Sicily and Spain in the Middle Ages, and Italy gave the biscuit its name, from the Italian maccherone, a word for a fine paste. Some French historians trace an early version to the abbey of Cormery, in the Loire Valley, as far back as the 8th century.

You will often read that Catherine de Medici brought the macaron to France when she married the future Henri II in 1533. It is a lovely story, but historians have found no record to support it, so it belongs to legend. What is certain is that the word was already French by 1552, when Rabelais mentioned macarons in his Quart Livre.

The regional macarons of France

For centuries, a macaron in France meant a single almond biscuit, crisp outside and soft inside, and many towns made their own. In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the Basque Country, Maison Adam says its macarons were offered to Louis XIV for his wedding to Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660, and you can still buy them there today. Amiens has its small, dense macarons of almond paste and honey, Saint-Émilion its almond biscuits baked on paper, and Nancy the most famous story of all.

Who invented the Parisian macaron?

In Nancy, during the French Revolution, when the convents were closed, two nuns, Marguerite Gaillot and Marie-Élisabeth Morlot, found shelter in the town and began to bake and sell the macarons of their convent to survive. They became known as the Sœurs Macarons, the Macaron Sisters, and their round, cracked biscuit is still made in Nancy today.

The macaron as the world knows it was born in Paris. Filled macarons appeared in the 19th century, and the two-shell version with a creamy filling, long called the Paris macaron or the Gerbet, is claimed both by the pastry chef Claude Gerbet and by Pierre Desfontaines of Ladurée, who made it the house signature in the 20th century. At the end of the century, Pierre Hermé turned it into a playground for flavours, rose with lychee and raspberry, olive oil and vanilla, and the macaron conquered the world.

How are macarons made?

The list of ingredients could not be simpler: almond flour, icing sugar, egg whites, a little caster sugar and, if you like, colouring. Everything else is technique. The almond flour and icing sugar are blended and sifted until they are as fine as dust, and the egg whites are aged a little at room temperature, which makes them more stable.

Pastry chefs use either a French meringue, whisking sugar into the whites, or an Italian meringue, pouring a hot sugar syrup cooked to about 118 to 121°C over the whites. The Italian method is the one most professionals prefer, because it gives smoother, more regular shells.

Macaronage, the delicate moment

Then comes the step that gives the macaron its name and its reputation: the macaronage. The almond mixture is folded into the meringue with a spatula, turning the bowl as you go, until the batter is glossy and falls from the spatula in a thick ribbon. Too little, and the shells will be lumpy; too much, and they will spread flat. It is a matter of feel, and every pastry chef will tell you it takes practice.

The batter is piped into small rounds and left to rest for about thirty minutes to an hour, until a thin skin forms on top. This croûtage is what allows the famous foot to rise in the oven, where the shells bake gently, around 145 to 150°C for twelve to fifteen minutes, without ever taking colour.

What makes a perfect macaron?

A good macaron is perfectly round and smooth, with a fine, regular foot and a shell that shines softly. The two shells are the same size, the colour matches the flavour, and the filling is generous enough to be seen but never runs. When you bite, the shell should crack lightly, the inside should be tender, and the flavour should be clear and true. A dry, crumbly or overly sweet macaron is a sign that something went wrong.

How to store macarons

Macarons are one of those rare pastries that are better the next day. Once filled, they need about twenty-four hours in the refrigerator so that the filling softens the inside of the shells; this rest is called maturation. They keep for around five days in an airtight box in the fridge, and they freeze beautifully for several months. Take them out about thirty minutes before eating, so the flavours open up.

An easy macaron recipe to try at home

For about fifty small macarons, you will need 150 g of almond flour, 150 g of icing sugar and two portions of 55 to 60 g of egg whites, plus 150 g of caster sugar and 40 g of water for the syrup. For a chocolate ganache, count 150 ml of cream, 250 g of dark chocolate and 10 g of butter.

Blend and sift the almond flour with the icing sugar, then mix in the first portion of egg whites to make a thick paste. Cook the sugar and water to 118°C, whisk the second portion of whites until foamy and pour in the hot syrup in a thin stream, whisking until the meringue is glossy and barely warm. Fold the meringue into the almond paste in three additions, pipe 3 cm rounds onto baking paper, leave them to form a skin, then bake at 145°C for about fifteen minutes. Let them cool before lifting them off the paper.

For the ganache, bring the cream to the boil, pour it over the chopped chocolate, stir until smooth, add the butter and let it cool until thick. Fill, close, and wait until the next day before tasting. If your first batch cracks, spreads or has no foot, do not be discouraged: an oven that is too hot, a humid kitchen or a batter folded too long are the usual suspects, and every pastry chef has been there.

Where to buy the best macarons in Paris

Ladurée is the historic house, Pierre Hermé the one that changed everything, and many great pastry chefs now make their own exquisite versions. I have gathered my favourite addresses in the best macarons in Paris and where to buy them. And if you would love to taste your way through the city's pâtisseries with a guide, our Best of French Pastry tour is made exactly for that.

Frequently asked questions

Where do macarons come from?

Macarons descend from almond biscuits that came to France from Italy around the Renaissance. The modern Parisian macaron, two shells joined by a filling, was created in Paris between the late 19th and early 20th century.

Who invented the macaron?

No single person invented it. The simple almond macaron existed in France by the 16th century. The filled Parisian macaron is credited both to Claude Gerbet and to Pierre Desfontaines of Ladurée.

Did Catherine de Medici bring macarons to France?

It is a popular legend, but historians have found no evidence for it. The word macaron already appears in Rabelais in 1552.

What is the difference between a macaron and a macaroon?

A macaron is a French almond pastry with two shells and a filling. A macaroon is a coconut biscuit, popular in the United States and the United Kingdom.

How long do macarons keep?

About five days in an airtight box in the refrigerator, and several months in the freezer. They are best eaten a day after they are filled.

If you would love to discover Paris through its pâtisseries, chocolatiers and the stories behind them, I would be happy to design that day for you. Tell me about your trip.

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