How to make French macarons – travelogue.co workshop review

A few months ago, I decided to be more open to new experiences, not to postpone things I want to do for no reason, and to say “Yes” to more things. So far I’m sticking to that resolution (even though it wasn’t a New Year’s one) and doing great stepping out of my comfort zone and learning new things.

I’ve recently taken part in a baking workshop organized by Travelogue. What is Travelogue? As they say on their website: “We give the opportunity to a community of female travelers to gather during a retreat, a workshop or a “Travel Coffee Talk”, to discover new passions and to get inspired. The motto is: learn something new, discover cities like a local and meet like-minded people where you do not expect them.”

This workshop was a part of the “Travel in your own city” cycle, where every few weeks a new cool activity is introduced – you can learn how to make Italian pasta, Moroccan candles, or (like me) French macarons. Each meet up is lead by an expert in their field and guarantees a really authentic experience, no matter which skill to learn you choose!

This time Hana & co invited us to Les Enfants du Paradis in Berlin and gave us a chance to learn the meticulous art of baking macarons with Teddy, the baking mastermind. As I have never even tried to bake macarons before, the precision needed to make them seemed both intimidating and even impossible at first. But challenge accepted! And why not? I mean, aren’t they the cutest delicious things ever?

After the lovely introduction and each being handed a handwritten recipe, the work began. Under the guiding eye of Teddy, we spent almost three hours weighing, boiling, mixing, stirring, arranging, baking, and decorating. We started with making the almond dough (who would have thought, that these little delicious things don’t have flour in them?!).

Then we proceeded with whipping the egg whites and boiling the sugar syrup. All in very precise measurements and even using a thermometer to check the temperature of the ingredients. Science, baby!

To get the perfect macarons, all the components need to be mixed together in the right order and with the right technique. It is very important to stir in the meringue to the dough very gently, so the macarons come out just right and fluffy instead of being a hot flat mess. Being impatient, I’d say this was the hardest part – I was truly aching to just mix it all in NOW. Thankfully, we worked in teams of three so my impatience was a bit tamed and the macarons were saved.

All through the process, even though it wasn’t an easy one, we had fun and you could feel the spirit of teamwork and bonding between a bunch of people, who have never met before. That’s what Travelogue does to you. It creates amazing experiences, where you can meet likeminded people, who want to learn, share, and have a good time together. And if there’s food involved? Hey, count me in anytime!

Les Enfants du Paradis:
Address: Schönfließer Str. 16, 10439 Berlin
Facebook: Les Enfants du Paradis

Travelogue:
Website: travelogue.co
Facebook: Travelogue
Facebook group: Travelogue community (closed but ask to join!)