Syrup and Tang » macarons

OMG I can still make macarons!

Duncan — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:12:55 +0000

Ten months after I last donned my patissier gear and squeezed out a few hundred macarons, I returned to the piping bags for a brief baking blitz. My back hurt for two weeks. So then I made a cake instead.

Pierre Hermé's book on macarons is now in English

Duncan — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:12:32 +0000

The most impressive book on macarons is now in English! Pierre Hermé's 2008 French book "Macaron" is out this month in English.

The flexible macaron Top 20 and why I'm off it

Duncan — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:30:05 +0000

Many people have asked me why I'm not participating in the Melbourne Macaron competition, I've decided I need to write an explanation of my perspective. It's about rules and fees and up-front transparency.

Short and sweet: it seems Adriano Zumbo will be a Melbourne fixture

Duncan — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:06:17 +0000

The Age newspaper this morning mentioned in it's local gossip column that Sydney pâtissier and Masterchef regular Adriano Zumbo is on his way to having a presence in Melbourne. I wonder if that explains his increasingly frequent visits!

Could this mean tastier times to come in Melbourne?

Macarons at Liaison café

Duncan — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:27:57 +0000

For those of you who like my macarons, click here to read more about what's happening at Liaison café in Melbourne.

Macarons by Duncan – a project comes to fruition

Duncan — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:34:44 +0000

[UPDATED: PRODUCTION HAS ENDED FOR NOW. SEE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT]Some people are organised enough to document a project and then tell their readers all about it, blow by blow. Not me. All good intentions of snapping photos evaporated as I juggled the eccentricities of an induction stove, the buttons and dial of a fancy Rational oven (it does almost anything, except tell me why it's not doing what I want!), and the largest macaron batter I've ever made! You see, on Monday I stepped into the kitchen of the new food venture, EARL Canteen, by Jackie and Simon.

Of ovens and baking (and macarons)

Duncan — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:51:07 +0000

On the occasion of Jour du Macaron 2010 (I'm a few hours late) and the approximate occasion of Syrup & Tang's third birthday, I have decided to write about ovens, rather than presenting more pretty domes of deliciousness. Why ovens? Because a lack of understanding of how ovens work is one of the main causes of so many home bakers' problems. And I promised to write about them a year ago. I hope there's something in here to hope any inexperienced home baker.

Masterchef Australia's macarons: bad crunch

Duncan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:05:50 +0000

Every contestant in Masterchef Australia episode 61 had crunchy macarons. (Ok, except Andre, who didn't have macarons at all.) The microphones captured the powdery crunch. It should never have been like that. I think I know why it might have happened. NOW UPDATED with extra stupid stuff.

Spring harvest in Paris

Duncan — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:59:54 +0000

All sorts of things grow when the weather is going crazy. In Paris this week, the temperature fluctuated between 14C and rainy and 35C and excruciatingly humid. I got home from a day of walking around the rive gauche (Left Bank = mix of university, studenty, somewhat wealthy, public service, cultural and dawdling tourist population). Look what had grown in my bag from the curious cultures floating through the air...

There was a strange box containing...

Three flavours of macaron

Duncan — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:24:53 +0000

Many of my readers know of my macaronic obsessions. As the latest batch, made for the foodblogger get-together in March, was well received I thought I'd publish some pretty photos of them and tell you more about the flavours, add a tip or two, and alert you to a macaronic book review.