Key Lime Macarons & a class at King Arthur Flour Baking School

Key Lime Pie Macarons

I was lucky enough to sign up quickly for a class held at The King Arthur Baking Center in Norwich, Vermont, with Gesine Bullock-Prada a few weeks ago.

The class was designed to coincide with the launch of her second book, Sugar Baby~Confections, Candies, Cakes & other Delicious Recipes for Cooking with Sugar.

In addition to a wonderful demonstration with "Hot Sugar" the evening before, I also signed up to do the "hands-on" workshop that included such confections as her famous Macarons (yes, that's how it's spelled!), Pate Choux, Pastry Cream, and Caramel.

The macarons were really my main interest, as of lately, my attempts had not come out to perfection and I was hoping Gesine could unlock the mystery.  Being the brilliant master baker that she is, she did.  I have been storing my almond flour in the refrigerator, thinking I was saving it from going rancid, but what I was doing was adding moisture and as she says, "moisture is the macarons enemy!"  Mystery solve, I delved into making a macaron in the flavor of one of my girls' favorite pies--Key Lime.  I think they came out pretty good and the only thing I would change when I make these again, was to add more color to the macaron shell.  Once they baked, the green came out very light, but I made up for that lack of color in the filling--a rich Italian butter cream (recipe is also in the book) with a tart, lime flavor.

The book is organized very well; from the Thread stage to Hard Crack and the recipes that go along with these sugar stages are so inviting that I can't wait to try others in the collection.

If you ever get a chance, the King Arthur Baking School has wonderful hands-on classes and Vermont in the Spring was beautiful. The accommodations at The Norwich Inn made for a memorable get away and I can't wait to go back. Enjoy!