Macarons & Me
MEET BRITTNEY KOSSES
A passion for great food has been instilled in me since I was a child. Some of my earliest and fondest childhood memories include helping prepare holiday meals, making cookies, and decorating birthday cakes. As I grew a little older, I found myself drawn to making and mastering the recipes that challenge others. I love the reactions that my creations bring to others, but I never thought that my career path would start in the kitchen.
Once I left home to attend college at UCF, my schedule didn’t allow me to indulge that passion as often as I would like. Then COVID-19 entered our lives, and the ensuing boredom presented the opportunity to take on a new culinary challenge. I turned my attention to macarons. I read that it is the hardest pastry to make, and I was determined to perfect it. After my first few attempts, I began to understand why macarons have that reputation. Undeterred, I kept at it, and finally turned out a perfect batch. I was so excited! I brought my macaron recipe home to Tampa so I could show my parents, and they loved it. Knowing how difficult macarons are to make and how delicious they are to eat, they suggested turning my new passion into business.
Custom Orders & Events
FOR THE SWEETEST MOMENTS IN LIFE
We are able to provide customized orders to support your particular requirements or special event. These options include custom colors, flavors, logos, decorations, packaging, and much more. We also have macaron towers available that hold anywhere from 30 to 300 macarons.
For additional information and pricing, please use the Contact Me form at the bottom of this page.
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with macarons.”
- Christopher Bethel -
The Macaron
ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING PASTRIES TO PERFECT
The French macaron is a delectable bite of heaven made from the seemingly simple ingredients of almond flower, egg whites, and powdered sugar. As most who have attempted to make macarons would admit, there is nothing simple about making them. Precision matters, but getting the recipe right is no guarantee of success. Your shells can emerge bumpy, lumpy, wet, exploded, hollow, hard, or lopsided. If you think it is a lot of work to get a single batch right. try doing it twice in a row. After a while, the disappointment can be enough to crush your soul. The level of effort to achieve consistent success, combined with the relatively high cost of ingredients, and the time commitment to figure it all out is usually enough to deter most bakers.
Successfully turning almonds, egg whites, and sugar into macarons requires several elements. First, you must develop finely honed macronage skills. Macronage is the delicate process of continuously mixing the batter until you reach the proper texture. Without mastering this skill, you will never achieve those perfect, frilly "feet" on the bottom of the shell. Second, acquiring the proper equipment helps increase your odds for success, but it doesn't come cheaply. The third element can be the most elusive. It is developing an intuitive understanding of how to adjust for the myriad factors that can ruin a batch of macarons. Gaining that experience is assuredly a long and frustrating process.
Managing moisture isn't something the typical baker needs to be overly concerned with, but even a slight change in humidity can have an immense impact on a batch of macarons. Many recipes call for "aged egg whites" because egg whites lose moisture as they get old. It is also recommended to use powdered food coloring, instead of liquid, in order to control the amount of moisture in the batter.
Patience and persistence might be the two most important ingredients, because macarons will thoroughly test both. That is why creating a perfect batch is incredibly gratifying. But it is the excitement combined with the blissful expressions of those partaking in these amazing creations that motivates me to share them with the world.
Contact Me
Please contact me directly for any questions relating to custom orders, pricing, market schedules, deliveries, or pick-ups.