Our know-how

Making Macarons

A delicious Italian meringue

So it all begins with whole blanched almonds from California – the world center for almonds – that are ground and mixed with confectioner’s sugar. Egg whites are whisked until peaks form and natural food colourings are added to give the macarons their subtle colours. (The colour is mixed in at this point so that it is perfectly uniform.) As much as taste, colour is essential. 

Then an Italian meringue is made by heating a mixture of water and caster sugar to 120°C (248°F) and pouring it into the beaten egg whites. At Ladurée it’s always an Italian meringue because it gives the finished macarons their glossy appearance. (You can see this when the macaron shells come out of the oven all shiny.) Then the mix of ground almonds and sugar is added to the meringue, and the macaron mix (or appareil as it’s known in French) is ready.

Perfectly shaped shells

The appareil is poured into a machine called a trémie. This is the only stage that isn’t performed by hand, because only a machine can form identical shells. The 14 macaron flavours and the 5 “Incroyables” are made daily, moving from the lightest to the darkest colored so none are stained. 

The trémie pushes out small discs of appareil onto baking trays covered with parchment paper. The trays are tapped lightly so that the macarons finish settling and then baked for 20-25 minutes. The exact temperature is a closely guarded secret; all that’s known is that it’s not so hot as to brown the shell. Once out of the oven, half the batch is removed from the trays to be covered with filling, while the other half patiently awaits the topping- off stage.

The meticulous gesture of filling

A whole room is dedicated to filling the macarons, the stage when they are given their layer of ganache or jam. Everything is done, once again, by hand – and you need impressive skills with a piping nozzle to drop exactly the right amount onto each one. 

The jam used for the fillings, such as those in the raspberry or blackcurrant macarons, is more concentrated than one you might eat at home. It’s a delicate process making jam-filled macarons, because you have to be extremely careful not to soak the shell. It’s the kind of constant attention to detail that has been key to Ladurée’s success. 

Finally, it’s time to top off or sandwich the macarons by popping a second shell on the filling. After a night in a cold room, the only thing left to do is to package the little treats in their pretty pastel-colored boxes. Then it’s immediately off to all the shops across the world.

Sweet

Sweet Know-How

Above all else, Ladurée’s success lies in a little round cake, at once soft and crunchy; the inimitable macaron. Our trick is to add in a range of exquisite flavours dreamt up by our Head of Patisserie Creation, Claire Heitzler. Claire’s talent lies in revisiting classics such as the religieuse, the millefeuille, and the lemon meringue tart – giving them an unexpected twist while still maintaining a perfect flavour balance. The goal is to create harmony between sweet and savoury, with just a touch of sharpness. Claire Heitzler also works with more traditional flavours, such as chocolate, rose, and vanilla, ensuring her pastries appeal to all tastes. Ladurée’s patisserie creation process is consistently inspired by childhood memories. We apply a certain philosophy to all of our prestigious creations – from the Saint-Honoré to the religieuse, the millefeuille to our famous macarons – and that is the balance of reason and feeling. Since the beginning, Ladurée has always cherished women and children. Each pastry’s attractive colouring and flavours are designed to stimulate visually as well as gustatorially – patisserie is consumed by the eyes before it even reaches the mouth, after all. Clients come to Ladurée for a pistachio or rose religieuse, not just plain chocolate, and upon entering they find a picturesque scene, an ornate new world. They feel welcome and at home with a flavour range that you won’t find anywhere else; flavours dug out from days gone by, that they can discover with a sense of childish glee.

Savoury

Savoury Know-how

Ladurée is always growing and developing, and though its reputation was built on its sweet creations, its savoury dishes are also emblematic: omelettes, salads, finger sandwiches, vol-au-vents… each of these classic recipes has been rediscovered and reworked by our eager and talented connoisseurs. 

Typically, Ladurée’s salads combine the sweet and the savoury, and act as a meeting point between main course and dessert.
These recipes are at once classic and contemporary, with quality ingredients at their heart. Just as with our sweet creations, our savoury food is conceived of as a reinterpretation of French gastronomy’s most timeless dishes.

Fragrance

Ladurée Fragrances

All our candles are made in the South of France next to the city of Grasse and the wax is a mix of mineral and vegetal wax. 

The fragrance of each Ladurée candle is unique and handmade.


Our wick is made of cotton and our candles are totally handmade: we pour the liquid wax in each biscuit pot, then we wait a little bit for the wax to cool down and when the bottom gets solid, we then manually place the wick and wait for the whole wax to become solid. We then reheat the top of the candle to get an even surface and we trim the wick.

Ladurée Teas

Sweet treats as a rallying point

Eugénie, Othello, Mathilde, Jardin Bleu. At Ladurée the teas have poetic, evocative names, but what really unites them is their generosity of taste. The exclusive blends continually evolve in the Ladurée world of sweetness, gentleness and pastry. Each tea is set off with a note of pure indulgence, such as the Roi Soleil tea, which brings together caramel, rhubarb and cream flavors. 

The "new teas"
It takes 2-3 months of work and plenty of tasting to make sure that each new creation is the perfect blend. During our visit, Olivier Scala and his team were working on the development of a cherry-blossom tea, which will be matched with a cherry-flower candle. The idea is simple, but difficult to make a reality: how do you find the taste of an aroma? Another request during our visit was to try and create a madeleine tea: cake in a cup. A real challenge.
The search for a consistent taste 
For his range of perfumed teas, Olivier Scala works with plantations in Nigiri, southern India, and Keemun in China. The tea leaves are semected from summer and autumn harvest, when the quality is high and the taste consistent, which are both crucial  for any successful flavoured tea.

Conservation and preparation, two key steps 
The aromas in tea are extremely volatile. If you leave a tin of perfumed tea open they will disappear in just three to four days. So conservation is extremely important: it must be stored in a hermetically sealed tin, away from heat, the sun and humidity. (Tea is also notorious for absorbing any smells in the air.)