Let’s forget about dinner for now and skip straight to dessert. Team-building activities centered on cooking a meal are always a hit for making people work together, but what about baking? It requires far more precision, less ingredients, and the payoff is, in my opinion, better.
During my stay at the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel on recent a press trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was invited to learn how to make macarons from Executive Pastry Chef Nasha Fondeur Diaz, who’s responsible for the artistic and delicious creations at the two hotel restaurants—1919 Restaurant and Ola Ocean Front Bistro—and also the Banquet Department.
On a press trip, it’s likely you won’t know anyone prior to going, and activities like macaron-making are the key to creating a stronger connection with people you’re just getting to know. Working alongside hotel staff, like General Manager Nicholas Gold, evens the playing field; no one’s going to be a master macaron-maker off the bat, and it’s fun to see how good (or not so good) your shared creation turns out.
It also doesn’t hurt to toast yourself with champagne after you’ve put the macarons in the oven.
Below is Nasha’s recipe for her French macarons and ganache filling. While it’s hard to go wrong with her recipe, good luck making them look as impeccable as she does. (I’ve tried.)
French Macarons
Ingredients:
—250 g almond flour
—300 g confectioner’s sugar
—200 g egg whites
—200 g granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Sift the almond flour with the confectioner’s sugar.
2. Aside, in the mixer bowl, add the egg whites and begin to whip at medium speed until the foaming of the egg whites is complete.
3. Slow down the mixer speed and gradually add the granulated sugar until it reaches a medium peak.
4. Afterwards, again, sift the sugar and the almond flour over the meringue and mix in a folding manner.
5. Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.
Note: It is important to dry the macarons at room temperature for 300 minutes before baking.
Passion Fruit & Mango Ganache
Ingredients:
—40 g inverted sugar
—125 g mango puree
—100 g passion fruit puree
—515 g melted white chocolate
—25 g softened unsalted butter
Directions:
1. Bring inverted sugar and purees to a boil in a small pot.
2. Pour over chocolate and whisk to emulsify.
3. Cool to 95 degrees before adding butter and processing with a hand blender until smooth.
