Day out in the Danish Capital
LEARN TO MAKE MACARONS
I adore French macarons. Those pretty, crunchy, chewy ganache filled little round cookies that people line sidewalks in Paris to procure. If you love Ladurée but live in Copenhagen, you are in luck. You can learn to make them yourself. From a French pastry master. Frédéric Terrible has been creating and cooking delightful French desserts in the Danish capital for over twenty years. He runs the Terrible French Pastry School in Frederiksberg.
TERRIBLE FRENCH PASTRY SCHOOL
I recently spent a not-terrible-at-all afternoon learning tips and tricks about the tasty treats with a group of friends. Frédéric has a lovely light filled space on a quiet street off Gammel Kongevej and can host your group outing easily. Birthday party? Bachelorette party? Team-building? Oui oui! Don’t have a group? No problem. Regularly scheduled classes allow for individual participation as well.
Think macarons are hard work? Not under the master’s close supervision. Frédéric breaks down the process and gives you all the tools to succeed. We used an Italian meringue recipe in this class, as it is more lenient and easier for us newbies to work with than the traditional French version, Frédéric explained. We worked in teams of two to boil the sugar to just the right temperature and then carefully add it to the whipping egg whites for our meringues. This glossy white mixture was then added to an almond flour base and blended by hand to the perfect consistency. Not too little, not too much.
After watching the technique demonstrated for us, we piped in pairs, filling our trays in a variety of colored batters. Once in the oven, we watched and we waited for the cookies to rise. Do they have a “foot” asks Frédéric? Yes? Oui! Then adjust the temp and time for a break. As the cookies finished baking, we enjoyed coffee, tea and (of course) macarons in a separate party room set up for our group.
Once cooled, we popped the pieces off the paper and got them ready for filling. Today we took a condensed version of the class and did not make the ganache centers ourselves. Frédéric had already prepared a variety of flavors for us to fill. He quickly shared his process and preference for all-natural ingredients. We used salted caramel, raspberry, coffee, chocolate and of course – licorice – this class IS in Denmark. Once full, they get five minutes in the freezer to set the cookies for travel. We get to pack a mixed box to take home.
FRENCH PASTRY CLASS DEETS:
Terrible French Pastry School
Grundtvigsvej 10 A – 1864 Frederiksberg C
2.5 Hour Class
300 DKK includes ingredients, instruction, coffee/tea and pastries
Minimum of 8 participants
NOTE: The condensed macaron class is called Bachelorette Party on the website.
Other pastry class options, as well as the full macaron lesson including the ganache filling, can be found at Frederic’s site online. He offers classes for children, but suggests that they work best for ages 8 and older.
I was expecting a post all about this awful cooking class you’d done, Erin!! I love macaroons and make quite good pistachio ones – mine are always massive though. Those trays look like the perfect solution. I’d love to take a class like this. I’m frightened of boiling sugar (it just sounds so blooming complicated) and my lovely pistachio recipe doesn’t require that. I made chocolatey macaroons that were too chocolatey (according to me, not according to the rest of the family!) and lemon macaroons (my favourite to buy) that were a total disaster. I’m still looking for a good recipe for those. Xx
Haha! I know! That is his name! It sounds not-so horrible en français – but I find it an amusing name for a pastry school as well – not terrible at all in fact! I’m not sure to be honest if I’ll try to recreate at home as I don’t have a sugar thermometer or a nice stand mixer, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be! Cheers from Copenhagen, Erin
it seems very hard:) I’ll stick to easier cakes:)
Haha! I will too probably!!
Oooooh Erin, I’m so so jealous! I second Clare, I thought you would share a disastrous experience. I LOVE macarons (team Pierre Herme here), but have never tried making them myself cause it seems awfully complicated. Would love to take a class like this!
I thought it would be as well! Not as hard as it seems!
Delicious and incredibly jealous!!! I totally WANT to do this!!!!!!!! What a fun idea for a bachelorette party! #FarawayFiles Pinned & Stumbled!
It was a super fun afternoon and you could do it with bubbles instead of tea or coffee for an evening event!
I love macaroons! What a fab afternoon
I was afraid from the title it was going to be a disaster, but those macarons look amazing! I love cooking classes and macarons, seems like this may be the combination for me… #FarawayFiles
I think the name is hilarious! It was truly fun and they turned out great!
This was not what I was expecting when I read the title of this post. A macaron cooking class sounds like so much fun. #farawayfiles
Haha! That’s what it’s called! ?
I took a macaron baking class at my friend’s bachelorette party and I am definitely not a baker lol. Ours turned out gigantic! You guys did an amazing job, they look so pretty!
It’s a testimony to the teacher I think!!!
Fun re-reading all the comments for #FarawayFiles. Off to find a kitchen shop that sells those clever baking trays tomorrow…
It’s just a paper sheet that sat under the baking paper – we slid it out after piping!
Wow that’s such a great opportunity! I’d love to learn how to bake macarons!
Super yummy and a very fun lesson!
I’ve never attempted to make my own, but love a challenge! This looks like such a fun day out!! The photos of all of you having fun are so lovely and of course the treats! #farawayfiles
Of course treats! I will admit they require a lot of attention during the whole process, but the end result was YUM!
I’ve always thought these look incredibly complicated – but how fun to learn. I’d love to so something like this. #farawayfiles
That was exactly my thought going in! It is definitely a recipe that requires careful attention, but not as hard as I thought – very fun to do with friends!
Great play on words with the headline, loved it! Then loved it even more cos I love macarons. Lots of love going on here, huh?! I’d really be game for doing a class like this but sadly don’t think I have the skill. My baking is just a case of shoving everything in a bowl and hoping for the best lol! #FarawayFiles
It was difficult to fail under the watchful eye of Frédéric – but the macaron recipe was pretty exacting on the science to get those beauties perfect, not sure I can recreate at home! Cheers from Copenhagen, Erin
Erin, I work at a Talent Acquisition department and got to see the weirdest and funniest names you can think of. The other day we got a guy called Money (I kid you not). At least, we haven’t gotten anybody with Terrible as the last name! Anyway, I would love to take a class like this. Macarons look like the most difficult thing to do but I would love to learn how to make them (and take some to potlucks). #FarawayFiles
I love the fact that he doesn’t shy away from using his name for his company – I think it’s hilarious! Cheers from Copenhagen, Erin
That sounds excellent and what a clever way to use his surname #FarawayFiles
Right? Très amusant! I thought it was brilliant to use it!
I thought from the title that it was going to be a disaster!! Macarons look amazing, far beyond me I think! We love doing cooking classes in different countries, particularly ones suited to kids. #FarawayFiles
And while macarons aren’t exactly Danish, it was a super fun and Frenchie thing to do not too far from home. Wonder how well a Danish pastry class would go over in Paris? Make it about New Nordic cuisine and it’d probably be a hit! Cheers from Copenhagen, Erin
I had to read your post title and the introduction for the second time, and then realised that your experience wasn’t terrible 🙂 (I know bad joke, sorry!) As I’m writing this comment, it’s 4.45pm Malaysia time, this means it’s tea time and you’re making me crave for macaroons! Enjoyed your video and photos of the class – wonderful! #FarawayFiles
Wish I could send you some! They’re so fragile that I was worried about putting them in my bike basket to get home! They made it though. Thankfully! Cheers from Copenhagen, Erin
ooh la la! J’adore Monsieur Terrible just for his branding. I’m not a bad baker but I’ve never been too successful with macarons. Totally need this class #FarawayFiles
I know right? Brilliant!
I love macaroons too. Cooking classes are something I never take advantage of but after reading this I realize I need to get on it. What a fun group activity to do with friends! #farawayfiles
I would like to say that it was my idea, but it wasn’t – so glad my friend found it and set it up!
This looks gorgeous – I’ve always wanted to make my own macarons but then decided it was all too hard and far easier to buy them haha! I do love cooking classes though and am always on the lookout for them during our trips!
Thanks Connie! I may fall into that category as well, not sure if I will suddenly be baking up macarons at home, but at least when I purchase them next time I will know the amount of time and effort that went into making that gorgeous macaron!
What a fun activity to do! And too funny about the name as well, Terrible. That’s certainly attention-grabbing. It must take quite some skill to get the macaron right, with the perfect balance between chewy and crispy! Some serious quality control needed along the way, I would assume 😛 #farawayfiles
It is certainly a science to baking the perfect macaron – thank goodness we had Monsieur Terrible to assist us through the whole process!
Like everyone else, I thought this was going to be about an awful cooking class, and I LOVE how he used his fun last name to brand his business. Definitely memorable! I don’t know how i feel about licorice macarons… they make me a little nervous. I think I would be better at eating macarons than making them – I am way too lazy for all the steps! I am more of a mix it all in a bowl and bake kind of girl 🙂 But it does sound like a really fun class to do with friends! #FarawayFiles
Danes make licorice flavored EVERYTHING! These were actually pretty mild on the licorice flavor, so even the non-lovers liked them. Macaron recipe is definitely high maintenance, but not actually as hard to make as I thought. Cheers from Copenhagen!
Wow! Looks like an amazing experience and such a fun and exciting time. And I love the name of the classes!