Macarons are the aristocrats of pastry; these brightly coloured mini meringues daintily sandwiched together with gooey fillings have become a holy grail for cookery fanatics & there are even food blogs dedicated to them Like Pierre Herme's famous macarons it would be difficult for any macaron book to surpass this one & indeed the hardback edition has been a universal bestseller (still in print 978-1-908117-23-6) There are 208 pages of recipes & beautiful food photography & because making macarons is mostly about technique rather than just a standard recipe readers will appreciate the 32-step-by-step photo-illustrated instructions for making shells & fillings All the classics are here like dark chocolate praline coffee & pistachio but others feature the more unusual macarons that Herme is justly famous for Isfahan is one with lychee rose & raspberry Arabesque with apricot & pistachio Satine with passion fruit orange & cream cheese Mandarin & pink pepper black truffles balsamic vinegar as well as a bright-green macaron filled with fresh mint