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.