Shropshire baker's macarons are sweet perfection

Keen baker George Evans set himself the challenge of perfecting these attractive French delicacies at the start of 2019.

Now he sells his macarons to customers up and down the country and is a regular face at artisan fairs and events around his home county of Shropshire.

"I'm not professional trained but I've always baked from a young age with my mum. I lost touch with it when I went to university where I studied geology, more because of money than anything else.

"When I came back home and started working, I got back into baking properly," explains George, who lives in Telford.

With his passion for baking reignited, he applied to become a contestant on the Great British Bake Off in 2019.

"I got to the penultimate audition round. On the back of being so close to doing something with baking, I wanted to find a way of carrying on.

"I was thinking about what I could do and I landed on perfecting macarons. I wanted to learn how to make them properly. The process is very technical, there are lots of things that can go wrong. I wanted to be able to make them without a hitch.

"I bought a book and studied it. I inhaled kilos of icing sugar, burnt my hands countless times on baking trays and cracked hundreds of egg shells, but I mastered it and I was pleased with the product I could consistently turn out.

"I decided to make a go of it and luckily it paid off."

These sweet sandwiches are made using egg whites, almonds and icing sugar and have a crisp shell and soft fillings of either ganache, buttercream, curds or jam.

"Whenever I found macarons in bigger cities or when I travelled, I never really understood the hype, they were always a bit dry. But when you have fresh ones, it's a game-changer. I love eating them, their versatility and the production. It's an indepth process to make them and there are lots of steps that if you fail, you will ruin a batch. I enjoy the attention to detail and the flavours I can make," George tells Weekend.

The 27-year-old started selling his macarons via social media, delivering them to people's doorsteps, in August 2020, and later set up a website so people could order online.

"It really took off, I had orders from across the UK, from Devon to Scotland. When we came out of lockdown, I had to adjust the business to a non-lockdown world. People were now going out to spend money rather than enjoying treats at home," explains George.

Selling his macarons at markets seemed an obvious choice and he became a member of Made In Shropshire which runs artisan fairs around the county, including Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock and Dudmaston Hall.

"At the markets, I'm surrounded by lots of incredible makers, bakers and producers and it's a really nice atmosphere.

"The markets gave me the confidence that I could to some of the bigger events and I attended Shrewsbury Food Festival for the first time last year.

"I was hard to gauge how many to make because I always make them fresh for the event and I sold out," says George.

His stall provide huge hit with visitors again at this year's Shrewsbury Food Festival, where he sold his entirely stock of just under 1,500 macarons.

George has been baking non-stop in the days leading up to the event. "There are 80 macarons in each batch and I was making three to four hundred a day."

He will be attending other events during the summer including Cosford Food Festival and the Ginger & Spice Festival in Market Drayton.

"Being able to go our and see everyone and a bit a more personal rather than just have an online presence is really nice and I think a lot of people enjoy that.

"I'm seeing customers return who have been buying from me for over year and it's been more like friends coming to buy from me rather than just customers."

When he first started, George offered two different flavours a week, now people can choose from six flavours such as salted caramel, pistachio, chocolate and blueberry and lemon, every month and have the option to build their own box.

He also offers dairy-free varieties such as raspberry and cookies 'n' cream and enjoys experimenting with more unusual flavour such as Korean chilli chocolate, and fennel pollen

"I think people really appreciate macarons because they are gluten-free and in a world where we are more aware of allergies and intolerances, it's good to be able to offer gluten-free and dairy-free products," says George, who also offers masterclasses.

In recent years, they have become a popular alternative to cake at weddings and other celebrations and events.

"I offer macaron towers. They're quite a spectacle and a good showpiece," George tells Weekend.

See shropshiremacarons.co.uk