I’ve been experimenting with the macaron recipe; trying to perfect it and play with different flavours. Sorry if all the recipes appear superficially identical, but I assure you there are subtle but important variations.
First up:
Macarons with white chocolate and raspberry ganache
3 egg whites, allowed to sit for an hour
30g castor sugar
5g powdered egg white (if you can’t get it, Pavlova Magic works)
125g almond meal
200g pure icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence
few drops cochineal
Sift the icing sugar and baking powder and stir through the almond meal. Combine castor sugar and powdered egg white (or Pavlova Magic) in a separate little bowl.
Whisk the egg whites until firm and stiff enough to keep its shape when you turn the bowl upside down, I prefer to whisk by hand. Gradually add the castor sugar/powdered egg white mix whisking continuously and vigorously after each addition.
Add the icing sugar/baking powder/almond meal mix in five batches, stirring until mixed each time. Lastly, stir in the vanilla essence and the cochineal.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag and pipe rounds onto a baking sheet or baking paper, leaving an inch between each round, and let them sit on the bench for two hours or until they have developed a “skin” and do not feel sticky to the touch.Bake at 120C for 6 minutes, turn the tray around, bake for another 6 minutes then remove from the oven. Slide the baking sheet off the tray and onto the bench; partly so you can cook the next batch, but also the cold bench stops the cooking process in its tracks. When they are completely cold, peel them carefully off the paper.
For the ganache: (this ganache recipe found here)
50mL whipping cream
100g white chocolate
45g frozen raspberries, thawed and smooshed lightly with a fork
Bring the cream to a boil, then take off the heat and add the broken up chocolate, let it sit for a minute then stir in thoroughly to melt. Stir in the raspberry smoosh. When mixture is lukewarm, spread a little onto a macaron like spreading jam thickly on bread, then stick another macaron on top.
Verdict:
30g castor sugar
5g powdered egg white (if you can’t get it, Pavlova Magic works)
125g dehydrated almond meal
200g pure icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pure coconut essence
Sift the icing sugar and baking powder and stir through the dehydrated almond meal. Combine castor sugar and powdered egg white (or Pavlova Magic) in a separate little bowl.
Whisk the egg whites until firm and stiff enough to keep its shape when you turn the bowl upside down, I prefer to whisk by hand. Gradually add the castor sugar/powdered egg white mix whisking continuously and vigorously after each addition.
Add the icing sugar/baking powder/almond meal mix in five batches, stirring until mixed each time. Lastly, stir in the coconut essence.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag and pipe rounds onto a baking sheet or baking paper, leaving an inch between each round, and let them sit on the bench for at least another hour or until they have developed a “skin” and do not feel sticky to the touch. I accidentally forgot mine and left them sitting for over two hours, but apparently that is a good thing 🙂
Bake at 120C for 6 minutes, turn the tray around, bake for another 6 minutes then remove from the oven. Slide the baking sheet off the tray and onto the bench; partly so you can cook the next batch, but also the cold bench stops the cooking process in its tracks. When they are completely cold, peel them carefully off the paper.
For the ganache:
180g white chocolate
50mL whipping cream
Bring the cream to a boil, then take off the heat and add the broken up chocolate, let it sit for a minute then stir in thoroughly to melt. Stir in the coconut essence. When mixture is lukewarm, spread a little onto a macaron like spreading jam thickly on bread, then stick another macaron on top.
30g castor sugar
5g powdered egg white (if you can’t get it, Pavlova Magic works)
125g almond meal
200g pure icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence
Sift the icing sugar, baking powder and almond meal. It takes a long time to sift the almond meal and you have to push it through with a spoon but it should mostly pass through the sieve eventually. Discard the small quantity of lumpy bits that do not pass through the sieve. Combine castor sugar and powdered egg white (or Pavlova Magic) in a separate little bowl.
Add the icing sugar/baking powder/almond meal mix in five batches, stirring until mixed each time. Lastly, stir in the vanilla essence and the blue food colouring.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag and pipe rounds onto a baking sheet or baking paper, leaving an inch between each round, and let them sit on the bench for two hours or until they have developed a “skin” and do not feel sticky to the touch.
Bake at 120C for 6 minutes, turn the tray around, bake for another 6 minutes then remove from the oven. Slide the baking sheet off the tray and onto the bench; partly so you can cook the next batch, but also the cold bench stops the cooking process in its tracks. When they are completely cold, peel them carefully off the paper.
For the ganache:
150g white chocolate
60mL whipping cream
a few drops blue food colouring
Bring the cream to a boil, then take off the heat and add the broken up chocolate, let it sit for a minute then stir in thoroughly to melt. Stir through the blueberries and food colouring. When mixture is lukewarm and has stiffened to spreading consistency, spread a little onto a macaron like spreading jam thickly on bread, then stick another macaron on top.
Carolyn, you are pure torture!
Here I am, half way around this planet after work, expecting a version of maroon/cranberry/burgundy wool crepe creation and instead, I'm salivating for tasty treats, thinking there is no way I can age eggs 3 days tonight!
Somehow, somewhere, someone has to make the internet 3D, or would that be 4D, so you could literally offer taste testing!!!
I'm going to be dreaming of mini pavlovas with coconut blueberry fillings…
Ever the tortured,
Brenda
I've never heard of "aging" egg whites, so I had to go back and re-read the recipe part to see if it really meant letting them sit for three days. I'd be willing to try it though because those pictures look absolutely divine.
Yummy. Glad to see you are such a perfectionist when it comes to worth causes!
That was a recipe worth perfecting Carolyn.
And it's the first time I've heard of ageing eggwhites. At least they were worth ageing
All three versions looked very Yum.
Making macarons is a huge endeavor – yours look divine! I think you deserve an award for that 🙂
You truly must love your marcarons to go to such lengths! I can't stomach that level of sweetness and so these hold no temptation for me, though they are lovely to look at, with all those pretty colours. Aging egg whites at room temp for 3 days sounds pretty scary to me. Here in Britain egg laying chickens are innoculated against salmonella so I don't worry about that in raw eggs like I did in the US (no idea what they do there now or in Australia either). I get away with things here that I wouldn't try in a warmer climate; in fact many people grew up without refrigerators, the ambient temperature of their kitchens and frequent purchase of food being sufficient. I suppose baking would kill off any spoilage bacteria…or maybe I'm just being an old worry wart. Obviously no one in your family got ill. The French have some different ideas about what to eat, that's for sure…
http://shelleyshouse.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/French%20and%20Their%20Food%20%28The%29
I love to eat them, but am too lazy to make them! I am impressed by your commitment to baked goods:-)
The picture look gorgeous and I am sure they tasted divine. Lucky family!
As a French regular reader of your blog I can only applaud your tenacity… and I would LOVE to stop by for an afternoon tea with you! Ahhhh, tea, macaroons, sewing chat with a nice lady…..
Congrats on persisting and succeeding! They look very tempting indeed!
I've been getting my flavor ideas from Helen aka Tartelette. Here's a link to her recipe index.
http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2005/08/recipe-index.html
I've taken to grinding whole almonds in the food processor until they are very fine. I'll admit, though, that I haven't made macarons very often, so I do not yet have them to a perfected state. 😉
Those look sensational! IT´s almost lunch time here so the look yummy also! I know I will never muster enough patience to make macaroons, so my children will have to content themselves with my chunky chocolate cookies. But that doesn´t mean I cannot apreciate a good kitchen work! 😉
They look divine…but I must avoid temptation!!!!
oh my gosh yummy! I will be right over with coffee! Ummm well ok, it may take me a bit to get there from Texas LOL
Those Macarons look yummy! I think ageing the egg whites is the way to go, too. At least, the blog "My Tartelette", which has the most beautiful photos of Macarons and the most yummy sounding recipes, suggests the same thing. She also suggests putting almond meal into a blender/mixer to get a finer consistency. Might be easier than sieving?
Sunny greetings from Berlin!
I make macarons all the time. You are so right on the sifting and aging egg whites. I recommend it to people everytime they ask me advise on them.
Mmmmm…macarons.
I've only eaten 2 macaroons (doesn't agree with my tummy and thighs) – but they look so yummy that I could be tempted!!! Thanks for all your hard work researching "the best" macaroon – I'm sure the family enjoyed/appreciated the samplings. Have printed and included in my recipe book – many thanks.
Ooh, the last batch is so nice and smooth – I agree, I think you found your method! I'm not so much interested in making macarons as in eating them, but I love reading little tips like that. I would never in a million years have thought to "age" the egg whites. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Oh these look yummy. I think I need to go look for a snack now!!
Yummy looking macarons you have here. I make some myself too and I absolutely love coconut. You cannot go wrong with coconut and white chocolate. Such a great combo!