I have to admit that I love Macarons. Just the sight of these brightly coloured, impossibly light treats is enough to make your mouth water. You can find them flavoured with anything from salted caramel, blueberry, pistachio, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry and even green tea and foie gras …the varieties are simply endless.
Some say that Ladurée Macaron in Paris is known to be the inventor of the double decker macaron in about 1862 but the history of the macaron dates much further. The culinary bible Larousse Gastronomique cites the macaron as being created in 1791 in a convent near Cormery in the centre of France. But some have traced its French debut to the arrival of Catherine de Medici. Upon marrying Henry II of France in 1533, she brought her Italian pastry chefs and the early form of macarons with her from Italy. Whatever its history, a lot of people get the wrong impression about macarons and avoid making them because they’re supposedly the most difficult thing in the world to make. Truly, they’re not difficult at all. What may be a little difficult is mastering them.
So here are a few tips to help you make the perfect Macaron.
- Make sure the eggs whites are at room temperature before whisking.
- Take the time to whizz the sugar and ground almond in a food processor so that they are light and fluffy.
- Beat the egg whites until they are stiff & glossy. They should not move when you turn your bowl upside down.
- Use a good piping bag with a small, round tip.
- After piping out the macarons, drop the tray from a height of 10cm onto the work surface a couple of times to expel any trapped air pockets.
- Let the tray sit out for at least 15-25 minutes or until the tops of the macarons look dried out and are no longer spreading. Leave spaces between them when piping to allow them to spread!
- Halfway through the baking time, rotate the baking tray in the oven in case you have an oven that heats one side more than the other.If you really think about it, there’s a lot of science going on with this brightly coloured cookie and it can be very intimidating to make. But once you’ve mastered the basics you’ll be just fine. So make a batch of these delicate sandwich cookies, put them in a pretty box tied up with ribbon, and give them to a friend as a dazzling gift or better still…keep them all for yourself!
Chocolate Macarons
Prep time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients makes 15-18
150g icing sugar
120g grounds almonds
2 large free-range egg whites
2tbsp sugar
2tbsp dark cocoa powder
Filling;
150ml cream
150g dark chocolate
1tbsp brandy
Heat oven to 180C.
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Process the icing sugar, ground almonds and cocoa powder in a food processor for 1 minute. Strain through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Use an electric hand whisk to beat the egg white in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Beat in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. Fold the egg white mixture through the almond mixture until combined. Fill an icing bag fitted with a plain nozzle with the mixture. Pipe out little, neat mounds, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each. Smooth the surface with a wet finger, then leave for 15 minutes to dry out until a skin forms on the top of each one.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the macarons feel firm to the touch and peel easily off the paper. Leave to cool.
To make the filling, warm the cream and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir in the brandy until smooth. Leave to cool and thicken, then use to sandwich the macarons together. Dust with dark cacao powder and serve.
Orange Macarons
150g icing sugar
125g grounds almonds
2 large free-range egg whites
2tbsp sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
Heat oven to 180C.
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Process the icing sugar, ground almonds and orange zest in a food processor for 1 minute. Strain through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Use an electric hand whisk to beat the egg white in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Beat in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. Fold the egg white mixture through the almond mixture until combined. Fill an icing bag fitted with a plain nozzle with the mixture. Pipe out little, neat mounds, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each. Smooth the surface with a wet finger, then leave for 15 minutes to dry out until a skin forms on the top of each one. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the macarons feel firm to the touch and peel easily off the paper. Leave to cool.
Orange Cream
3000ml orange juice
250g mascarpone
150ml crème fraîche
Grated zest of 1 orange
2tbsb grand Marnier
75g icing sugar
To make the Orange Cream;
Bring the orange juice, grand Marnier and zest to the boil in a small saucepan. Reduce by half to concentrate the flavour.
Beat the mascarpone and sugar with the crème fraìche. Add the orange juice and add beat into the mascarpone mixture. Use the orange cream to sandwich the macarons together.
Marc Fosh – Michelin Star Chef
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