Update:
This video shows how it's done:
A few days ago, I attended a 2-hour Macaron workshop, where we made ganache and decorated ready-made macarons with lolly sticks, food pens, sprays and ribbons. We were also given recipes & lots of tips, and warned that macarons are tricky to make. Anyhow, I gave it a shot. Check this out - my macarons have FEET, yippee yay!!
To be honest, it wasn't a complete success cos I struggled to get them off the paper :-( but for a first attempt, I think it's not too bad!
Macaron Shells
4 egg whites (aged for 3 days at room temperature, covered)
4.5 Tbsp caster sugar
500g icing sugar
250g almond flour (or very finely ground almond)
* Actually I halved this quantity, and my measurements went a bit haywire ... I used 2.5 small egg whites from 3 eggs (left quite a bit of whites with the yolks) & only 100g of almonds. It still yielded too many too-sweet macarons!
1) Ensure that ingredients & equipment are DRY. Line a few trays with non-stick paper, or silicon sheets (in my limited experience, macarons stick to plain baking paper).
2) Sift the icing sugar & almond flour a few times - anywhere from 2 - 10 times!
3) In another bowl, beat egg whites with caster sugar to "stiff peaks" stage - ie, meringue stays in bowl when it is turned upside down. Note: Equipment must be grease-free and some folks add a pinch of Cream of Tarter to help the process.
4) In 4-6 lots, fold the dry ingredients quickly into the stiff egg whites using a large spatula. DO NOT OVERMIX.
5) Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round nozzle. My 3mm tip was too small - I think 6mm - 8mm is better. Not being well-equipped, I resorted to using a plastic bag with a corner snipped off.
6) Keeping the nozzle about 2cm above the sheet & supporting your piping hand with the other hand, pipe firmly so the batter spreads out by itself to 2cm rounds (or so). Make sure to leave LARGE SPACES between macarons as they will spread out!!
7) Leave them to air for 30 - 60 minutes before baking, to develop the "shell".
8) Preheat oven to 160°C. Bake for 11-15 minutes (depending on the size). For my water oven, I think 150°C would work better.
9) Cool macarons for 10 minutes before using a flat metal spatula to lift them from the paper, or you can also peel the paper off carefully. Store in an air-tight tin till ready to use.
Chocolate Ganache for Macaron Filling
125g dark chocolate chips. Go for Callebaut 75%, available at B-I-Y.com.
100g whipping cream (35%-40% fat). Greenfields brand was used in class.
2 Tbsp honey
Heat the cream to just below boiling point (tiny bubbles coming up at the edges). Pour into the chocolate & immediately stir with a wire whisk briskly till smooth. Add honey to taste.
Note:
For Ganache cake topping / dipping strawberries / fondue, increase the cream to 125gm - 150gm; optional: add 2 Tbsp Baileys / rum (optional).
For chocolate truffles, reduce cream by 25gm to 75gm. Chill the mixture before shaping into little balls and rolling in cocoa or chopped nuts.
Lastly, here's an interesting blog about another lady's macaron adventures, where she did a number of experiments in a rather scientific manner. She also recommended that instead of aging the eggs over a few days, 10 secs in the microwave would achieve the same results!
http://kitchenmusings.com/2007/10/the-macaron-chr.html
This video shows how it's done:
A few days ago, I attended a 2-hour Macaron workshop, where we made ganache and decorated ready-made macarons with lolly sticks, food pens, sprays and ribbons. We were also given recipes & lots of tips, and warned that macarons are tricky to make. Anyhow, I gave it a shot. Check this out - my macarons have FEET, yippee yay!!
 |
| I was really happy to see "feet" developing in the oven :-) |
To be honest, it wasn't a complete success cos I struggled to get them off the paper :-( but for a first attempt, I think it's not too bad!
Macaron Shells
4 egg whites (aged for 3 days at room temperature, covered)
4.5 Tbsp caster sugar
500g icing sugar
250g almond flour (or very finely ground almond)
* Actually I halved this quantity, and my measurements went a bit haywire ... I used 2.5 small egg whites from 3 eggs (left quite a bit of whites with the yolks) & only 100g of almonds. It still yielded too many too-sweet macarons!
1) Ensure that ingredients & equipment are DRY. Line a few trays with non-stick paper, or silicon sheets (in my limited experience, macarons stick to plain baking paper).
2) Sift the icing sugar & almond flour a few times - anywhere from 2 - 10 times!
3) In another bowl, beat egg whites with caster sugar to "stiff peaks" stage - ie, meringue stays in bowl when it is turned upside down. Note: Equipment must be grease-free and some folks add a pinch of Cream of Tarter to help the process.
4) In 4-6 lots, fold the dry ingredients quickly into the stiff egg whites using a large spatula. DO NOT OVERMIX.
5) Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round nozzle. My 3mm tip was too small - I think 6mm - 8mm is better. Not being well-equipped, I resorted to using a plastic bag with a corner snipped off.
6) Keeping the nozzle about 2cm above the sheet & supporting your piping hand with the other hand, pipe firmly so the batter spreads out by itself to 2cm rounds (or so). Make sure to leave LARGE SPACES between macarons as they will spread out!!
7) Leave them to air for 30 - 60 minutes before baking, to develop the "shell".
8) Preheat oven to 160°C. Bake for 11-15 minutes (depending on the size). For my water oven, I think 150°C would work better.
9) Cool macarons for 10 minutes before using a flat metal spatula to lift them from the paper, or you can also peel the paper off carefully. Store in an air-tight tin till ready to use.
Chocolate Ganache for Macaron Filling
125g dark chocolate chips. Go for Callebaut 75%, available at B-I-Y.com.
100g whipping cream (35%-40% fat). Greenfields brand was used in class.
2 Tbsp honey
Heat the cream to just below boiling point (tiny bubbles coming up at the edges). Pour into the chocolate & immediately stir with a wire whisk briskly till smooth. Add honey to taste.
For Ganache cake topping / dipping strawberries / fondue, increase the cream to 125gm - 150gm; optional: add 2 Tbsp Baileys / rum (optional).
For chocolate truffles, reduce cream by 25gm to 75gm. Chill the mixture before shaping into little balls and rolling in cocoa or chopped nuts.
Lastly, here's an interesting blog about another lady's macaron adventures, where she did a number of experiments in a rather scientific manner. She also recommended that instead of aging the eggs over a few days, 10 secs in the microwave would achieve the same results!
http://kitchenmusings.com/2007/10/the-macaron-chr.html
Check out www.tvnz.co.nz Masterchef 2011 finals. The final challenge was a macaron tower....... one of the competitors had sticky ones to and the trick was to put it in the blast freezer for a while so they can peel off.
ReplyDeleteWell done, looks lovely.