I'm a big fan of anything Parisian these days. I've wanted to explore Parisian pastries for a long time, because they are so lovely, pretty and delicate and also delicious. I had tried making macarons about a year and a half ago, but was not very pleased with the results. Macarons are the darlings of the French pastry world - the new cupcake so to speak. They can come in every flavor and color, and are light and delicate and oh so pretty. All I strived for was a lovely little macaron like the ones we tasted at Pierre Herme's shop in Paris. I finally decided I was up to the task again, that I could figure out the intricate and particular art of macaron making. I bought a new book on macarons for my arsenal - Les Petits Macarons by Kathryn Gordon and Anne McBride. The video on their website is also a terrific supportive primer to macaron making. I strongly suggest purchasing this book! I'll walk through the steps that I followed like I always do on this blog, but the book itself is a huge help (especially the troubleshooting section in the back) for a successful hands on macaron experience. I have made two batches of macarons using this book. The first was a rosewater macaron with a white chocolate raspberry ganache filling. The second, which I will post about next week, was even better (because my technique improved with some practice), a chocolate macaron with an expresso-cinnamon-chocolate ganache. Please note that for the rosewater macarons, I used a small amount of rosewater flavoring, rather than rose petals, as suggested by the book. With macarons, it is essential to measure ingredients precisely - for this reason, I used, as recommended by Gordon's book, a digital kitchen scale to weigh out everything in grams. The book has several methods for preparing macarons, French, Italian and Swiss. I used the French macaron method. This time, I basically have photos of the finished product, but for my next macaron post, I took numerous process photos to share as well. Stay tuned!
165 grams almond flour
165 grams confectioner's sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
5 grams powdered egg whites
150 grams granulated sugar
115 grams aged egg whites (from approximately four eggs)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
pink gel food color (a few drops)
1 tsp rosewater
Rose-Raspberry White Chocolate Ganache
11 ounces (320 grams) white chocolate, chopped
2 T corn syrup
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup raspberry puree (from fresh raspberries)
1 T unsalted butter, soft
1 tsp rose compound
1 T framboise
To make the macarons, double stack two sets of baking sheets. This allows the heat to distribute more evenly which is key. Line with either silicon silpat mats (I bought mine at NY Cake and they are terrific) or with parchment paper.
Place the almond flour, confectioner's sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse four times for three seconds. Sift until well mixed. Make the French meringue next but whisking the powdered egg whites with the granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk in the egg whites and cream of tartar until the mixture is homogenous. Set on medium to medium high speed and whisk about 10-11 minutes until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks. Add the rosewater extract and gel food color to the meringue.
Next up the famous macaronner step, a folding step with Gordon's book describes in more detail. With a spatula fold in the sifted ingredients to the meringe using a J fold and continue folding for a total of about 8 strokes after it looks incorporated using the J fold macaronnner technique. I can't really describe it here - its an art and you need the book!
Pipe one inch circles using a pastry bag and a half inch tip. I made these a little big, something that I corrected with my next batch of macarons, so stay tuned. Bake at 200 to dry for exactly 15 minutes, then raise the heat to 350 and continue for nine minutes. Allow to cool before moving from the silicon. My feet were a bit lopsided on these macarons because I didn't rotate the trays halfway through at the 350 temperature which is essential for even distribution of heat. I improved this the second time around.
To make the ganache filling, bring the corn syrup, sour cream, and raspberry puree to boil in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Pour over the chocolate in the food processor and wait a minute to let the chocolate melt completely. Pulse until smooth, then add the butter and the rose compound, then the framboise and pulse until shiny.
Pour the ganache in a shallow pan and allow to cool to room temperature for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is pipeable and not too runny. Pipe and pair the macarons.
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