Macarons recipe

Macarons Recipe

This is my second attempt of making macarons (first time it didn’t cross my mind to photograph them; anyway, at that time I didn’t have a blog to show everybody my cooking results 🙂 ). I have to say I enjoyed making them, I enjoyed the emotions and the happiness when I got them out of the oven. I love macarons. They are so little, so charming and so lovely, with their sweet colors and their round shape.

Ingredients:

For macaron shells (about 50 pcs):

• 160 g powdered sugar
• 115 g almond meal (or ground almonds)
• 100 g egg whites (from 3 medium eggs)
• a pinch of salt
• 50 g superfine sugar
• gel food coloring (optional)

For chocolate ganache filling:

• 100 g black chocolate, chopped
• 50 g whipping cream

Directions:

First prepare the baking trays, lining them with parchment paper. Sift together powdered sugar with almond meal.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy, then add gradually the superfine sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) and continue to whisk until the meringue gets sift, glossy and forms soft peaks. Add the food coloring and mix well.

Add the sifted sugar-almond mixture, 1/3 at a time, gently folding it into the meringue using a silicone spatula. The macarons batter must have a thick, slowly flooding “lava-like” consistency (not too runny, not too thick!).

Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip (1 cm/0,4 inch). On the prepared baking sheets, pipe out 1-inch (2,5 cm)rounds, spacing them at least ½ inch apart. Hold the baking tray with your hands, rap it firmly on the counter for a few times, to release the air bubbles.

Allow the macaron shells to dry, for about 20 minutes. They should form a very thin crust so if you touch them lightly, they will not stick to your finger.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 140 Celsius (280 F).

Bake the macarons for about 15 minutes. They are done when the shells are hard. Then remove from the oven, pull the baking sheet with the macaron shells on a cold surface and let them cool down.

For the filling, bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Mix until the chocolate is dissolved and let it cool into the fridge for several hours. When the mixture is cooled and thick, mix it for 2-3 minutes on high speed. Transfer the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and fill the macarons.