Macarons...Don't Sweat The Small Stuff, Just Go Make Them!

I was thinking of what to leave you peeps for the weekend...yeah, something that you can work on...and one that you won't have to "sweat the small stuff"! As in go grab your egg white, hand-mixer, almond flour and whip that macarons!

I have also had some emails asking me to conduct more macaron classes...yup, there is one coming up in May, and probably another..I think! But, in the mean time, might I suggest that you give this lovely gems a go first! And....owh, like I have promised some of you and so as not to waste a lot of egg whites and be miserable if your macarons didn't turn out the way you wanted them to be...let's try with an egg white recipe!

Rose flavoured with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream (using fresh raspberries), used fresh egg whites and baked on baking paper...

Green tea and Choc Ganache (using Valrhona Manjiri dark chocolate), thank you Hayati for this order!

Ingredients

30g egg whites, preferably I aged them for about 3 or 4 days, sometimes I use those that were aged overnight in the fridge

20g caster sugar

36g ground almond

54g icing sugar

Method

1. Prepare your baking trays with baking or parchment paper, or Silpat if you have invested in them. And a piping bag.

2. Sift almond flour with icing sugar, set aside...I usually prepare this way in advance and store in the freezer, so as to avoid the almond flour from turning rancid. And it also comes handy when you just have that urge to make macarons....I must warn you that you can get hooked on making macarons!!

3. Start beating egg whites at speed 2 on hand mixer until they are bubbly and frothy,then, slowly add in sugar. When all the sugar is gone, turn to medium speed and whip for about 3 minutes.

4. When you have a soft peak thick meringue, turn to high speed and whip the meringue to form stiff peak, dense and glossy meringue....probably for another 4 or 5 minutes.

5. You can add the colour in caster sugar, or nowadays I add the colour together when I add the almond icing sugar mix.

6. You can add the almond icing sugar mix into the meringue in 3 additions, or if you are like me, always on the move and rushing, just pour them altogether.

7. Mix the meringue and almond mix well, to ensure that they are blended. Then, start the macaronner process...ie to get rid of the air trapped in the meringue/batter.

8. Just press the batter against the wall of your bowl until you get a mass that is glossy and flows a ribbon consistency.

9. Pour into a piping bag and pipe the batter, with about an inch gap between them. The batter will spread a bit, not much!

10. Allow to dry until a skin forms...err when you touch the batter it is like touching your skin! Otherwise you can dry using the unconventional method I showed in my earlier post!  See, no need to sweat the small stuff! 

11. Bake at 150C for about 20 minutes...well....if everything goes well, your  happy feet will appear after 5 minutes (about) after you pop them batter into the oven....hmm...think of law of attraction, and you will see your feet, skirt whatever!

In the early days during my first few attempts...which macarons oh so flopped miserably...you don't want to know how many had gone into the dustbin......I just spread some nutella or goober grape as fillings! You can do that, even though they might be a tad too sweet! Nowadays, I have cooked up a buttercream that uses very little sugar, tee hee....so you can eat more macarons...evil me!

Thank you Suzana for this order...Lavender (using dried organic lavenders), Rose (using dried organic tea rose) and Chocolate (using Valrhona cocoa powder and Valrhona Manjiri in the ganache). 

So.....tonight go crack your egg white, store in the fridge and get your almond mix prepared...make macarons for tea, tomorrow! Have a brilliant weekend peeps....I will...and class will resume on 24.4.2011, I have kenduris to attend on Friday :p