Macarons: Take 3

Hello...it's been a while! Yes, I am still alive. Sorry for my lack of blogging recently, but now I have finished uni FOREVER it means I have all the time in the world to blog away to my heart's content. It still hasn't quite sunk in that it's actually over for good this time and I won't be going back. There's secretly still a part of me that thinks after summer I'll be returning to my beloved Bham and I think I'll refuse to accept it until I've actually graduated. So now there's a huge void of emptiness ahead of me, which I'm not quite sure exactly what I'll be filling it with as of yet, but in the meantime I will bake! And of course, one way I celebrated finishing my exams was by baking. I gave macarons a go for the third time last week and ended up with these pretty pink almondy lovelies. 

And I have to say, I was very proud of them. I think it's been my most successful attempt so far and some of them even had the infamous 'foot' that macarons should have, which is basically just a technical name for the  ruffly edge at the bottom. The texture inside most of them had that light signature fluffiness and I could have eaten the whole lot myself (but I'd promised to make them for a friend, so I restrained!). Sneaking a bit of my housemate's red food colouring was definitely a good idea, because the vivid colours of macarons is part of their attraction in my eyes. Of course, they were not the perfect macarons and there is still a lot of room for improvement though - they stuck horrendously to the greaseproof paper and I had to literally peel them off and they were a bit wider and flatter than I'd intended them to be. I did manage to resurrect my piping bag and disinfect it from the slug trails though (one thing I will not miss about living in a student house!), which made it a lot easier to make them all a similar size. And making the sugar syrup was a better method, because the paste was far smoother. Finally, the chocolate ganache that sandwiched between the two layers was the perfect choice for finishing them off. I mean, put a chocolate ganache in (virtually) anything and it'll instantly make it taste a thousand times better!

So, yes, give them a go! Because practice makes perfect. And one day I will make macarons that look just like all those ones I saw last year in the windows of French patisseries!

Macarons with a chocolate ganache    (makes 20 if piped to the correct size!)

Ingredients:

Macarons: (adapted from Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook)

100g icing sugar, sifted

100g ground almonds

100g caster sugar

2tbsp cold water

2 large eggs

red food colouring

Ganache: (from The Hummingbird Bakery Home Sweet Home)

125ml double cream

110g dark chocolate, grated

Method:

1. Begin by making the macarons and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine the icing sugar and almonds in a bowl and set aside.
3. Put the caster sugar and water into a stainless steel pan.
4. Heat gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. 
5. Bring to the boil and boil for a few minutes without stirring, until the it becomes a clear, shiny syrup.
6. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
7. Put 1 egg white into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until stiff but not dry.
8. Slowly pour in the sugar syrup, beating constantly until you have a shiny meringue.
9. Add the other egg white to the icing sugar and almonds, mixing to a thick paste with a wooden spoon.
10. Stir in a small amount of red colouring (depending on how pink you want your macarons!).
11. Add a tablespoon of the meringue to the paste and beat well.
12. Carefully fold in the remaining meringue mixture so it is an even pink colour, but be careful not to overmix.
13. Fill the piping bag with the mixture and pipe rounds of about 3.5cm diameters onto each baking tray.
14. Set aside to dry for about an hour until a skin forms on top.
15. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150 degrees for about 25 minutes until firm and glossy on top.
16. Turn the oven off, but leave the macarons in to cool for about an hour.
17. Transfer to a cooling rack with a damp palette knife.
18. Now make the ganache by heating the cream in a pan until just boiling. 
19. Pour over the grated chocolate and stir until it has melted completely.
20. Set aside to thicken.
21. Once the macarons and ganache have cooled, spread about a teaspoon of the ganache onto a macaron and sandwich together.
22. Repeat with all of them and enjoy!

Malteser Macarons

Last week, I felt like it was about time that I got on the bandwagon and made some macarons. Everybody seems to be making them at the moment and as I didn't want to feel left out, I thought I should too. And actually, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to give these beautiful little sugary treats a try, because number 1, they taste heavenly, and number 2, they look wonderful once they're made. As this very tempting recipe popped up on my news feed the other day, I knew the time had come for me to venture into the world of the macaron...!

Although actually, this wasn't my first attempt, as I did give them a go last year whilst I was in France, because obviously, being in France and having the opportunity to eat the real deal made it all the more tempting. I didn't discover them properly though until the end of the year, after deciding to treat myself to one from Paul when the French had yet again infuriated me with their lack of organisation. Taking one mouthful of a delightful macaron though, was enough to make me forget why I was annoyed. Having food like that on tap would be enough to make anyone. Light, airy, almondy, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside - just pure heaven really. Ahhh take me back. Anyway, I gave them a go and my first attempt was a bit of a disaster.

They should look like this...

Pistachio flavour :)

Such a beautiful green!

Can't remember what flavour this was, but something delicious!

Unfortunately, my second most recent attempt wasn't much better. I'd heard all the rumours about how hard they were to make, and believe me, they were not wrong! Making the actual mixture isn't the hard bit, it's piping them onto the tray and cooking them where the difficulty lies. Piping is not my strong point, and I am very sad to say that my lovely piping bag may have to be thrown away as it has been attacked by our resident slugs, who have left slimy trails everywhere - including my piping bag! I don't think they can be rescued - I just don't like the thought of slugs crawling all over my things. Anyway, enough about slugs. Basically, it meant I had to use a plastic bag for piping and as I cut the hole too big I think, the mixture just came out in blobs on the tray which is why the macarons were all oddly-shaped and a bit on the large side. But appearance isn't everything, of course...

However, not only were they not the perfect circles they should be, but they stuck to the tray horrendously. I think this was probably because I didn't have any greaseproof paper to line the tray with, and being the poor student I am, just replaced it with foil which I had in the cupboard. This meant that half the outside of the macarons was still on the tray, which isn't ideal when you have to sandwich them together with a layer of ganache. On the plus side, at least you can't see the middles! They also lacked the signature macaron 'foot' (basically a technical term for the edge of the macaron) which apparently is from overbeating, so folding in carefully is extremely important.

Having said all that, they did taste delicious! Honestly, the texture was just how I remember them being in France and the white chocolate ganache I made, well....that's another story. Perhaps a bit too sweet, but really, when is anything too sweet for me? They're small enough so that it's not too much of a sugar overload! Anyway, I will not let this mini disaster deter me from making them again, because after all, I got the flavour and texture right, it's just their appearance that I need practice with. And actually, I would be happy to make these over and over again if it meant that I could eat these for the rest of my life. Although even I might get a bit sick of them after a while! But watch this space for another attempt, because I do not give up that easily!

Malteser Macarons (adapted from The Little Loaf's recipe)

Ingredients:

For the macarons:

110g Icing Sugar

50g Ground Almonds

25g Horlicks Powder

2 Medium Eggs

40g Granulated Sugar

For the white chocolate ganache:

200g White Chocolate, finely chopped

100ml Double Cream

Handful of crushed Maltesers

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. 
2. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper (not foil like I did!).
3. Sift the icing sugar, ground almonds and Horlicks into a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until it forms stiff white peaks (not too dry though).
5. Fold a third of the meringue mix into the almond mix.
6. Fold in the rest of the meringue mix until fully combined - be careful not to knock too much air out of the mixture.
7. Fill a piping bag (preferably without slug trails) with the mix and pipe small shallow disks onto the baking trays.
8. Tap the tray firmly on a hard surface (this levels out the disks) and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
9. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
10. They should be done when the top is firm but not too coloured.
11. While they are left to cool, make the ganache.
12. Place the chocolate into a microwavable bowl.
13. Heat the cream until it just starts to boil. 
14. Pour over the chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes.
15. Stir until smooth - if all the chocolate has not melted, put in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir.
16. To assemble, spread a layer of ganache on the smooth side of one macaron shell and sprinkle some of the crushed Maltesers on top.
17. Sandwich together with another macaron shell and repeat with rest of shells. 
18. Enjoy!