11 September 2010

i heart macarons

Almondy times chocolatey plus Baileys ganache equals the best macarons I have ever made.
Okay, they are the first macarons I've ever made. "Conquering" the quintessential cute French sandwich cookie has been on my list of things to do in life for a while, and I finally had a day and a morning of leisure. So along with some delicious red cabbage tarts (post coming soon!) I decided to try macarons.
The macaron has three essential parts: the shiny meringue-y shell, the rough "feet", and the filling. To achieve the "shell", a traditional macaron recipe calls for resting on the cookie tray for 30 minutes. A traditional recipe also calls for aged egg whites, and I didn't think that far ahead, so my recipe didn't specify the wait - but I let them sit out for a little while anyhow. And since I got the shiny smooth tops, I don't think it hurt. The feet don't appear until after a bit of baking; the cookie raises up its top and peeks out from underneath. I was overjoyed when I peered into the oven and saw them! My filling was a bit thin (too much cream) but made up for it in its deliciousness...I like to take these babies apart and add some more ganache right before consumption.
One problem I had was a dearth of parchment paper...so I sprayed some oil onto the pans and crossed my fingers. The first tray was very grounded - those little feet just did not want to come off the cookie sheet! However I got to the second tray faster and only cracked a couple. And cracks are simply an aesthetic flaw...they still taste great.
I used a scale to weigh out the ingredients, just to be on the safe (and French) side.

Macarons
120 grams egg whites, divided
35 grams sugar
150 grams ground almonds
150 grams powdered sugar
150 grams sugar
50 grams water

1. Preheat the oven to 320ºF. Process the almond meal and the powdered sugar together in a food processor.
2. Whip 60 grams of the egg whites to soft peaks in a standing mixer. Add 35 grams sugar.
3. Bring the sugar and the water just to a boil.
4. Make sure the egg whites are still at soft peaks. (If not, whip them a bit more.) Slowly drizzle in the sugar syrup while the mixer is running at a medium-high speed. Beat until a white shiny meringue forms, about 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the other 60 grams of egg whites to the sugar and almond mixture and fold this gently but thoroughly into the meringue.
6. Pipe (using a large circle tip) into 2 to 3 cm circles on parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets and let rest 15 minutes.
7. Bake at 320ºF for 15 to 25 minutes. (I only needed fifteen.)

Baileys Ganache
50 ml heavy cream (a couple tablespoons)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
40 ml Baileys (about the size of a "nip" bottle)

1. Heat the heavy cream until just about to boil - but don't let it boil.
2. Remove from heat and add white chocolate chips, stirring to melt.
3. Stir in Baileys. Chill until thick.

Now just take two cookies, spoon a dollop of the ganache onto one, press the other on top, and try not to eat them as quickly as you make them.