Saturday, May 29, 2010

They are Macarons, not Macaroons...

Have you ever tried a Macaron? I am talking about MACARONS, so please do not confuse them with their double “O” coconuty cousins, MACAROONS.

Macaron is a French confectionery with texture of a delicate eggshell-like crust with an airy & moist center. The Parisian Macarons are sandwiched with a filling, like butter cream, ganache or even better, jam!

Main ingredients of macarons are pretty straightforward: egg whites, sugars, almond flour; then you can add some sort of filling.  Sounds simple enough? Well it is not as easy as it seems as I have encountered many failed attempts. 

Keys  to successful Macarons are well proportioned recipes & great techniques. After some research, I have stumbled upon Tartlette Her recipes are well tested with technique that are pretty easy to understand.  Definitely a must read for all pastry fanatics. 

With Tartlette’s help, I have put previous failures aside and held my courage to attempt this confectionary diva's recipe.  With Combination of Tartlette’s basic Macarons recipe with Bakerella’s Metcha chocolate Bundt cake, the recipe of Matcha (Green tea) Macarons with Chocolate Ganache was born.

I will be posting more tips & sources on Macarons making in the very near future. 

The process of Macarons making can be intimidating, but the pursuit of the perfect Macarons is well worth the effort.

Matcha (Green Tea) Macarons with Chocolate Ganache:

Makes about 16

For The Shells:
90gr egg whites
50 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar (minus 2 Tb)
110gr Almonds Flour (Grounded Almonds)
2 Tb Matcha (Green Tea Powder)

For the whites: 24 hours prior, separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue.

Combine the almonds, matcha powder and powdered sugar in a food processor pause to combine & remove lumps.

Add dry mixture to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. (should not take more than 50 strokes.)

 Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper baking sheets.
Preheat the oven to 300F. Let the Macarons sit out for 30 mins – 1 hour to harden their shells.  This step is crucial to have the “pie” at base of each of Macarons.


Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

For Chocolate “Paint” (optional)
1 Tablespoon of Cocoa Powder
1 Tablespoon of Water

Whisk cocoa powder & water together until combined; Dip Pastry Brush (not the silicone kind) into mixture.  Make sure to test on some parchment paper first for desired brush strokes. 

Brush on Cool cookies – Let dry.

For The Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels.


Heat the cream in a small pot until just before boiling.

Place chocolate in medium bowl and pour cream over. Let sit for a few seconds and then stir until smooth.
Let cool slightly and spoon a small amount on the bottom of a macaron and then sandwich with another cookie.

To assemble Macarons, sandwich about 1 teaspoon of ganache between each cookie

Kate for F3

8 comments:

  1. Kate!! Seulki from tPF here~ ^^
    isn't it so annoying that so many people confuse Macarons with Macaroons? Recently in the newspaper here in Vancouver some food section columnist referred to them as Macaroons and I almost wanted to write a complaint haha~ love Macarons so pretty and yummy <3

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  2. looks absolutely delicious!!

    D E G A I N E

    http://www.fashiondegaine.com

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  3. They look so yummy! I am craving for some now especially the Matcha ones.

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  4. C'est trop bon les macarons!!!!! miam miam

    I love them soooo much, i miss them, that's funny i was talking about that with a french friend last weekend in SF, we wanted to try making some, it's seems so complicated....
    this receipe sounds really good, i am gonna try it! i'll let you know :)

    If you ever go to Paris, go to La durée!
    http://www.laduree.fr/

    Chloé
    http://america-me-voila.blogspot.com/
    www.chloefleury.com

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  5. oh they look so yummy.

    Please check out my blog. maybe we can follow each other. Thanks. :D
    http://nouveauskin.blogspot.com

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  6. omg they look amazing, might have to try these out!!

    rawhem.com

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  7. I'm obsessed with macarons! My friend had me try one about a year and a half ago and I basically fell in love. They are so delicious! My favorite flavor is pistachio (it might sound gross, but it's really really good)

    xoxo Alex

    asquaredplusm.blogspot.com
    asquaredplusm.blogspot.com
    asquaredplusm.blogspot.com

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  8. Thank you for all your comments! <3

    @ chloé fleury: omg, how I wish I will go to paris anytime soon... I think I will def. stalk Lardee, Gerad Melot, Pierre Herme.. or anywhere I can find Macarons really (so it mean every corners on street of paris right?)

    @A(squared) Does not sound gross at all! Pistachio Macarons are delicious... I am still trying to take the dive and try a Olive Oil Infused Macraons

    Stay tuned guys! I will have more macarons post soon!

    Kate for F3

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