Baking for the Blues....

Yesterday I went to get my hair done and was excited to get an all over color to match my natural hair color. Well...it turned out a little darker-ok- alot darker than I had planned! I cried all last night about it and for a while this morning when I decided to whip myself into shape and get over it. I decided to bake something because nothing cures the blues for me like baking. I have been wanting to make Parisian macarons for a while and rummaged through my cuboards hoping I had the right ingredients. I luckily did and let me tell ya baking these cute little macaroons almost made me not hate my hair! (notice I said almost.)



They weren't as hard as I thought they were going to be. Actually, they were quite simple. They didn't turn out as good as they could have but I made them in a hurry and instead of using a piping bag with a tip I used a zip lock bag which made them a little uneven. I am going to have to keep my hair for 2 months until I get it done again, so, I decided in the mean time I will be doing alot of baking (more than usual) and I will practice these babies until I get them perfect! Heres the recipe for anyone wanting to take a whack at it.

Chocolate Macarons

Macaron Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces , 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling
½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces (120 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (15 gr) butter, cut into small pieces

Chocolate Almond Buttercream

(this is the filling I used because I didn't have any heavy cream)

1/4 c. (2 oz) almonds
1 2/3 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

Grind the nuts and confectioners' sugar in the food processor. Cream the butter and add the nut dust. Sandwich the macaroons together with the pistachio buttercream.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn't quite fine enough.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the countertop to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the chocolate filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Assembly

Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. (You can pipe the filling it, but I prefer to spread it by hand; it's more fun, I think.)
I also tend to overfill them so you may or may not use all the filling.

Let them stand at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze. If you freeze them, defrost them in the unopened container, to avoid condensation which will make the macarons soggy.