Daring Bakers try Macarons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.


Ok- first of all, I will never go into a challenge ever again feeling a little cocky. This challenge definitely humbled me! I was so excited when I heard this challenge was going to be French Macarons, I had made them before, and each time I make them I feel I get better and better at master the technique. So this was going to be easy!!! Easy peasy I thought, such a simple challenge. Well.....as you can tell from my pictures, I failed miserably! I wish I had some excuse for how horrible they turned out but I don't, it was just a flop, and to be honest I have no idea why! Did I over stir the batter? Was my oven too hot?? Who knows! I have never made macarons that have turned out so horrible, they didn't even have their cute little feet. Anyways, enough of my negativity, although they looked ridiculous they tasted fabulous. I tried out a new French Buttercream which I will definitely make again. It took all I had from not liking the whole bowl! You can get the recipe for the buttercream here This is definitely not the end of my macaron making. This just makes me want to make some more right now to prove I really can do this!! Check out how all of the other wonderful Daring Bakers did here, if you want to see some respectable macarons:)

My sad little macarons...but they tasted so good:)

My French Buttercream, I added in some vanilla extract and
vanilla paste, soooo good!

French Macarons

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

Barefoot in Paris

Micah and I arrived in Paris today! We took a direct flight from SLC to Paris, only 9 hours!! It was such an awesome flight and I can’t believe we got here so quickly. I keep pinching myself to make sure I really am in Paris! It is so gorgeous here. It truly is a special city, especially for those of us who have a passion for the sweeter things in life☺ I can hardly wait to show you what I have been up to today! The first thing on my agenda was go to Laduree. I couldn’t stop thinking about it on the plane. There was one relatively close to our hotel so as soon as we checked in we were off. I think my heart skipped a beat when I saw the green Laduree canopy. The window displays were gorgeous. Micah and I got 6 different flavors of macarons (don’t worry, we will be back to try more!). We got vanilla, caramel fleur de sel, chocolate, pistachio, citrus, and raspberry. A luscious rose and raspberry pastry caught my eye so we got that too. It was a whopping 17 Euros for the macarons and the pastry-but it was worth it! The first macaron I decided to stink my teeth into was the vanilla; I couldn’t wait to taste for myself if the macarons of Laduree were all that they were cracked up to be. As soon as the flavors permeated my mouth, I was sold. It was literally one of the best things I have ever tasted. I was actually embarrassed because the macarons I make are sad compared to these masterpieces. My husband was also in heaven after trying it. Next we split the rose and raspberry pastry-let’s just say I thought I died and went to heaven as soon as I tasted it. How am I going to be able to go back to the states without these luscious pastries at my disposal? I guess I will have to deal, in the mean time I am going to scarf down as many pastries as I can this week!

One of the many gorgeous window displays at Laduree

The rose/raspberry pastry we got was the fourth one in
from the left, you can see it has a rose petal on the top mm
mmm....deilish...I might go and get another right now!

Holding proudly my first purchase from Laduree!Look at how gorgeous and perfect those macarons are...

Vanilla and caramel fleur de sel were my favorite

Not waisting any time with the pastry!

Ok so some of the macarons got crushed on their way over
to my hotel, but I wanted you to see the difference between
Laduree macarons and others. The top macaron (vanilla) which is not
crushed is from Laduree, and the bottom far right is from Gerard Mulot.
Ladurees are perfect-I just can't find anything wrong with them!

I read recently of a few of Ina Garten’s favorite spots in Paris. Of course I had to check them out. She said one of her favorite places to visit was Gerard Mulot, a delicious pastry and chocolate shop, which also has savory items like cheese and quiches. Micah and I got a few macarons to compare to the Laduree ones. They were good, but Laduree's are in a whole different league. Right down from Gerard Mulot is one of Ina’s favorite flower shops. The flowers were gorgeous. I wish I had a reason to buy 5 dozen of their roses because they were absolutely breathtaking.

Display at Gerard Mulot

Pastries at Gerard Mulot

One of Ina's favorite flower shops, and I can see why!

To top the night off Micah and I went to a restaurant right across the Luxemburg Gardens. Micah got chicken skewers and I got a delicious ravioli gratin with two different cheese and crème fraiche. It was delish! One of the best pasta dishes I have ever had. I am perfectly content with gaining 10 pounds this trip! With all of this delicious food somehow I think it’s worth it☺ Maybe I will take it easy tomorrow and have 4 macarons instead of 6, and maybe I will cut it down to just one LITTLE pastry….or maybe not☺ I will keep you updated on my daily adventures in this beautiful, romantic, and delicious city!

Enjoying my pasta...really enjoying my pasta! It was so delicious!

In honor of Pari....

Ok, so I can't begin to tell you guys how excited I am to have a macaron in Paris from Laduree! Is it wierd that this is the thing I am most excited for on my vacation? Wierd or not, I can't wait! Since I have been thinking about Paris, and macarons especially, I decided to make some of my own. Now, I wish I could make macarons as lovely as the Laduree ones...maybe one day. Even though these macarons aren't as appealing as Laduree's, they sure were delicious! Yes, I did pink macarons again-what can I say? I'm a pink girl:) But this time I made a coconut swiss merignue buttercream for the filling. It was delicious! I was eating it by the spoonfulls. I hope you guys have a chance to try them. Macarons really aren't that hard, I think they look more intimidating than they really are. So until I share with you some Laduree macarons, here are some of my yummy coconut macarons:)

My color is definitely not as vibrant as the laduree macarons,
next time I make them I will go heavier on the color.

Basic Macaron Recipe

3 egg whites or 100 g. weighed

50 gr. granulated sugar

200 gr. powdered sugar

110 gr. blanched almonds, whole or ground

1. 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.
2. Combine the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a quick pulse if you use already ground almonds. It will break the powdered sugar lumps and combine your almonds with it evenly. If you use whole almonds, pulse thoroughly for a minute or so.
3. Add them to the meringue, and start to give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flatten on its own, you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple more folds.
4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
5. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 10–12 minutes, depending on their size. Let them cool completely before filling.
6. Pipe or spoon some of your filling on one shell and sandwich with another one

Basic Swiss Meringue Buttercream

3 large egg whites, room temp
3/4 c. sugar
pinch salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces at room temp
flavorings of choice (for coconut buttercream use 1 tsp coconut extract)

In a large bowl combine egg whites and sugar. Set bowl over simmering water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160 on an instant read thermometer), about two minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Using an electric mixer on hgih speed, beat the egg white mixture until it is fluff, cooled to room temp, and holds stiff peaks, about 6 minutes.

With the mixer on medium low speed, add the salt and the butter a few pieces at a time, beating well after each additions. If the frosting appears to separate or is very liquid after all the butter is added, continue to beat on high speed until it is smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes more. Add the flavorings of choice and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Use right away.

Parisian Macarons take 2

Last week I made the Parisian macarons again, this time I did alot of research and found out the technique to perfecting these cookies. I am not going to lie, I kind of have a macaron obsession right now. I am so intrigued by their cuteness! And they don't taste half bad either. These macarons I made had a white chocolate ganache filling. The taste was so unbelievable that I had probobly 7 in one day. They were so good! They also make the cutes gifts. I encourage anyone intimidated by making these little cookies to go ahead and make them anyway because I think you will find they aren't that hard! Especially if you use the wonderful advice given in the desserts magazine. I found out my second time around making them that the first batch I underfolded which made them too puffy. This time, I felt like I overfolded them but they turned out just perfect. The recipe for these macarons also came from the desserts magzine.

I have found it really helps to sit them out for at least an hour
after piping to allow a shell to form on the outside. Some recipes
call for this and some don't, but this batch ended up looking alot better
I think because I allowed them to sit out for an hour. It prevents
cracking in the oven.

I am so glad I dyed this batch pink, it gave them such a fun touch.

Dont they make the cutest gifts!

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.