Day 86
My daughter Tate encouraged me to help her on her/our first try of one of our favorite desserts, macarons. Macarons are not to be confused with macaroons, the decadent little coconut puffs that are often drizzled with chocolate. Macarons are similar to pavlova, an egg white meringue cookie, but are made with almond flour and served, sandwich-like, filled with a decadent cream.
 |
| Photos by Taylor Fowler |
For ours, we chose not to use food coloring, but it’s definitely an option for you if you prefer a splash of color. We also chose to fill them with a chocolate buttercream because we liked the idea of a simple black and white presentation.
Tate was in charge of this one, so we started with a helpful how-to video that you might also find useful if you try them. The link is below the recipe, and it contains some very handy tips to warn you of any potential pitfalls.
I am pleased to report that, although ours weren’t as professional in appearance as those we saw on the tutorial, they were certainly just as tasty.
Yin-Yang Macarons
Ingredients:
Cookies-
3 egg whites
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1 cup almond flour
Directions:
It really is best to watch the video we watched if you’re going to make these cookies. The directions are there, with tips. We substituted the chocolate buttercream filling (with directions below), if you are interested, and we did not use artificial food coloring.
Chocolate Buttercream Filling-
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1- 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar (70% cacao), melted
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbs. heavy cream
Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream, salt, and chocolate and beat until well mixed and creamy. Add vanilla and mix just until blended.
Those macarons look delicious! Did you use Ghirardelli chocolate for your filling? I'd like to know how you melt chocolate, since I've had some bad results when I've tried it. Taylor has good taste in her choice of sweet treats!
ReplyDeleteThey were delicious! And, yes, Tate has really good taste in sweets, much to Mom's delight! I went on a cupcake and macaron tour in the fall with a girl friend, and it inspired Tate to match the flavors of the various macarons that I brought home from high-end bakeries like Dean and Deluca. We really could taste the difference between nicely prepared macarons and those that were lacking. Ours were a very good first try, honestly, and we'll definitely try them again. Next time, we're thinking of orange dreamsicle and raspberry white chocolate. We used Lindt chocolate for our filling, although Ghirardelli could work nicely too. Melting chocolate is tricky--too much heat can seize the chocolate and too little can leave clumps. In a pinch, I melt it in a glass bowl in the microwave, at 30 second intervals, stirring after each. High quality chocolate works well with this method, as long as you don't overdo the heat. The safest way is a double-boiler, and I just put a heat-proof glass bowl over a pot of boiling water and stir until melted. Thanks for commenting! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and she's not a bad photographer either; these pics are courtesy of Tate, too. Une femme de la Renaissance!
ReplyDelete