Macrons
Oh La La
While in Paris, I chose an AirBnB Experience hosted by Gaby and Carlos to learn how to make Macarons filled with dark chocolate ganache and/or home made jelly. The experience took place on August 5, 2018 at the "Les Amies" apartment! Near the metro station "Reuilly Diderot", on the 12th district in
Sadly, I lost all my photos that day but I managed to add a few from their their site atenteaute.com.
Described as follows:
For one hour an a half, you will learn everything about "Macaron"
Do you know that Macaron dates from XVI century?
We will start from "la mise en place" then we will travel together over centuries to discover everything about those marvelous shells
Do you know the difference between a Macaron & biscuit?
Come and join us, on this unique French baking class which it will be a hand-on activity for making Macaron & Ganache as a filling
We wish you a pleasant experience & Bonne dégustation.
INGREDIENTS
ALMOND BLEND
69g FINE/EXTRA-FINE ALMOND FLOUR
69g ICING/CONFECTIONER SUGAR
FRENCH MERENGUE
53g SUGAR
53g EGG WHITES*
GANACHE
55g DOUBLE CREAM/HEAVY CREAM
50g CHOCOLATE 70%
10g UNSALTED BUTTER*
*at room temperature
METHOD
Clean bowls & whisks with white vinegar before starting this recipe
PREPARING ALMOND BLEND
Place almond flour/powder & icing/confectioner sugar on a medium size bowl, then mix it well with a whisk to break lumps; sift it twice and place it into a larger bowl and reserve, discard lumps
FRENCH MERENGUE
To make French Merengue, place eggs whites inside a bowl, start whisking then with a electric mixer (start from low speed) increase gradually until medium speed
Once having a soft peak texture with small air bubbles, start adding the sugar slowly. Once sugar is been added, keep mixing on the same speed for about 45 seconds (or until sugar grains are mostly dissolved)
Increase speed gradually until reaching maximum, continue mixing for two to three minutes until having a heavy peak
SHELLS
Turn on the oven to 140°C - 145°C (275°F - 285°F), prepare de baking tray with parchment paper placing template underneath**
To do Shells, place French Merengue on top of almond blend, at this time colour can be added (one or two drops). With a spatula start incorporating all the ingredients
Between 25 to 40 movements with the spatula, you will have a soft mixture that will spread around like lava (slowly spreading away) and it should be shinny
Place the almond mixture on a pre-set pipping bag with a nozzle number 7 (US nozzle number 12) and start making the desire form
Remove bubbles from each macaron by tapping the tray three times on top of the counter, then let them dry for about 5min to 10 min
Bake for 14min, before taking the tray out of the oven, poke one of the shell on the side if it does not moves the shells are fully dried
Place shells on a cooling rack or on top of the counter to cool them off without the baking sheet. Let them at least 3 to cool
GANACHE
To make Ganache, place cream on a saucepan over medium heat to boil
Place chocolate on a medium size bowl and butter, place the hot cream. Let it rest for 10 seconds, start whisking slowly - it should incorporate between 30 to 50 seconds
A mat creamy texture should be
Place a clingfilm in contact directly with the ganache, set a side on a room temperature
MACARON
To do Macarons, as a final step you need to fill them
Pair all the Macarons and place the ganache on a pipping bag a nozzle number 7 (US nozzle number 12)
On one shell place the desire amount of ganache and with the paired shell close it to for you Macaron.
Et voilà vous avez des Macarons!
Keep Macarons inside the fridge
**(Shells templates are available under notes)
Bonne dégustation
NOTES
If you have spear egg whites never throw them away, you may freeze them (up to three months) and use it later on.
We have made Macarons with either aged or fresh egg white. To be honest we did not find a big difference in between just the texture of the egg whites that becomes liquid.
You may do different shapes to yours Macarons, please click on the desirable TEMPLATE bellow:
Round template: 3,5cm diameter
Heart template: heart
Cloud template: cloud or cloud & sun
Wishing you bright days and lot of fun!
