JUST NOT THE CAKES: Macarons

Looking at macarons around everyone's blog , i was so tempted to try a small batch . I cannot say that they turned out perfect by shape, but for the first attempt i am happy they look ok and tasted yummy . They were crispy , chewy and melts in the mouth kind . The flavor i chose was Lavender with White Chocolate .

We all learn from our mistakes . Now i know the do's and don'ts when i bake the macarons the next time . Though these macarons had nice feet but my main concern was the shape of the macarons , they look like domed meringue cookie. The reason for this would be under folding the batter .( i was little scared as it was the first time ) .

If you guys are planning to bake macarons for the first time do check this step by step illustration by Sara from A Cup 4 My Cake and Return of the yummy for your guidance , they are indeed very helpful . I got to mention a special person here whom i think a Macaron Guru who bakes macarons often ... Yup you all guessed it right , it is non other than +Rekha Vengalil from Foodolious Pictured . I literally bugged her after i posted pics of macarons asking for some tips . She was so humble to clear all my doubts about macrons . Thank you +Rekha Vengalil

For this month on Home Bakers Challenge +siriroop nuggehalli from The Brave Cook had suggested so many delicious recipes . Macarons caught my eye from the list which she suggested as i had not tried before .

Recipe:

Almond Meal - 3/4 Cup
Icing Sugar - 1 Cup
2 Large egg whites -at room temperature ( Aged )
Sugar - 1/4 Cup
Lavender Flavoring / essence
Color of your choice

For filling -

White Chocolate - 3 TBSP
Salted Butter - 1/2 cup / 1 stick
Icing Sugar - 2 Cup
Fresh cream / Milk - 3 TBSP

Instructions -

- Bring the Aged egg whites back to room temperature .
- Measure the Almond meal and Icing Sugar . Sieve them thrice together to make sure there is no lumps .
- Whisk the egg whites in a clean , dry , grease free - water free bowl , till it forms a soft peeks.
- Add the sugar and continue to whisk at lower speed , once sugar is combined well with egg whites , increase the speed to high and continue till it forms stiff peeks. At this stage You will be handling a glossy , shiny egg white . Do not overbeat .
- This is the stage the color and the flavoring to be added . Add little more color than we use for the cakes and icings . Mix it for less than 30 sec .

- MACARRONAGE -

- Now this stage is called as "Macarronage" , which is nothing but folding the dry ingredients with the glossy egg whites . Now slowly add the dry ingredients in three additions.
- Gently fold the mixture , till you get the ribbon stage . Batter will no longer look airy and fluffy . But do not over fold .
- If the batter is airy and fluffy , it means it is underfolded and your macarons will be called as Meringue Cookie. ( like mine on the picture )
- If the batter is over folden , You will end up getting a cracked , feetless macarons .
- Even after folding with the dry ingredients , the batter will look creamy and shiny.

- BEFORE BAKING -

- A Line a baking tray with the parchment paper. Do download Macaron template and place it under the parchment paper to get even looking macarons.
- Now fit an No 12 Nozzle in the piping bag , fill all the mixture and pipe it in the parchment paper leaving a gap of 1-2 inches .
- Once the Macarons are piped ,carefully take out the template without messing the piped macarons.
- Tap the baking tray in all sides to make sure there is no peaks or air bubbles .
- Leave the Macarons to dry for 45 minutes to 1 hour . You will notice a layer forming on the top of it and even when you touch it does not stick to your hands . This is a very important stage and do not skip it .
- Now pre heat the oven @350F . Before placing the macarons in the oven , reduce the temperature to 300F . Bake it for 15 minutes totally . Rotate the baking tray in the halfway through the baking process to get a evenly baked macarons.
- Allow the Macarons to cool in the baking tray for 10 minutes . Then remove it from the tray and place it in the cooling rack , allow it to cool completely.

- FILLING -

Meanwhile Make your own filling . I had Made White Chocolate ButterCream Frosting .

- In a microwave proof bowl heat the white chocolate chips and the fresh cream together for 30 seconds . Stir it again and Keep it for another 30 seconds . Keep it stirring till the chocolate is melted . Bring it to the room temperature before adding it to the buttercream.
- Cream the butter really well , till it is light and fluffy . Add the icing sugar little by little by alternating with white chocolate mixture .
- Adding flavoring like vanilla essence, almond essence , Lavender into the buttercream is up to you . I left the buttercream with no flavor because my macarons were flavored .

When the Macarons are fully cooled , Pipe the buttercream and sandwich 2 same sized macarons.

The Lesson Learnt from this disaster

- Draw circles using a bottle cap or smaller cookie cutter and pipe the batter with in the circle. I had pipped big circles .( That was the first mistake )
- Add little more color than we use for cakes and icing .( I just used the same amount i would use on icing and didn't realise colors on icing would turn little darker if we leave for some time and the same concept on macrons will not work ) .
- Fold the Meringue and dry ingredients well . But do not overfold or underfold. The consistency should be neither too runny or too stiff . When you drop the batter it should be "Thick Ribbon Stage"
- Buy a store bought Almond flour , or use blanched Almonds to grind them . I grounded almonds with the skin and i am not liking the spots on the macarons .
- Do check the oven temperature . Bake the macarons on lower temp as possible .( This is depending apon your oven temp , mine gets hotter really fast . Another website suggested to bake it at 280F for 20 minutes .