I have long been petrified of the French macaron. They are one of the more technically advanced desserts you can make. I have been baking regularly since I was ten years old, and I would consider myself a pretty good baker, yet macarons are something that give me nightmares. A few years ago, I decided to tackle the elusive macaron, however, it proved to be as disastrous I anticipated. Recently, though, I have been determined to finally make a successful macaron, maybe it's watching all of those Olympians achieve their dreams. Though my dreams are no where near as lofty or as ambitious, I decided that I, too, can achieve a goal, even if it is only in baking.
After I was fully committed to the task at hand, I began researching tips and techniques for making the perfect macarons. Once I felt more confident, I began experimenting. After a few failed attempts, I finally achieved, what I think is a pretty darn good macaron. Though these delicious treats come with a lot of hard work, a little bit of luck, and a fair amount of shouting, I think they are well worth the effort. Also, it doesn't hurt to have bragging rights about your conquering of the elusive perfect macaron. Below, I impart my wisdom on making a successful macaron. I added as much detail as I could and included the tricks I used along the way. I hope you enjoy these deliciously adorable little treats as much as I did.
One of the first things you will want to do, is make sure you have all of your ingredients before you begin baking. While many of the ingredients are easy to find, some are a bit more challenging. I urge you not to substitute ingredients because any variation can lead to a baking disaster. The ingredients list includes, confectioners' sugar, eggs, cream of tarter, salt, almond extract, cream cheese, and raspberry jam, all of which should be readily available at your local grocery store. You will also need almond flour and castor sugar. These two ingredients are trickier to find. Most specialty grocers should carry both. Castor sugar is the harder of the two to find. It is usually found in the international section of the store, since it is a British style of granulated sugar. Castor sugar has a consistency that is finer that granulated sugar but not as fine as powdered sugar. In a real pinch, you can use granulated sugar that is processed in a food processor, but I strongly recommend using the castor sugar. Finally, you will need silicon baking mats and gel food coloring, which are both available at most craft stores.
Once you have gathered all of the necessary ingredients, I would suggest reading the instructions once or twice to familiarize yourself with the steps. Though this recipe is tricky, if you follow the steps, you should be able to achieve delicious results.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon gel food coloring in color of your choice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 ounces of cream cheese
3-4 tablespoons of raspberry jam
Directions
Before you begin baking, preheat your oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit. Line 2-3 baking pans with silicon baking mats and set aside.
Carefully measure out both confectioners' sugar and almond flour, making sure your measurements are exact. Place both ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix to combine.
Sift the the almond flour and sugar into a large bowl using a fine mesh strainer. Though you may think to skip this step, I assure you that it is crucial to sift the ingredients. Not doing so, could cause the macaron batter to be lumpy and cause them to not bake properly.
Separate 3 room temperature eggs. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can use a large bowl and hand mixer, if needed). Discard the egg yolk (or save them if you have a use for them). Add the cream of tarter to the egg whites and beat them on medium speed until the mixture appears frothy. Once the mixture becomes frothy, add the castor sugar a little at a time. Increase the mixer to medium-high and beat for about 5 more minutes. The mixture is ready when the egg whites are stiff. The mixture should not fall off of the whisk attachment or beaters when removed.
Add the egg white mixture to the dry mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites, making sure to be careful not let the egg whites deflate too much. Fold until the mixture is a slightly runny consistency, this could take several minutes.
I like to test the mixture by placing a small amount on the bottom of a glass or small bowl. If the mixture does not flatten or spread on the glass, it has not been folded enough. If the mixture spreads and flattens on the glass, it is ready.
After the mixture is folded enough, add the almond extract and food coloring and fold to combine. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/4 inch round tip. I like to place a clip or clothes pin at the bottom of the bag to prevent the filling from dripping out too early. Place the filling in the pastry bag and twist the top of the bag to keep the filling from spilling out.
Pipe 1 inch round circles on the baking sheets. The mixture should spread out and flatten after it is piped on the tray. After all of the trays have been filled, tap them on a counter top or table or remove any air bubbles. Set the trays aside and let the macarons dry out before baking. The macarons are ready when they are dry to the touch. This can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour depending on the temperature and humidity in your kitchen.
Once they are ready, bake for 17 to 20 minutes. The cookies should be shiny when they are fully cooked. After they finish baking, remove them from the oven and place them on cooling racks until they are fully cooled. Each batch should be baked separately.
After the cookies have cooled, make the filling by placing the softened cream cheese and raspberry jam in the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth. Remove the cookies from the pan and pipe the filling on the inside of one of the cookies. Sandwich another cookie on top, and then bask in the glory that is the French macaron. Though these treats are delicious right away, they are even better several hours later or even overnight. Once you have finished making these, you will definitely deserve a gold medal in baking! Make sure to show them off so that others can see your achievement. I hope this post made these treats seem a little less scary and even more delicious! Happy baking!
Recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchen
XO Tres Chic Lifestyle
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