Macaroon Attempt 1

So, the ingredients were brought and the method was firmly attached to a wall in my kitchen but still, my little debut macaroons failed to shine.  I followed the recipe almost to the book, the only step I didn’t do was putting the ground almonds and icing sugar into a food processor prior to sieving….which I think was the one step I NEEDED to do. I also added a pink paste colour to the macaroons but they faded dramatically in the oven.

For the middles, I gravitated away from the recipe, the recipe calls for the butter cream to be made up of 175g butter, to 75g of icing sugar…..this seemed a lot of butter and was not how I usually make my butter cream, so I swapped the measurements around and used a small knob of butter to a lot of icing sugar, diluting it with vanilla extract (usually I would use milk as well). I coloured the butter cream a vivid pink (this was the shade of pink the macaroons were prior to being put in the oven, so judging from the pictures you can see just how much these faded).

To mix it up a bit I thought id also try a mascarpone filling, which I coloured a vivid green. I mixed a small amount of caster sugar into a tub of mascarpone and added this to the middle of the macaroon shells.

I didn’t pipe the fillings into the shells; these were pressed on using the back of a spoon. The next time I attempt this I will probably go for chocolate ganache which will be piped; I will also use the food processor.

Overall I’m abit deflated with how these have turned out, and I almost didn’t upload these pictures BUT this is a beginners baking blog and I am starting from the bottom so any mistakes I make I will share with you!! Looks like this will have to be added back into the bakers bowl and a second attempt is definitely needed.

Please find this Delicious recipe below.........if you give it a go yourself, please let me know how your's turn out!!

Happy Baking

Toni – T - Cake

Ingredients

1. 175g icing sugar
2. 125g ground almonds
3. 3 large free-range egg whites
4. 75g caster sugar

For the filling

1. 150g butter, softened
2. 75g icing sugar

·         As mentioned above I swapped around the measurements of the filling.

Method

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Whizz the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor to a very fine mixture, then sift into a bowl.
2. 2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. (At this point you can stir in flavour extract, such as peppermint or lemon, and corresponding colouring such as blue or yellow, to your meringue mixture, depending on what kind of macaroons you want – see chef's tip. Or divide the meringue among different bowls if you want to make more than one colour.)
3. 3. Fold half the almond and icing sugar mixture into the meringue and mix well. Add the remaining half, making sure you use a spatula to cut and fold the mixture until it is shiny and has a thick, ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatula. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.
4. 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds of the macaroon mixture, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheets. Give the baking sheets a sharp tap on the work surface to ensure a good ‘foot’. Leave to stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to form a slight skin. This is important – you should be able to touch them lightly without any mixture sticking to your finger. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
5. 5. Meanwhile, make the filling/s (unless making chocolate macaroons – see chef's tip). In a bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the icing sugar. (You can now add flavouring or nuts, and colour – see chef's tip.) Use to sandwich pairs of macaroons together.