GLUTEN-FREE FRENCH MACARONS WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE
We know you can pick up a macaron pretty well anywhere these days but they’re not all good and just think how impressed your friends and family will be when you produce your very own home-made version.
Our macarons are not at all difficult to make but you do need to follow a few easy technical steps to ensure success.
Such as ageing egg whites – yes – who knew that was a thing? But it’s not hard. You just strain your egg whites over a bowl for twenty four hours and voila.
Careful mixing will help your macarons look like you’ve bought them from a top patisserie.
We do hope you will give them a go.
Rosie
FRENCH MACARONS WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Makes around 72 (36 pairs)
Start this recipe the day before to age the egg whites (see below)
Thanks to Kirsten Tibballs for the original demo.
Ganache Filling
115 gm couverture milk chocolate, chopped
45 gm cream – 35% fat
¼ teaspoon vanilla paste
5 gm honey
Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Place the cream, vanilla paste and honey into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the ganache to prevent a skin forming. Stand for 1.5-2 hours until firm enough to pipe.
Macarons
100 gm egg whites – aged. (Around 5 x 60gm eggs – see below.)
Pinch of cream of tartar
35 gm water
135 gm caster sugar
135 gm icing sugar
135 gm almond meal
Powdered food colouring (optional)
Preheat oven to 145°C (fan forced). Trace 4 cm circles onto 2 or 3 sheets of baking paper with a pencil then turn the baking papers over and place on to baking trays.
Place 50gm of the aged egg whites and cream of tartar into the mixing bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Start whisking on a slow speed.
Place the water then the caster sugar in a small saucepan. Place over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved then bring to a boil.
Just as the mixture comes to a boil, increase the speed of the mixer so that the egg whites are whipped as the sugar syrup reaches 118°C.
If you don’t have a food thermometer, using a spoon, take a small amount of the syrup and drop it into a bowl of cold water. If it forms a pliable ball when rolled around between your forefinger and thumb it’s ready. If it dissolves and you can’t form a ball it’s not ready. If it’s too hard and the ball is not pliable, you’ve taken it too far. Simply add a little water, boil the syrup a little more and repeat the process.
If the egg whites have not whipped fully when the sugar syrup reaches 118°C, add a couple of teaspoons of cold water to the mix to bring the temperature down and continue to boil to bring the temperature back to 118°C.
While still whipping the egg whites, pour the hot sugar syrup into the whipped egg white mixture. The trick is to try to avoid hitting the whisk or the side of the bowl with the sugar syrup. Continue to whip until you can touch the bowl comfortably. The mixture can sit for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the next step.
Place the icing sugar and almond meal in to the bowl of a food processor and process until it is fine. Do not allow it to become warm or the almond meal will begin to release its oil. Sieve into a bowl.
Add the remaining 50gm of the aged egg whites and mix, by hand, to a firm paste.
Add a few large spoonfuls of the meringue mixture and mix, by hand, until combined. Add the remaining meringue mixture. You can add powdered food colouring at this stage if desired. Do not use liquid food colouring. We coloured ours the palest, palest pink.
For macarons, the mixture needs to be fairly robustly mixed, by hand, but not over mixed. It is ready when the mixture is allowed to stand for 20-30 seconds and if it spreads and the surface is fairly smooth, it is ready. Be careful not to over mix.
If you over mix it the mixture will spread too much and if you under mix you will have peaks on your macarons.
Using a 10mm piping nozzle, holding the piping bag at a slight angle, pipe the macaron mixture onto your prepared templates without moving the piping bag.
Firmly tap the tray on your bench to smooth out the tops.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow to cool completely before storing.
Filling
Transfer the cooled ganache to a piping bag fitted with a 10mm piping nozzle. Pipe the ganache onto the underside of every second macaron, top with its mate.
The filled macarons are delicious eaten straight away but even better if allowed to stand for 6 hours before serving.
The filled macarons will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Unfilled macarons can be frozen and defrosted in the fridge.
Aging Egg Whites
Place the egg whites in a strainer over a bowl and allow to stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hours. Discard any egg white remaining in the strainer. Weigh the egg whites in the bowl (they will be very liquidy) and then proceed.
The egg whites from 5 x 60gm eggs should yield around 115gm of aged egg whites.
TIPS:
Only use the best quality eggs you can find.