Macaronssssssssssss

A group of friends have been doing macarons using Italian method and it really motivates me in doing it and I did.  I made lemon & chocolate macarons.

I found out that this is not really difficult and it's even easier to handle than the french method.  I did not even aged the eggs and  did not even rest the macarons to let the skin formed.  I liked this method and the first try, I am happy with the result.

 A friend's daughter even tried the italian method through internet learning, no doubt it's has bumpy and rough surface  but it has little feet  at the edge, but it's a good begining for her,  She used star nozzle to pipe.




Recioes:- Sweet Spot's Blog

Chocolate Macaron with Dark Chocolate Ganache

(makes 20-24 macarons)

100g Almond meal
100g icing sugar
20g cocoa powder
36g fresh egg whites (about 1 egg white)
pinch of salt

100g caster sugar
30g water
36g aged egg whites (about 1 egg whites)
1g egg white powder -( I did not add )
Dark Chocolate Ganache

80g Valrhona Guanaja discs
50g cream
15g butter
Pinch of Salt

Method:




1. Make ganache. Put chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a light boil. Pour into chocolate and stir till chocolate has melted. Add in butter and salt and stir till everything is combined. Cover with a cling wrap on top of the surface and leave it to cool.

2. Make macaron. Sift almond meal, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a wide bowl. Add in the egg white and salt and mix well. Do this only when you’re ready to cook the sugar, otherwise it gets hard.
3. In a medium sized pot, pour in caster sugar and water. Bring to a boil and to 118 C. Which means that yes you need a candy thermometer. When the sugar syrup reaches 110 C, in a mixing bowl, whisk egg whites and egg white powder (I’ve tried without it, it’s alright) It should be somewhat medium peaks when the sugar syrup reaches 118 C.
4. While the mixer is still whisking (about medium speed), gradually pour in the sugar syrup. (To wash the pot, add in water and bring to a boil, it’s easier to wash) Then turn up the speed of the mixer for about 2 minutes till it turns glossy. Reduce the speed to medium and let it whisk till it’s stiffer. It should be somewhat stiff, but not so stiff. (Picture on row 3, left)


5. Now, add in 1/4 of the meringue into the almond mixture from step no.1. Whack it till it’s well incorporated. At this first step, I usually literally do it un-TLC-ly just to get some air out from the meringue and to lighten the almond mix.With the remaining 3/4 of meringue, add into the almond mix and fold it in. This time, a little more TLC until it becomes lava like.

6. I’m using a 10mm nozzle. Fit into a piping bag and scoop the batter into the bag. Pipe onto a tray lined with parchment paper or silpat. Lightly tap the tray on a table top. Let it rest for about 10 minutes then bake at 150 C for 14 minutes.
7. When it’s cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack. Once it’s completely cool, it should be able to peel off easily.

8. Pair the right sizes and arrange them on a tray. Fill with chocolate ganache and let it mature in the fridge and eat the following day (That is if you can resist but trust me, macs definitely need the maturing stage)