Photolog of Macarons & Recipe

This is what I've been busy baking for the past two months. I've been so busy baking and taking photos of these beauties (and eating them) that I've nearly forgotten to blog about them. If you want "live" updates check out my twitter feed @beyondumami. So here's a post that will be predominantly photos!

Recipe for the macarons are at the end of the post. Enjoy!! Some of these were my first attempts at specific variations/recipes.

I found these bowls from Anthropologie on sale (< $3/bowl)!!
I thought they complemented my Pistachio Vanilla Buttercream Macarons.

First attempt at a crunchy mocha macaron with vanilla buttercream topped with cocoa nibs.
Recipe from Desir et Moi from this macaron video.

Second attempt at Pistachio Macarons - I might have over baked these a tad.

Strawberry Macaron - I had trouble with the colouring the macaron shells as I used a strawberry purée.
The shells cracked and wrinkled as my proportions were not correct.

A friend of mine gave me macarons from Thierry in Vancouver which had
pieces of fruit in the middle. I tried to recreate this experience in my Grand Macarons.

I really like the colour contrast of the blackberry and raspberry but these macarons had to be
eaten right away as they got soggy really quickly!

My favourite picture! My Christmas edition of Macarons: Salted Caramel, Gingerbread with Chocolate Ganache, 'Pistacchio-coloured' Macaron with hazelnut chocolate ganache. Sadly, this did not
make it to Seasons & Holidays mactweets in time. 

My latest macaron obsession: Salted Caramel! For the filling:
I use a regular caramel recipe and sprinkle salt on top before closing.

Pyramid of Salted Caramel Macarons

This is a technique I use for piping fillings. It's very easy to use and keeps your piping bag clean!

Mocha Flavoured Macaron Shells (used 25g of Starbucks VIA Mocha Instant Coffee)
and removed 25g of icing sugar from basic recipe (See recipe below).

Macarons resting. In Edmonton, after many attempts, I've discovered it takes almost 40 minutes
for the macarons to rest properly due to humidity and dryness.

As you can see, I rnade a few batches of salted caramel macarons. Here is a picture
of caramel filling with salt sprinkled on top.

Macarons being filled one at a time.

The recipe I've been using/perfecting has been based on the same one as my lemon macarons.

Ingredients

• 5g of Dehydrated Egg White Powder
• 28g of Granulated Sugar
• 225g of Powdered Sugar (also known as icing sugar)
• 125g of Almond Meal
• 100g of Aged Egg Whites (2-3 days in airtight container at room temperature)

Steps

1. Measure all ingredients with a scale
2. Combine dehydrated egg white powder and granulated sugar and set aside
3. Start beating egg whites at low speed (2 on my Kitchen Aid)
4. Process almond meal and powdered sugar
5. When egg whites are foamy (mousse-like) add in egg white powder/granulated sugar combo
6. Start adding food colouring (I use gels) now in order to avoid overbeating egg whites
7. Increase speed on Kitchen Aid to 4. Beat egg whites until "stiff peaks" form (stop, and tilt head back, look to see if egg whites form a small bird's beak)
8. Sift Almond Meal/Powdered sugar through a fine mesh.
9. Slowly add to egg whites using Chef Nini's method (described in my lemon macaron post)
10. Once mixture feels and looks like magma (flows slowly) put into piping bag
11. Pipe out small circles
12. Firmly rap tray on floor or counter to get rid of any air bubbles inside the shells
13. Use a toothpick to pop air bubbles on shells
14. Let macarons sit for 30-40 minutes until a skin forms and is dry to touch
15. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
16. Put one tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 300F
17. I rotate the tray to get even baking on all shells (By now the feet should have formed!)
18. Bring temperature down to 295F and prop oven door open with wooden spatula and continue to bake for an extra 15 minutes
19. Take out of oven, allow macarons to cool.
20. Peel from mat, and fill with desired filling.

Notes

• Oven temperature may range from anywhere 290 to 300 depending on your oven. Best practice is to pipe a few macarons and test at various temperatures and times in the oven.
• I discovered that it's optimal to not have more than 20 large macaron shells (or 30 medium shells) on a single tray.
• Use a thick and heavy-weight baking tray for optimal results.
• Until recently, I was baking macarons at 295F for a total of 14 minutes, rotating at 7 minutes. But, I've discovered that this is not enough baking time for my macarons in my oven in my kitchen environment (your results may vary and thus it's important to experiment and take good notes! Charts help!)