I'm sleepy and want to take a nap, but I promised myself I would post today. So I will. I was home, which means I made macarons. Naturally. I've had a bag of freeze dried raspberries hanging around for a while, and so I ground them up and mixed them into the batter. It wasn't my most beautiful batch (they had little peaks from being undermixed) but they were successful in my eyes.
I did some creative writing in January and wrote a short piece about macarons. Sort of. It's more like a daydream that drifts...but it starts with macarons. I'll share an excerpt with you, yeah? Hope you like it.
"You cannot make macarons if you are upset. You’ve tried, usually in the midst of some form of lovesickness. Your emotions are somehow infused into the meringue and the cookies fall, flat and cracked. You might cry a little bit out of frustration. Almond flour is expensive and macarons take time. Some say too much time. That it’s not worth the effort. Think of how many cupcakes you could make in the time it takes to bake and assemble twenty fussy macarons. Sometimes you’re inclined to agree. Especially when you’re sitting in front of the oven door, heart sinking when the shells collapse into ugly piles. But when they turn out–oh, how they shine like jewels! Ephemera. A bite of air, the sensation of something, there, melting on the tongue. Then gone".
Raspberry and Cream Macarons
125 g almond flour
125 g confectioner's sugar
20 g freeze-dried raspberries, ground to a powder
3 egg whites
75 g granulated sugar
Sift almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and raspberry powder together. Set aside.
Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Now dump in the dry ingredients all at once and fold them in with a rubber spatula. Use both a folding motion (to incorporate the dry ingredients) and a rubbing/smearing motion, to deflate the meringue against the side of the bowl. It should take 35-40 strokes to reach the desired consistency. It should be almost like lava, holding its form if you put a little on a plate, but melting down after 20-30 seconds.
Pipe batter onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets in 1 1/2 inch circles. Leave enough space between them so they don't melt together. Let them rest for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300F. Bake macarons for about 15 minutes. The shells are done when you can peel them away from the parchment without anything sticking. If you try and pick one up and the top rips off...cook them more. Cool completely and then put filling between two shells.
Cream Filling
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 cup heavy cream
2 T granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add cream and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla bean seeds. Refrigerate until using.
I did some creative writing in January and wrote a short piece about macarons. Sort of. It's more like a daydream that drifts...but it starts with macarons. I'll share an excerpt with you, yeah? Hope you like it.
"You cannot make macarons if you are upset. You’ve tried, usually in the midst of some form of lovesickness. Your emotions are somehow infused into the meringue and the cookies fall, flat and cracked. You might cry a little bit out of frustration. Almond flour is expensive and macarons take time. Some say too much time. That it’s not worth the effort. Think of how many cupcakes you could make in the time it takes to bake and assemble twenty fussy macarons. Sometimes you’re inclined to agree. Especially when you’re sitting in front of the oven door, heart sinking when the shells collapse into ugly piles. But when they turn out–oh, how they shine like jewels! Ephemera. A bite of air, the sensation of something, there, melting on the tongue. Then gone".
Raspberry and Cream Macarons
125 g almond flour
125 g confectioner's sugar
20 g freeze-dried raspberries, ground to a powder
3 egg whites
75 g granulated sugar
Sift almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and raspberry powder together. Set aside.
Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Now dump in the dry ingredients all at once and fold them in with a rubber spatula. Use both a folding motion (to incorporate the dry ingredients) and a rubbing/smearing motion, to deflate the meringue against the side of the bowl. It should take 35-40 strokes to reach the desired consistency. It should be almost like lava, holding its form if you put a little on a plate, but melting down after 20-30 seconds.
Pipe batter onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets in 1 1/2 inch circles. Leave enough space between them so they don't melt together. Let them rest for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300F. Bake macarons for about 15 minutes. The shells are done when you can peel them away from the parchment without anything sticking. If you try and pick one up and the top rips off...cook them more. Cool completely and then put filling between two shells.
Cream Filling
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 cup heavy cream
2 T granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add cream and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla bean seeds. Refrigerate until using.
Making macarons is unlike anything else. And while they don't always look gorgeous, as long as they taste great, that's what matters. Beautiful macs!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I feel the same way about the process :)
DeleteMacarons - from the demo I once saw - it is so much about technique. I have yet to muster up the time or courage to give it a try. These are lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lot about technique, but don't be afraid, really!
Delete