Strawberry Chocolate Macarons

     

     Nothing impresses these days like a macaron.  I brought a tray of these to cooking club and they were gone before the meeting started.  Most people think you need magical powers or some innate ability to make them, but that isn't true.  All you need is some patience, precise measurements, and the ingredients.

      I decided to make chocolate-strawberry macarons this time.  I've never made either flavor before, but I figured that they would make the perfect combination.  After shooting the photos, I realized that these would also make really cute "Neapolitan" macarons if you filled them with white vanilla buttercream instead of ganache and strawberry jam.  But I also feel that the ganache and strawberry filling bring out the flavors of the shells. 

      I'm sorry to say I don't really know how the flavors turned out.  As I said, I brought these to cooking club and they just vanished.  I had some extras in my fridge, but those disappeared too.  My family just doesn't understand that macarons need to mature in the fridge for a couple of days before you eat them.  I heard that they were good, though.  And I'm sure they are; I've never had a bad macaron.

This is how the batter should look.

     If you want some macaron tips, basically this is it:

• bake one sheet at a time on new, unused parchment paper
• don't over-mix or under-mix (follow directions)
• make precise measurements with a kitchen scale (I actually bought by first scale for the sole purpose of making macarons, so you should too.  You can get a cheap one for 5 bucks at Target) 
• let the macarons sit on the baking sheet after you pipe them for about half an hour to prevent cracking
• after you fill the macarons, let them sit in the refrigerator for a couple of days so that the flavors can develop more
• have fun and don't worry too much
• see here for more detailed step-by-step pictures of the process

      I hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Chocolate Macarons

makes about 30 assembled macarons

recipe adapted from Tartlette and Chocoparis

Ingredients

For the strawberry shells:

90g egg whites (about 3) 
30g granulated sugar
200g  powdered sugar
110g ground almonds/ almond flour
1/2 cup (7g) dehydrated strawberries, crumbled to a fine powder
pink food coloring

For the Chocolate Shells:

90 grams (3 ounces) of egg whites (equal to whites of 3 large eggs), at room temperature

125 grams (4 ½ ounces) of ground almonds or almond flour

125 grams (4 ½ ounces) of icing sugar

25 grams (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder 

125 grams (4 ½ ounces) of caster sugar (aka superfine sugar, or regular sugar pulsed in a blender for a few seconds)

For the filling:

6oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

strawberry jam (I used the strawberry balsamic jam I made)

Directions

Prepare the strawberry macarons: in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue with soft peaks.  Stir in the food coloring until evenly incorporated. Sift together the almonds, powdered sugar, reserved powdered strawberries. Add it to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. 
Preheat the oven to 280F and position a rack in the center. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool.

Prepare the chocolate macarons: Sift together the almond flour or ground almonds, icing sugar, and cocoa powder; set aside. Beat the egg whites with a bit of the superfine sugar for a few seconds until foamy.  Whip the egg whites on high speed, gradually adding the rest of the superfine sugar, until the meringue has soft peaks when you lift out the beaters.  Fold in the dry ingredients until the batter drips from the spatula like a ribbon.  Pipe the batter into rounds on clean parchment lined baking sheets.  Let the batter rounds sit for about half an hour until the surface is dry and firm.  Bake at 325*F for 12 to 14 minutes and let cool.

Fill.  Make the ganache by boiling the heavy cream, then pouring the cream over the chocolate in a small bowl.  Whisk until the chocolate is all melted and let cool until the ganache is thick.  Pipe some jam into the middle of one macaron shell.  Pipe the ganache around the jam and press another shell on top.  Repeat for the rest of the macarons.  Keep the macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate for a few days before serving so that the flavors can develop.  

Red Velvet Macarons with Chocolate Ganache Filling

   This is why I love February 14th.
   This is my second time making macarons. I was at first a bit intimidated when I came across Not So Humble Pie's troubleshooting guide. I mean, there are so many things that can go wrong.  Now that I've made them a couple of times, though, I think that they're pretty simple.
     A lack of certain materials prevented me from making macarons earlier.  To make them, you'll need a kitchen scale (to make exact measurements), a piping bag, a mixer, and almond flour. Almond is kind of expensive and hard to find. I got mine from a health food store. You can make your own by putting almonds in a food processor, but you'll need a nice machine to make it fine enough.
    Also, superfine (or castor) sugar is suggested for this recipe. It will make the texture of the macaron less grainy since it has smaller grains.  However, it's almost impossible to find in stores, so you can just pulse regular sugar in a blender or food processor for a minute until it's powdery.
    Another side note: many macaron makers suggest that you use aged egg whites. These are egg whites that are put in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel in the refrigerator for a few days.  This isn't essential, though, and I just used room temperature egg whites.
     To be honest, though, even if they don't look perfect, there's a 99% chance that the macarons will taste good and that everyone will forgive you.
     Anyways, I made these for Valentines Day, as you may have guessed.  Also, you may not know this, but they satisfy not one, but two of the things on my list in the 2013 tab.  Namely: "something red velvet" and "macarons."  I don't really like using food coloring (how I was raised), but red velvet and macarons both need it. By combining them, I have saved myself the trouble of using a lot of food coloring twice :).
      Before you make the macarons, make sure you remember these things:

• Make exact measurements and measure by weight, not volume.
• Wipe your bowl and beaters with lemon juice to help the egg whites whip up better.  
• Don't over beat the egg whites; it'll make the macarons grainy.
• Don't over or under mix the batter.  The batter should drip off the spoon in ribbons when you lift it, but shouldn't be too liquidy.
• Tap the pans after you pipe the batter to prevent cracking.
• Let the piped macaron batter sit on the baking sheets for 30 minutes to 2 hours (depending on humidity) until it is firm on the outside.
• Only bake one sheet at a time.
• Refrigerate for a couple of days before eating to improve the flavor. 

     Now you're ready to make an awesome macaron!

This is what superfine sugar should be like.

Soft peaks

Batter should drip in ribbons.

Pipe the shapes with a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.

I printed out some heart shapes on paper and put them under  the parchment paper to make piping easier. Don't forget to remove the templates after the macarons have set for 30 minutes!

Make sure you let the batter set for at least 30 minutes (depending on humidity) until the surface is firm.

After baking. See the feet!

Really simple ganache filling.

 Enjoy! I hope that you have a wonderful Valentines Day filled to the brim with chocolate!

Red Velvet Macarons with Chocolate Ganache filling

makes about 25 heart-shaped macarons (50 cookies, more if shaped like circles)

modified from Edible Mosaic

Ingredients

8 oz powdered (confectioners) sugar

4 oz almond meal (almond flour)

1/2 oz (12g, 2tbs) unsweetened cocoa powder 

A couple pinches of salt

5 oz egg whites (from 4 eggs) room temperature

3 oz superfine (castor) sugar (or blended granulated sugar)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tsp red food coloring (I used Wilton icing colors--it's more concentrated)

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. Line two pans with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together almond meal, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Discard any almond pieces that are too large.
3. In a glass or stainless metal bowl, whip the egg whites for a few seconds until frothy.  Gradually add superfine sugar while still beating the egg whites.  Whip egg whites to soft peaks.
4. Add vanilla and food coloring to egg whites and beat for a few seconds just until incorporated.
5. Add a bit of the dry ingredients to the egg whites and gently fold in with a spatula. Fold in a circular motion until incorporated. Keep adding the dry ingredients this way until it's all incorporated.  Fold the mixture until it's thin and drips from the spoon like a ribbon, but isn't too liquidy.
6. Place batter into a piping bag with a large, round tip.  Pipe the batter in even sized shapes onto the baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Lift the pans a couple inches above the table and drop.  Repeat about five times to eliminate air bubbles and prevent cracking.
7. Let pans rest for 30 minutes to an hour until a dry shell forms on the surface. One it is formed, preheat the oven to 300*F.  
8. Bake one sheet at a time, for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the macarons. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
9. To make the filling, bring the heavy cream to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and blended.  Whip with a beater until cool and stiff.  
10. Pair up cookies with similar sizes.  Pipe or spoon some filling onto one cookie and gently press the other half on top.
11. Refrigerate for a day or two to improve the flavor before serving.  Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.