macarons are a French specialty - a delicacy. They are very popular all over the world. Believe it or not, I had never tried macarons until yesterday. To be honest, I was not attracted by their appearance or composition.
It's nothing special.
A world trend and nothing more. And there are so many beautiful cakes and pastries... They are not to my taste - they are too sweet (some recipes use more sugar). Filling as filling - you can combine them however you want, there are no special rules.
So much "drama" about nothing.
The construction itself is not as complicated as it sounds. I can even say that they are very easy to make, and if they are baked in a silicone mold, then there is no fear that they will fail. I baked them on baking paper and shaped them with my hand, or more precisely, with my fingers (I didn't pour the mixture into a suitable bag, so my fingers had to be the main shaping tool).
What can be a problem (although it doesn't have to be) is the almond flour.
I used flaked almonds. First, I dried them a little on the stove, crumbled them with my fingers, and then ground them with a stick mixer with the addition of powdered sugar and some ground biscuits (I didn't have enough almonds).
Then I sifted the mixture and poured it into a piping bag to measure all the ingredients (of course, I spilled some of the mixture because of the piping bag ;)).
I decided to make a cappuccino-flavored filling. She took the bag out of the cupboard, opened it and accidentally knocked it off the work surface. So, spilling again. I wanted to say that everything went wrong ;).
Usually these things happen when you do what you don't like or are not interested in…
I read various "elaborations" on the topic of egg whites - eggs should be taken out of the refrigerator at least 24 hours before, and then the whites should be separated from the yolks the same time earlier, etc. I did not follow this rule.
I took the egg out of the fridge maybe ten minutes before I separated the whites from the yolks. (I immediately whipped the egg yolks with a spoonful of sugar so that the crust would not stick, and I packed the container with the egg whites in a bag).
Then I grinded the almonds and cooked the filling (one egg yolk, 1 spoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of thickening, 1 rib of chocolate, a little milk, and when it had cooled, I added cappuccino and whipped cream).
So the egg whites were at room temperature for about 1 time (of course, if the temperatures are higher, less time is enough for the egg whites to reach "room" temperature).
So let's start with the ingredients for the macarons. I decided on the smallest possible measure. By the way, there are various recipes for preparing macarons. I chose the simplest one.
Necessary ingredients (for 10 macarons):
1 egg white (more precisely, 35 g);
25 g of crystal sugar (you can combine it with vanilla sugar);
45 g of almond flour (in my case, this amount included
10 g of ground biscuit);
60 g of powdered sugar;
edible colors as needed (in powder or gel).
<strong>Preparation: </strong>
Beat the egg whites, and when foamy, gradually add granulated sugar and mix at the lowest speed. You can beat with a mixer or beater. I used a whisk since it is a very small amount.
Experts say that it is important not to overmix the mixture (although I read somewhere that it is not so important).
I lightly beat the egg whites and sugar.
The mixture poured from the whisk slowly, in a continuous stream.
Color should be added to the egg whites and whipped.
Now you need to add the almond flour that you previously sifted with powdered sugar (100 g in total or a few grams more).
Everything is nice to sit with a spatula. Stir slowly. Mixing is crucial (so say the experts). If you have under-mixed the mixture or over-mixed it, you will not get the right macarons (whatever that means).
The ideally mixed mixture flows in a continuous stream from the spatula and does not leave a mark when it comes into contact with the remaining mixture - it merges with it.
Now comes the shaping.
You should use a pastry bag with a flat tip about 1 cm in diameter. Extrude the "puslice" on the paper with a distance of 2-3 cm.
Make sure that all the "puddles" are the same size or draw circles beforehand.
Tap the tray a few times on the work surface to release the air from the macarons.
This is followed by the stage of drying the macarons in the air. They should be dried for about an hour. You can check if they are dry by touching them. If the macarons do not stick to your finger, you can bake them (they will leave an indentation from your finger).
Bake them in a heated oven for 13-15 minutes at 130-140 degrees (depending on the strength of your oven). During baking, open the oven several times to let the moisture out and to check if the macarons are done.
And if they are baked, you will check again by touching them - if the inside does not move when you touch them, they are ready.
Otherwise, they should be baked for another minute.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool, then remove them from the paper (be careful if they stick to the paper a little).
And that is all. The macarons are now ready for filling.
You can combine them with ganache creams to which you will add flavors as desired. When it comes to choosing the filling, feel free to let your imagination run wild.
Thanks to Jelena Simić from the blog "Let's get fat-bulous!" who with her post influenced my decision to make macarons.
*Note:
They say that macarons are real when they have a "ring". I think the formation of the ring is inevitable - a consequence of the drying and baking of the macarons.
Kristina Gaspar blog A hostess for you
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