Chocolate Macarons

I love macarons. After tasting too many in Paris, I love them even more. Kinda crunchy but chewy at the same time, it has now become my ultimate comfort food. I decided to make them today, albeit in a very handicaped kitchen and following a recent cake disaster (I blame the recipe...if it looks a little suss, do not try it).

 I do not have a sieve and a food processor here, so I was unable to grind the almond meal into a fine powder and then sieve it to make sure there are no large bits. Hence, my macarons are a bit lumpy on the surface. But still tasty and it also formed the feet! The step that I  read was important was to leave the whites out overnight, so I made sure I prepared the whites last night before I went to bed.

Overall, a good recipe, but next time, I will reduce a little of the almond meal and double  the cocoa powder to get a darker chocolate colour. Will let you know when I attempt it again.... Also thinking of making strawberry-flavoured ones.

The rough little layers at the bottom are known as feet.











By the way, Bern does not like macarons. Weirdo! But I still love him anyway... Oh ya, here is his second-hand bike which we bought for 69 quid. Needed a new tyre after the 3rd day! Cost us another 20 quid for a tyre. Otherwise, a decent bike, and even comes with dual suspension. :)

Chocolate Macarons Recipe

65 grams Almond Meal
15 grams Cocoa Powder
80 grams Icing Sugar

40 grams Icing Sugarr
50 grams Egg White

Heat the oven to 160°C. Line the baking tray with a baking mat or two sheets of baking paper.

 Blend the almond meal, cocoa powder and 80g icing sugar in a processor, making sure the mixture is well blended and fine. Then pass this mixture through a fine sieve, making sure that there are no lumps left.

 For the egg whites: make sure the bowl you use is extremely clean. The egg whites should be at room temperature, before you start beating, add a few drops of lemon juice or a pinch of salt. Beat on a medium speed, and slowly add the sugar (40g in total) spoon by spoon. Increase the speed after a minute, beating on high speed for 4 minutes or untill strong peaks have formed. Make sure that the eggs hold firm peaks, like a bird’s beak!

 Sprinkle the dry mixture spoon by spoon over the egg whites. Blend this mixture very slowly with a spatula, just blend gently and not beat, else the whites will flop over.

 While mixing you should be gentle making sure not to overmix, as you’d rather have an undermixed batter than a cakey overmixed batter.

 Fill in this mixture in a piping bag and use a 8-10 mm round tip. Pipe blobs of batter on the circled baking sheet, make sure you are holding the piping bag perpendicular to the sheet.
 Leave the piped batter in a dry warm place for minimum 20 minutes so as to develop a thin cover. The macarons should be dry to touch before going in the oven.

Place the tray into the middle of the oven.

Within 5 minutes the feet will start forming. The total time should be 10-11 minutes at 150-160°C
Remove the tray from the oven, take off the baking sheet and place on a wet surface for a couple of seconds so as to stop the baking process. You can do so by placing the baking sheet on a wet piece of cloth flattened out.
 
Peel the macarons off the baking sheet.Sandwich two macarons together with some chocolate butter cream filling.
 
 

Before I sandwiched them with chocolate cream.

 
Chocolate Buttercream Filling Recipe


125 grams butter, at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar
35 grams dark chocolate

Whip butter in a small mixing bowl until it is creamy.
Melt chocolate over a double boiler and let it cool for 2 minutes before adding to the butter mixture. Add the icing sugar gradually, whipping as you go.
Pipe mixture into a piping bag and let it set in the fridge for 10-15 mixture until it is solid enough to pipe onto macaron shells.