A Sweet Spoonful

I was peer-pressured into baking. I can’t say that it’s ever happened before. But recently, Jamie at Life’s a Feast and Deeba at Passionate About Baking encouraged me to join them and a few other food bloggers to a “Mac Challenge”: making macarons and sharing our results with each other while fielding questions via twitter. Jamie came up with the idea as it was the one thing she had shied away from for so long (macarons are notoriously difficult to make perfectly, with their long sought after “feet” on the bottom and delicate, chewy shells). I, too, tend to shy away from extremely fussy desserts. But I love the sweet, pastel-colored confections and thought I’d join in and try my hand at it.

(Friday): When I got the recipe that many of the ladies were starting with first, it was in grams and I don’t have a kitchen scale (“Dear Santa…”). So I found David Leibovitz’s lovely recipe for chocolate macarons using volume instead and set out for greatness. My meringue looked perfect and glossy.

I piped the little guys out without an issue, and I watched through the oven as they developed feet:

Next, I concocted a nice, subtle almond buttercream to pipe in the middle. What were these ladies stressing about, I wondered? Maybe I should go into business as I clearly have a knack for this. Then I tried one. While they looked lovely, the shells were a bit crispy. The recipe I’m about to give you is rock-solid. I just left them in the oven about two minutes too long (explains a few of the cracked shells you see below).

(Sunday): So I set out again with plans of making vanilla bean macarons and an undetermined filling (maybe hazelnut, maybe peach preserves). I was adapting Tartlette’s recipe for powdered strawberry macarons, essentially leaving out the strawberry. Well, the first batch I added the powdered sugar to the egg whites as I whipped away (the powdered sugar’s supposed to be folded in after you make the meringue). Because I was curious, I baked them anyway, knowing full well they’d probably be trash. And while they were nothing like macarons, they were kind of yummy. The talented blogger, La Fujimama, suggested calling them “almond crisps” and claiming I meant to do that. Not a bad idea.

(Sunday, again): Same recipe, sans the sugar mistake. From the get-go, I know something’s not quite right. My meringue looks lumpy and a little too airy. Out of the oven, they looked exactly the same. I think I overbeat the meringue, and I think my rough conversions into volume were potentially a bit off. Rapidly stocking up on my collection of almond crisps.

Lessons Learned: Must get a kitchen scale asap, sometimes your first go at something (before you have too much time to think/stress about it) is the best, Helen at Tartlette is a true macaron goddess, meringue takes a very gentle hand, staring at the macarons through the oven doesn’t speed up the process of developing feet, almond crips will be fabulous with vanilla ice cream.

A successful recipe:

French Chocolate Macarons with Almond Buttercream
Macaron recipe from David Leibovtiz; Buttercream adapted from Tartlette

For macarons:
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces, 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

For the filling:
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
10 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp almond extract

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready. Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a food processor.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-li
ned baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the filling:
Combine the sugar and egg whites in a double-broiler and whisk until hot but not boiling, about two minutes. The sugar should be dissolved: Pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it becomes shiny, about four minutes. Add butter, a bit at a time, and beat until smooth. Once butter has been added, beat on high until thick and smooth, about 6-10 minutes. Add in almond extract at the very end. Can refrigerate up to a week or freeze up to a month.

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