After a disastrous second try, here comes the third try (and I guess the very last one because I'm really bored and I even don't like them very much! I prefer Italian macaroons, the amaretti).
For the chocolate ganache (the filling) :
- 100 gr cooking chocolate
- 100 gr cream (or milk)
- 25 gr butter
Chop finely the chocolate. Heat up the cream and pour over the chocolate, stir to melt and dissolve the chocolate, when done add the butter in pieces and stir again until smooth. Reserve in the fridge.
For the macaroons :
- 66 gr egg whites (2 units)
- 140 gr icing sugar
- 85 gr ground almond powder
- 20 gr caster sugar
- 15 gr cocoa powder
Mix the almond powder, the icing sugar and the cocoa together and sift it.
Beat the egg whites until stiff adding progressively the 20 gr caster sugar in two times only when the egg whites start to become stiff. Beat until smooth and stiff. Then, add in 2 times the powders into the meringue and stir delicately until shiny, stop stirring when the mixture drops doing a "ribbon". For me this is the most critical moment of the recipe, if we stir too much then the mixture will be too liquid and the macaroons will be flat, on the other hand if we don't stir enough the mixture won't be shiny and will be too thick then the macaroons won't spread well.
With the help of a pastry bag or two teaspoons shape the macaroons on an oven tray covered with greaseproof paper. Let them rest for 30 min or until they get a thin crust (the surface doesn't stick anymore). Then put in a preheated oven (150°c) for 10 to 12 minutes (door ajar at mid time only if you don't have a ventilated oven).
Let cool down and remove them delicately from the greaseproof paper.
Now we can fill the macaroons with the chocolate ganache. Reserve them in the fridge 24h, they are actually better after a rest period.
the sugar, the almond powder and the cocoa blended together and sifted...
...
Some tips :
- Salt in the egg-whites helps to rise them but can make them lumpy and unstable. Better add 1 tsp of natural lemon juice because it helps to rise the whites faster and stabilize them (ascorbic acid unrolls the proteins and helps to form the bubbles easily)
- Using a second oven tray under the one where the macarons will get baked helps to get the famous ring (frill) in the bottom (the tray must not heat up too quickly because the bottom of the macaroons should not bake faster than the top, otherwise the top can crack due to the pressure inside the macaroon and the frill won't be created). And for that you have to master your oven ! Mine is indomitable :(
- Humidity in the air increases the "crusting" period. Remember that the macaroon surface has to be perfectly dry and not sticky before to get baked.
- Macaroons need to cool down before to get removed from the greaseproof paper. You can slip the greaseproof paper over a moist surface (table or worktop), it can help the process.
- Use gentle heat, macaroons must not get brown, mainly if you dye them with pale coloring.
- The "macaronnage" (blending process) is the secret. Stir the mixture delicately and firmly with a spatula. Do not lift the batter too high doing a fold, it would introduce air into it and will cause big bubbles that will crack the macaroon surface during the baking process or worst it can collapse them.
- Salt in the egg-whites helps to rise them but can make them lumpy and unstable. Better add 1 tsp of natural lemon juice because it helps to rise the whites faster and stabilize them (ascorbic acid unrolls the proteins and helps to form the bubbles easily)
- Using a second oven tray under the one where the macarons will get baked helps to get the famous ring (frill) in the bottom (the tray must not heat up too quickly because the bottom of the macaroons should not bake faster than the top, otherwise the top can crack due to the pressure inside the macaroon and the frill won't be created). And for that you have to master your oven ! Mine is indomitable :(
- Humidity in the air increases the "crusting" period. Remember that the macaroon surface has to be perfectly dry and not sticky before to get baked.
- Macaroons need to cool down before to get removed from the greaseproof paper. You can slip the greaseproof paper over a moist surface (table or worktop), it can help the process.
- Use gentle heat, macaroons must not get brown, mainly if you dye them with pale coloring.
- The "macaronnage" (blending process) is the secret. Stir the mixture delicately and firmly with a spatula. Do not lift the batter too high doing a fold, it would introduce air into it and will cause big bubbles that will crack the macaroon surface during the baking process or worst it can collapse them.
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