Before I got into the recipe itself, I wanted to do some research on macarons and ganache so I had a nice foundation of knowledge to work with. Here are some of the things I learned:
- A macaron is a meringue-based confectionary that uses egg whites
- Macarons are traditionally filled with jam, ganache, or buttercream
- Traditional macaron flavors include raspberry, chocolate, and almond
- The origin of the macaron, though typically thought to be a French confection, is highly debated amongst historians
- In the 1830s, macarons were served two-by-two with the addition of jams, liqueurs, and spices
- Cultural variations can be found in France, Switzerland, Japan, and Korea.
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| Les Macarons- The plethora of colors make this a simple and easy treat that can be tailored to almost any holiday or special occasion. |
- Ganache is a glaze, icing, filling, or sauce generally made from chocolate and cream
- Depending on the kind of chocolate used, the purpose for which the ganache is intended, and the temperature at which it will be served, the ratio of chocolate to cream is varied to obtain the desired consistency.
- Other fats can be substituted for the cream to create different consistencies and taste.
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| Chocolate Ganache. A good, basic recipe can be found by following this link: Basic Chocolate Ganache |
So know, with a brief look into what it is that I'm making, I go to the next step in my cooking/baking process; rewriting the recipe.
I once had a teacher that made us rewrite every single recipe in our own words. While this is extremely tedious and, at the time, seemed like useless busy work, I have come to realize that it is one of the most important steps in the world of recipe-following.
Here are the steps to reading and understanding a recipe:
- Read the recipe. Every. Single. Word. Make sure you know the meaning of all techniques mentioned and are familiar with each ingredient. I find wikipedia or other online encyclopedias a great source for basic information regarding things I'm unfamiliar with.
- Re-read the recipe. This step is very important because I personally tend to miss things the first time around. Re-reading the recipe assures you have read, understand, and are preparing yourself for every step necessary.
- Re-write or type the recipe. While this is not a mandatory step, I find that it really helps me to create the best quality food possible. Another reason this is helpful is because some recipes have as many as 5 or 6 steps listed under one bullet point or numbered step. When I re-write recipes, it give me a chance to separate the steps into smaller tasks. This is like taking out insurance on your finished product.
- Assemble your Mis en Place. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, it literally means "putting in place." It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients that are required so they are ready to be used. Chocolate weighed and properly chopped, eggs counted, cracked, and separated, flour weighed, etc. This makes the process of following a recipe so much simpler.
- Follow the Recipe. This step has a lot more depth than I'm going to give it today. For now, I'll just share with you the recipe I used:
Chocolate Macaroons with Orange Ganache
Makes about 36
Cookies
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ¼ cups slivered almonds
3 Tbsp natural unsweetened
cocoa powder
1/3 cup plus 3 Tbsp egg
whites, room temperature, whisked to loosen
¼ cup sugar
Ganache
3 ½ oz bittersweet chocolate,
finely chopped
2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) cold
unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
½ cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp finely grated orange
zest
½ tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp kosher salt
Cookies:
-
Arrange racks in lower
and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 325 degrees.
-
Line 3 rimless baking
sheets with parchment paper.
-
Pulse 1 cup powdered
sugar and almonds in a food processor until nuts are finely ground (but not to
a paste). 60-90 seconds.
-
Add cocoa powder and remaining 1 cup
powdered sugar; process and blend well.
-
Sift mixture through a
medium-mesh strainer.
-
Using an electric mixer,
beat 1/3 cup egg whites in a medium bowl on medium speed until white and
frothy, about 1 minute.
-
With mixer on medium-low
speed, gradually add sugar by tablespoonfuls.
-
Increase speed to medium
high; beat until white peaks form.
-
Stir in remaining 3 Tbsp
egg whites
-
Fold meringue into dry
ingredients in 2 additions, mixing well between additions.
-
Spoon meringue into a
pastry bag fitted with a ¼ in tip.
-
Twist top of bag and
pipe quarter-size rounds onto 2 of the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch
apart.
-
Let stand until tops
appear dry, about 10 minutes.
-
Bake cookies, rotating
sheets halfway through baking, until puffed and dry, about 16 minutes.
-
Slide cookies on
parchment onto a wire rack.
-
Let cool completely.
-
Repeat with remaining
batter on third sheet.
Ganache
-
Place the chocolate and
butter in a medium bowl.
-
Bring cream just to a
boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
-
Remove from heat; stir
in orange zest, cloves, allspice and salt.
-
Pour hot cream mixture
over chocolate and butter; whisk until smooth.
-
Refrigerate until firm,
about 20 minutes.
-
Spoon ganache into a
pastry bag, twist top of bag and pipe about 1 tsp ganache onto flat side of 1
cookie, leaving ¼”-1/8” plain border.
-
Top with a second
cookie, flat down.
-
Layer in an airtight
container between sheets of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.
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| The Macarons that I made. Looking back, it would have been smart for me to use a proper pastry tip to pipe the cookies. Thats why they have that little tip on the top. Proper macarons should be dome-shaped but as flat as possible. |
They tasted very good, if I do say so myself.
Next time I'll be making coconut macarons. Stay tuned for how that goes!
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