The art of the French macaron is fundamentally the same for most flavors, however the fillings make the real difference in each unique cookie. A good fruit based filling uses the same technique as jam, with slightly more pectin to keep it firm. Swirl the confiture into vanilla buttercream and pipe through a star tip for a whipped-cream effect. This batch is for my friend Vance’s wedding (big parties inevitably have food-allergies) so I kept some of them dairy-free by using straight jam, and will serve them slightly defrosted rather than room temperature.
Difficulty: Difficult
Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Makes 65 macarons
Equipment: 4 cookie sheets, candy thermometer, electric mixer, piping bag & 5mm tip, parchment paper
225g (1 ¾ c.) Almond Flour
350g (3 c.) Confectioners Sugar
4 Large Egg Whites
Red Food Coloring
200g (1 c.) Sugar
70g (1/3 c.) Water
3 Large Egg Whites
1 pinch Salt
- Preheat oven to 285°F
- Sift together Flour and Sugar into a med-large mixing bowl to remove any lumps. Add 4 egg whites and food coloring; whisk together into a thick batter.
- Combine Sugar and Water in a small saucepan and heat on med-high. Keep a candy thermometer inside to monitor temperature.
- Meanwhile, whisk 3 egg whites in electric mixer on medium-low (4) speed while sugar syrup heats; when it passes 230°F, turn mixer up to med-high to bring whites to soft peaks.
- Soft peaks means when you stop the mixer and lift up the whisk, the whites take form, but do not hold completely firm.
- When sugar syrup reaches 240°F, remove from heat and stream into egg whites and turn up mixer to med-high for 20 seconds then turn off and remove bowl.
- Add 1/3 whites to the almond batter, gently folding in with a spatula…then remaining 2/3.
- Pour into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm round pastry tip. Hold straight, ½” above the silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and allow batter to flow out into 1” wide dots, disconnecting with a circular swoosh. Leave at least 3” space between each macaron so they have room to spread without running into each other.
- Allow macarons to rest for 20 minutes before baking to create a ‘skin’ that will not stick to your finger (skin forms faster in front of a fan).
- Place macarons in the 285°F oven for 6 minutes then turn and rotate pans in oven so they cook evenly. Lower temperature to 275°F and bake 6 more minutes on the other side.
- Cool completely before removing from silpat or parchment.
while they bake, rinse out that mixing bown for a Swiss meringue…
Vanilla Buttercream
100g (½ c.) sugar
2 large egg whites
175g (6 oz.) butter, room temperature
¼ vanilla bean
- Whisk sugar and whites in bowl of electric mixer over double boiler (pot of simmering water) until mixture becomes hot to the touch.
- Whisk sugar and whites in bowl of electric mixer over double boiler (pot of simmering water) until mixture becomes hot to the touch.
- Transfer to mixer and whisk on med. speed 2-3 minutes until it thickens to a soft, shiny meringue & cools enough not to melt butter.
- Switch to paddle and begin incorporating butter 1T at a time.
Once all butter is incorporated, increase mixer speed to med-high (7 on kitchen-aid) until buttercream firms up (4-5 minutes).
Strawberry Confiture
350g quartered strawberries (stems removed)
50g creamy honey
¼ vanilla bean
2 Tbsp. fruit pectin (follow package directions)
- In a heavy bottomed pot, combine strawberries and honey and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until it comes to a boil (about 10 minutes). Reduce heat to low, add vanilla bean, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Crush fruit with a mashing tool, add pectin and reduce for 2-3 minutes. Check consistency on the center of a cold/frozen plate and tipp—if it gells before reaching the border, it’s ready to chill.
- Chill, cover and use (I like to make extra & store for up to 2 months in a well-sealed glass jar) as a filling. I use these German glass, tight-sealing jars (found in the East Village on Great Jones Street). A little goes a long way when swirled with vanilla-bean buttercream. Macaron heaven!
Miel et Lavande 