Raspberry Chocolate Macarons

This is an entry for International Picnic Day, hosted by Louise. I chose the letter R, and decided to bring my Raspberry Chocolate Macarons - delicious! I really look forward to the round-up - picnics are great, even the virtual ones! (Edited: round-up is now here!)

It's the first time I'm really trying to flavor the shells (other than chocolate) and it's only because I was given a tub of freeze-dried raspberries by Dagmar. It's not available here, although I really wish I could have many more freeze-dried fruits or berries to experiment with. I chose to not color these shells. Partly because I'm never that successful with colorings, but mostly because it feels a bit silly to bake something lovely from scratch and then add unnatural additives to it. Besides, macarons are pretty regardless of the color, and more importantly - they're yummy.

Raspberry Chocolate Macarons
(printable recipe)

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
10 g freeze-dried raspberries (possibly a little bit more)

Combine powdered sugar, raspberries and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10-12 minutes. (I have a convection oven.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Chocolate ganache:
150 g dark chocolate
100 ml cream (full fat, 35-40%)
small pinch of salt

Chop the chocolate finely and place in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a bowl and pour over the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add a tiny pinch of salt - it'll bring out the chocolate flavor even more. Leave the ganache to thicken slightly as it cools. If it gets too thick, heat briefly in the microwave.

Fill the cookies, and store the finished macarons in the fridge where they'll keep for a few days, or in the freezer where they'll be fine for much longer.



Recipe in Swedish:
Hallonmacarons med mörk choklad