Thursday, June 24, 2010

Raspberry Chocolate Macarons

raspberrymacarons

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.

picnic.day.logo

Recipe in Swedish:
Hallonmacarons med mörk choklad

16 comments:

Maria - Matporr said...

Wow, they look beautiful! Our first try ended in tasty, but not so pretty, ones.. :)

Tobbe said...

Just popped in to invite you to come for a visit at my new blog Den Rockande Kocken (The Rocking Chef)... http://blog.godaremat.se/ Have a great day...

Kryddburken said...

Du e inte dålig du, gud så duktig du är med macarons!! Och dom där såg ju inte helt fel ut heller, jag som har hoppat över både frukost och lunch blev genast vrålhungrig!! ;-) Önskar dig och familjen en skön midsommar med allt gott därtill!! Soliga kramar från Öland!

~~louise~~ said...

Okay, you got me!!! I never dreamed you would be bringing Raspberry Chocolate Marcarons on the picnic. Just perfect!

Freeze-dried raspberries? That's a new one to me. Oh how I wish I could really have a nibble of those pretty little things.

Thank you so much for joining us on the picnic Anne. I'll send you the other letters as they come in.

Puglette said...

oh yum! that is one of my favorite flavor combinations. i have ordered freeze dried fruit from amazon.com. the US site had quite a large selection. i am not sure this will help in sweden, but maybe!?!
hugs,
puglette
:o)

Bianca said...

I feel like every nice summer day, should be picnic day!

Lo said...

I love a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth macaron... and raspberry and chocolate have got to be two of my favorite flavors.

What a great addition to the picnic!

AmberDemure / finfika said...

They say macarons are the next haute-sweet-trend for a reason. I think they'll outdo the cupcake fad in America, I think you need to own a shop!! (not because of a marketing ploy, but because I want some and don't have a stove in Stockholm)

Unknown said...

Those look delicious! Just dropped by from the Picnic Game.

Tamara
http://hisperfectpromises.blogspot.com/

Heather S-G said...

These are so pretty!! Macarons are something I haven't gotten up the courage to make...they're so delicate and they kinda scare me, to be honest! Gorgeous contribution to the picnic =)

Juliana said...

Oh Anne, what a beautiful treat for the picnic...your macs look perfect.

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

These are simply gorgeous. I have to try this someday, especially chocolate.

Ftiens2 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Rochelle R. said...

I have seen a lot about marcarons on the web but I have never had one. Your flavor combo sounds really delicious. The picnic game has been fun!

~~louise~~ said...

Hi Anne,
I just wanted to drop by to "personally" thank you for bringing those heavenly Raspberry Chocolate Macarons to the picnic. They were a huge hit and everyone enjoyed them.

Thank you again. It was so nice to have you at the picnic. Hope to see you there again next year:) In the mean while, what's cooking today, better go check:) Louise

Janet Rudolph said...

I HAVE TO MAKE these raspberry chocolate macarons. How fabulous. Would be perfect on any picnic.. and on DyingforChocolate.com