Black Currant Macarons

So, I finally tried out a new method for macarons - the one using Italian (or Swiss?) meringue. That means you cook sugar and water to a specific temperature, and whisk into foamy egg whites to make a really shiny meringue. The method is a bit fiddlier than my usual one and the macarons themselves are slightly different.

-no need for room temperature egg whites
-they're whiter and shinier, probably because the meringue itself is, too.
-the batter is a little stiffer, making it a bit easier to pipe
-they dried a bit faster before baking
-I baked them for a slightly shorter time, and a slightly warmer oven than I usually do - about 160°C for 10 minutes.
-They all got feet, but some were a little lopsided.

For the filling, the only hard part is making the black currant purée, but it's worth the effort! I'll share that, but not the recipe for the shells - it needs some perfecting.

 Black Currant Macarons

Black Currant filling:
about 100 g black currants, fresh or thawed - enough to yield 50 g purée
2 tbsp cream
125 g white chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp honey

Make the purée - finely mix the black currants and press through a sieve. Make sure you have 50 g of purée.

Mix the purée with the cream, chocolate and honey in a saucepan. Heat gently and stir to combine. Pour into a piping bag and cool until it's thick enough to pipe. (Count on a few hours for this step.)

Strawberry Macarons

It's been a while since I made any macarons! These are from earlier this year, when I invited some friends over for a macaron "workshop". We decided to make one batch with strawberries, since they were in season, and for decorations, I tried my food markers that Stephanie sent me! Turned out to be a brilliant idea that I'll use many more times - the finished cookies were so cute. And tasty, of course!

Strawberry Macarons
About 20 finished cookies

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
red food coloring, preferrably powdered.

Combine powdered sugar 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 your food coloring, if using, and fold together. Don't overmix this. 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 10-15 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and have recently found that 10-12 is perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.



Strawberry filling:
1/2 batch buttercream
200 g fresh strawberries
50 g sugar

Mix the strawberries until smooth. Add the sugar, and place the mixture in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and lower the heat to medium. Let the berries reduce for about 10 minutes. Pass through a sieve and leave to cool completely.

Add to the buttercream.

Buttercream:
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Divide into half, and mix one half with the strawberries. (The other half keeps well in the fridge or freezer, but might need to be re-beaten before using.)

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Decorate if you'd like. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordgubbsmacarons

Hazelnut Macarons

I don't think these cookies need a long introduction - they're delicious. Using toasted hazelnuts instead of almonds is a great way to vary macarons and to make them more interesting. I'll have to experiment with other nuts as well - I've tried pistacio, but I'm thinking walnuts or pecans? Have you tried?

These can be made with or without coffee, I've tried it both ways. And both are great. I think I prefer the non-coffee version, though. These particular ones were made when I had friends over for a macaron class a few weeks ago, and I might still have a few in my freezer. (Cookies - not friends.) Lucky me!

Hazelnut Macarons
about 20 macarons

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off
2 tsp coffee powder, optional

Combine powdered sugar and hazelnuts (and coffee, if using) in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of nuts. 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 hazelnut-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. If you want, sprinkle some finely ground hazelnuts on top of half of them. 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:
100 g dark chocolate
100 g milk chocolate
100 ml cream (full fat, 35-40%)
2 tsp instant coffee granules, optional

Chop the chocolate finely and place in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a bowl and pour over the chocolate. Add coffee, if using. Stir until smooth. 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:
Hasselnötsmacarons

Lemon Cheesecake Macarons

I had another macaron class today - well, a class is perhaps overstating things, but I had some friends over to learn how to make macarons. We made two kinds - one with toasted hazelnuts and a chocolate ganache (awesome) and the equally awesome Lemon Cheesecake Macarons I've made before. This time, we shaped them to look like actual lemons - so cute, and so easy. All you need to do is take a toothpick, and as soon as you've piped your rounds, use the tootpick to draw out a little peak on opposite sides of the rounds. Ta-da!

Almond Praline Buttercream Macarons

Ah, macarons again! I actually made these quite a while ago, but I haven't gotten around to posting about them since the recipes are so long. Regardless of that, macarons are fun to make and easy to love. If you haven't yet, do give them a try!

I've made similar macarons before, but this time I'm folding the almond praline into a buttercream rather than into a chocolate ganache. They're simple, clean-tasting and rather crunchy. And delicious, but I don't need to tell you that.

Due to very popular demand, I might invite some people into my kitchen for very tentative "classes" on macarons. We'll see how that turns out...

Macarons:
3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar (or in my case, homemade vanilla sugar)
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched

Combine powdered sugar 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. If you'd like, sprinkle some extra ground almonds on half of them. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10 minutes or so. (I have a convection oven, and in my earlier attempts, I baked them for 15 but am now down to about 10.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Almond Praline Buttercream:
1/2 recipe for buttercream
100 g almond praline

Almond praline:
100 g sugar
65 g almonds, blanched and peeled

Lightly toast the almonds, either in the oven or in a dry frying pan. Chop coarsely.

Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan, and heat (on medium heat) until it's starting to melt. Don't stir it! Shake the pan lightly to help the sugar melt evenly, and when it's all turning golden brown, quickly add the almond and stir. Pour onto a silpat or teflon mat, and try to make it as thin as possible. (It's very very hot, so do this by covering with a second silpat or teflon mat, and press with an oven mitt.)

When the caramel has cooled, coarsely chop it and place in a food processor. Run into a very fine powder. This is your finished praliné - keep it in a tight-lidded jar.

Buttercream:
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Divide into half, and mix one half with the almond praline. (The other half keeps well in the fridge or freezer, but might need to be re-beaten before using.)

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Macarons med mandelsmörkräm

Blueberry Macarons with Coconut & White Chocolate

Another macaron variation! I found these to be particularly delicious, probably because of the filling which was just.. yum. I happened to have white chocolate with coconut in it, which was way too sweet to eat on its own, but it works here. If you can't find that chocolate, you can just use regular white chocolate, and add, perhaps 3-4 tablespoons, of lightly toasted coconut flakes.

Blueberry Macarons with Coconut & White Chocolate
about 25 filled macarons

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar (or in my case, homemade vanilla sugar)
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
1 tbsp blueberry powder (I found this in a health food shop)

Combine powdered sugar, blueberry powder 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 about 10 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.

White Chocolate Coconut Ganche

200 g white chocolate with coconut (Lindt makes this)
100 g cream (35-40% fat content)

Coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Heat the cream until boiling and add to the bowl, and stir until smooth. Let the ganache cool and thicken, so you can pipe it on top of the cookies.

Recipe in Swedish:
Blåbärsmacarons med kokos & vit choklad

Orange Buttercream Macarons

Orange Buttercream Macarons
about 25 filled macarons

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar (or in my case, homemade vanilla sugar)
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
1-2 tsp powdered orange food coloring

Combine powdered sugar 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, and add the color, too. 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 about 10 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.

Orange Vanilla Buttercream :
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened
finely grated peel from 1 orange
seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Finally add orange zest and vanilla.

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Macarons med apelsinsmörkräm