Macaron - Italian version

My weekend baking.

It was a great feeling to be able to assemble more than one coloured macaron. Everyone thought each coloured yield a different flavouring. Boy were they wrong (not that advance yet) but for a second there, I nearly believed it myself! Lolz

For some reason my ‘lavender’ didn’t turn out purple – more like brown but its definitely purple inside (next time, will add a drop or two of blue). From this lesson, I twigged my rose pink by adding a drop or two of Christmas red, and it did the work, came out with a lovely pink and not a dull brown.

Was aiming for dual colour tone when I made a double batch of macaron using Swiss method. Feeling a little more confident and wanting to try something different (ok truthfully was a little bored and was aiming for oversize feet - er if you know what I am talking, having been getting 'dainty' feet, want some that stuck out like oversized shoes!! ha ha) decided to have a go at the Italian method of making macaron. Some experts advice to stick to what method works best for you but as the saying goes, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Coincidentally notsohumblepie started posting tips on Macaron 101 – took that as a sign that I should not delay any further!! Followed the recipe for her blueberry macaron. But….*holds breath and don’t punish me* twigged the sugar a little and also used brown sugar to try and tone down the sweetness, just a little as experts say that cutting down on the sugar can affect the overall texture/structure. Well I’m glad these still turned out well and so far, no disasters with my sugar reduction experiments!

If you have not eaten macaron before – it’s a REALLY SWEET sweet so have a good strong cup of coffee/tea to savour this wonderful French pastry.

Some personal observations – Swiss vs Italian:

* Swiss is definitely much more straight forward. Main grouse is you need to tamper with sugar which leads to more fiddling and also more washing!! Also need to own a kitchen thermometer to do this successfully.

* BUT I had more success removing the macaron from the baking sheet than the Swiss, almost 99.99%. For some reason with the Swiss I will always get some with sticky bottoms. With the Italian, it was easier than taking candy from a child!!
So my conclusion is – more tedious but better final baked macaron at the end!!?

* If you are a beginner, definitely start with the Swiss method first.

* Texture wise – after piping in the filling, I couldn’t tell any significant difference with either.

Difficulty about getting the perfect macaron is NUMBER ONE – getting the right batter consistency before piping. “Consistency of magma” – still need to work on this. NUMBER TWO – piping nice circles. Another thing to get a hang of, need more practise! Best to make bite size as they are so DELECTABLY sweet!




Recipe - Italian method

Ingredients

150 grams almond meal
150 grams icing sugar
120 grams aged egg whites, room temperature
30g brown sugar (*note notsohumblepie used all 185g caster sugar)
140g caster sugar
50 grams water
gel food coloring (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method:

1. Pulse almond meal and icing sugar in food processer for finer texture, sift and set aside.
2. Weigh out 60g egg whites and add some food colouring of your choice, stir to mix and set aside. Pour the remaining 60g egg whites into mixer.
3. In a small sauce pan, pour 50g water and then add caster sugar (making sure you do not dirty side of sauce pan), on medium heat bring mixture to a boil until your candy thermometer reaches 335F. Do not stir this mixture.
4. When sugar mixture reaches 210F, start whisking egg whites in mixer on medium low speed until foamy, add a little lemon juice and slowly add the brown sugar, whisking until the meringue is barely forming soft peaks.
5. When your sugar mixture hits 245F pull it off the heat, increase the speed of your mixer to high, and slowly pour in the sugar syrup down the sides of your mixing bowl. Note - You want to let the mixture trickle down the side of the bowl, so it doesn't splatter and get tossed onto the sides of the bowl. You want the sugar in your meringue, not a candy coated bowl!!
6. Whip meringue until you get stiff peaks.


7. In meantime, in a large bowl pour earlier almond mixture (step 1) and 60g egg whites with some food colouring (step 2). Do not fold mixture.

8. Once meringue is ready, fold this in to bowl with almond mixture (step 7).

9. Fold mixture until it is just barely uniform, using as few strokes as possible. It is very, very important you don't over mix as the batter will thin considerably with each stroke of the spatula. Your batter is perfect when you lift your spatula and a thick ribbon slowly cascades off, back into the bowl. Test mixture, if there is a small bleep, give a few more folds.

10. Pipe mixture into small circular cookie cutter dusted in cocoa powder.
11. Once you complete a full pan, tap tray on the counter a few times to remove any bubbles.
12. Allow mixture to dry/rest for about 30 min. In meantime, pre-heat oven to 150C and bake for 22 min with fan switched on. Note notsohumblepie baked it at 335F for 10-12 min.

The tops were not nice as smooth - needed a few more folds on the batter. AND I badly need more piping lessons, sigh. Fortunately that didn't affect the overall taste.

13. Cool baked macaron for at least 30 min before removing them.




Orange Flavoured Swiss buttercream filling



Ingredients

170g unsalted butter, room temperature
90g caster sugar
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp orange blossom water/essence


Method:

1. In simmering water, whisk egg whites and sugar in a bowl until mixture feels hot to the touch, about 3 min.
2. Whisk mixture on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 min. 3. Switch paddle to beat in butter one tablespoon at a time until smooth and thick, about 6-10 min. Add in flavourings.
4. If not using right away, refrigerate in a container for up to a week or freeze for up to a month. If freezing, bring mixture to room temperature and beat it before using.