After baking scones last weekend I was left with a lonely egg white so I flicked through my baking books to see what I could do with it. I had no intentions of baking macarons that day (or even this year to be honest!) but I went for it after spotting a recipe in The Great British Book of Baking.
My first batch didn't turn out looking very pretty (you can see them in the background of the first photo) as the mixture was too thick and in a panic not to overbake them I took them out the oven too soon and they sunk, but the second batch turned out much better once I knew what I was dealing with. Still slightly on the undercooked side, but boy was I proud of myself.
Ahhhh, pretty pink macarons.
I may have scared my mother when I shrieked "THEY HAVE FEET!!!" in excitement, with my face pressed up against the oven door. What lovely frilly feet they have.
I finally get what all the fuss is about. These little, almondy, meringue-y treats are DELICIOUS! A crisp shell (although mine could have been crisper) with a slightly chewy centre. The whipped cream and strawberry jam used to sandwich the macarons together kept the flavours fresh and light. I think I'll try lemon curd swirled through cream next, or maybe even a chocolate ganache. Yes, next time, I'm going to bake macarons again!
Yum yum yum! It was so hard to edit down my photographs. I took so many!
Louise's mini macaroons
Recipe from The Great British Book Of Baking.
Recipe from The Great British Book Of Baking.
makes 12 paired macaroons
I've added handy tips in brackets which I've picked up from reading multiple blog posts on macarons.
1 medium egg white at room temperature
75g caster sugar
deep pink or yellow food colouring paste (I only had food colouring. Thankfully it's a really strong colour so I didn't need to use much. Only add a tiny amount, you don't want to change the consistency of the mixture)
60g ground almonds
60g icing sugar, sieved
to assemble:
150ml double or whipping cream, well chilled
1 tablespoon lemon curd or sieved strawberry/raspberry jam
Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas mark 1. Draw 12 even circles each 5cm across on the lining paper for a baking tray. (Make sure you draw on the reverse, otherwise it'll transfer onto the macarons.) Put the egg white, caster sugar and a very little colouring paste into a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk/mixer until the mixture is very thick and mousse-like.
(Whizz the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor to make them as fine as possible.) Combine the almonds and icing sugar and gradually whisk in, then continue whisking for 1 minute after the last addition to make a shiny, smooth and thick mixture. (It should be able to fall from a spatula like a ribbon when it's ready.)
Spoon into a piping bag and pipe inside the drawn circles to make 12 small macarons (Don't pipe in a circular motion, pipe from the centre and let it spread to the edges. Mine spread a bit after I finished piping so it's best to stop just before the mixture reaches the edges of the circle. Once finished give the tray a sharp tap on the worktop, it helps give the macarons their "feet". Then leave them for around 20 minutes, until they form a skin and they''re no longer sticky to touch.)
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes, until firm. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays. (You must leave them until they're completely cool otherwise they don't peel off properly.) When ready to assemble, whip the cream until stiff then swirl the lemon curd/jam through it. (I didn't really follow the measure, I mixed to taste.) Spoon the cream into the clean piping bag and pipe a blob of cream on to the underside of half the macarons (or if you're lazy like me, use a teaspoon!) Then sandwich with the other half. Chill until ready to serve.