French Macaron

Above is a Christmas plate I made as a gift.  It included French Macarons with Chunky Chocolate Cherry Cookies (recipe published on this site).  Notice how clever I was making them "red" (yes I know they turned out pink) and green.

I discovered Macarons while travelling in France a few years back.  They differ totally from American Macaroons.  They can be finicky to make and it may take a while to feel at ease baking these.  My suggestion if you have never tried them is to review the videos on this topic on Youtube.  The one I like is made by a 12 year old girl - If she can make them, so can I !! - at this site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JeTgZGt-p8&t=272s

The trick to making these is the stirring.  Too little or too much will result in failure.  You must rest your macarons prior to baking so they form a crust on the top.  This prevents moisture from escaping from the top of the macaron during the baking process and thus producing those desired "feet" on the bottom.  Above, mine are resting for about 1/2 hour prior to baking.  Also, with the youtube link above, she gives you a link to a template which you can put under the parchment paper so your macarons will be basically the same size ...  very helpful.

Now, if all that didn't scare you, here goes:

Ingredients:

1 Cup     Powdered Sugar

3/4 Cup  Almond Flour

2 Egg Whites at room temperature

1/4 Cup  Granulated Sugar

1/8 tsp    Cream of Tartar

Food Colouring (optional)

Ensure your egg whites are at room temperature.  If not submerge them in very warm water for about 5 minutes.  When separating the eggs, put the yolks in a small pot to make the filling.  And ensure you do not get ANY yolks in the egg whites.  

1.  In a bowl sift the Powdered Sugar (aka Confectioners Sugar).  

In the same bowl sift the Almond Flour.  (I have tried a lot of different Almond Flours and found the BEST one is from Costco).  Discard any little bits of Almond Flour that do not sift through the strainer (or better still, use to top your salad or in some other baking).  Whisk these two ingredients together.  Set aside.

2.  In another bowl, whisk the egg whites, first on low speed then moving up to high speed.  When it starts to get frothy add the granulated sugar a little bit at a time so it dissolves in the egg whites.  Beat to soft peaks,  Add food colouring here if using.  It is best to use Food colouring paste as the liquid does affect the egg whites slightly (although I have used both but DO recommend the paste over the liquid).  Also, make the egg whites a bit darker than desired as they will pale slightly during baking process.  Continue beating until you have stiff peaks.

3.  With a spatula add 1/2 of the dry ingredients.  Fold this into the stiff whites being careful not to deflate the eggs.  When incorporated, add the remainder of the dry ingredients.  Fold until blended.  

4.  Once all folded through, you want to reach the perfect consistency.  This is the important part.  Keep folding, but also scrape the batter onto the sides of the bowl to release some of the air, then keep folding.  You have the right consistency when you drop some of the batter from the spatula and it slowly sinks back down into the batter in the bowl.  (WATCH A VIDEO ... this is the important part). 

5.  Place the template under your parchment paper and pipe the batter onto the parchment paper.  When finished, don't forget to slip the template out from under the parchment paper.

6.  Bang the baking sheet on a hard surface - 3 or 4 times on each side - to ensure the air is released from the batter.  I also have seen videos where the cook will dampen their finger and gently push any small peaks down to ensure a smooth surface.  Set this aside for 20 minutes to 1 hour.  

7.  Bake at 300°F for about 15 - 18 minutes.  Watch to ensure the tops do not get brown.  Remove from the over and they are done when you can lift the macaron off the parchment paper easily.  

8.  Set on a cooling rack to cool before filling.

FILLING THE MACARONS WITH BUTTERCREAM FILLING

INGREDIENTS:

2 EGG Yolks

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

3-1/2 tsp Milk

7 TBSP Unsalted Butter Softened (99.4 g)

3 TBSP Honey or 1 tsp Vanilla

Whisk egg yolks in pot.  Add granulated sugar and whisk.  Add milk and whisk.  

In a bowl mash up butter with a fork so it softens a bit.

Place pot over medium heat and stir constantly until it thickens.  Keep stirring until very thick.  Remove from heat at add butter a bit at a time until all is melted and incorporated in pot.  Add the honey (if using - I don't as I'm afraid it will be too sweet) or alternatively add the Vanilla Extract.  Stir.  If too soft refrigerate until solid.

Pipe the filling on the bottom of one Macaron.  Top with another of similar size.  

Refrigerate Macarons in a sealed container for 24 to 48 hours to meld the flavours.

Note:  These can be filled with a variety of flavours.  Check out recipes for Chocolate Ganache, or a strawberry type filling.  I used the above basic filling but substituted strong Coffee for the milk and added about 1 TBSP plus a bit of grated chocolate for a yummy mocha type filling (not pictured).

Cloud Bread

Cloud Bread is light, airy and gluten free.  It is easy to make and according to the original recipe it can be topped with anything from jam to cheese.  As you see below, I made mine into a hamburger bun.  I LOVED IT!  The bun WAS light and airy and it didn't detract from the delicious taste of the bar-b-qued hamburger AND unlike us gluten free eaters that wrap the hamburger in a lettuce leaf, the meat and the accompaniments don't slide out of the bun.  It was great.   

I suggest using the bread the day it is made.  I put mine in a plastic bread bag overnight and it was very limp and spongey the next day.

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated

1/4 tsp baking soda

3 TBSP mayonnaise

1.  Heat oven to 300°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  In a bowl, combine egg whites and baking soda.  Beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise and egg yolks.  Beat until smooth.  

4.  Gently fold into beaten egg whites.

5.  Use a 1/3 measuring cup to pour mixture onto baking sheets, leaving space in between each round.  

6.  Bake 30 minutes until firm.

I believe this recipe made 8 rounds perhaps 10 ... I can't exactly remember but no less than 8.

Meringues

Meringues

My Newly Discovered Fix

I was invited to a dinner the other day and volunteered to bring dessert.  I chose Meringue Chantilly (from Our {Modern} Family Table, page 56).  I began by making the Meringue Nests.  They looked great but I had to try one as sometimes the bases can be rubbery, which apparently some people like - but not me!  Of course, they had rubbery bottoms.  So I googled around for a reason/solution and came across this (from Ricardo):

"The next day, if the meringue is not completely dry, dry it again at the same temperature until crisp. "

What did I have to lose??  I popped them back in a 170 Degree F oven for just over one hour, then turned the oven off and left them in with the door slightly ajar for another hour.  I removed them and sampled another one ...  crispy all the way through.  They were perfect (thank heavens as I was eating the dessert I was suppose to take to dinner)!

Meringue Kisses

It's Christmas and I've tried a new recipe - a twist on an old recipe.  They are tiny meringues with colourful stripes and flavours and no flour, yeah.  Pictured are the Mint Meringues I made.  I also made Almond Meringues with a green stripe.  Red and Green - great combo for Christmas.

Ingredients

         3 large egg whites

                  Pinch salt

                  1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

                  1/2 c. sugar

                  1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For Almond

                  1/4 tsp. almond extract

                  Green food colouring

For Lemon

                  2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

                  Yellow food colouring

For Mint

                  1/4 tsp. mint extract

                  red food colouring

Directions

1   Arrange oven racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat to 225 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2   In medium bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat egg white and salt until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat on medium-high until soft peaks form. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until meringue stands in stiff, glossy peaks. Beat in vanilla and flavor of choice.  Taste the meringue to test the strength of the flavour added.  You may want a drop or two more flavouring.

3   For each color desired, using small brush, lightly paint 3 to 4 stripes of food coloring inside large piping bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip. Divided meringue among piping bags. Pipe meringue into about 1/2 to 3/4 inch rounds onto cookie sheets, spacing 1-inch apart. Bake 1 hour.

4   Turn oven off. Leave meringues in oven 1 hour with oven door closed. Remove from oven; cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. 

EACH MERINGUE About 5 cals, 2 g carbs, 10 mg sodium.