When the macaron craze hit the Singapore food scene a couple of years back, I decided to give it a try. How hard can it be right? 😀 The gullible me failed terribly and wasted tonnes of money (well at least I could save those raspberry jam) but it was major fail! See below – cracks, flat and watery after 20mins.
I refused to try up till recently because I had to go for a gathering and didn’t know what to bring. So i googled, did LOTSA homework, watched TONNES of videos. Finally, it took me 5 failed batches in 3 nights before my macaron grew some feet 🙂 *doing the happy feet dance* But…. to give macarons credit, they are not difficult to make, but they can be so finicky that they have a reputation for turning our hair white! So to save us all from misery, I would recommend all of you to watch the following videos before getting started:
And of cos because I’m on a adrenaline high after the crazy success, I made 3 batches of different flavors 🙂
Recipe adapted from The Baking Biatch (Cynthia was of great help! Guiding me along the way and encouraging me not to give up, thanks babe!)
- 55g extra fine ground almond meal
- 100g icing sugar
- 18g castor sugar
- 50g egg whites
- Blue gel food coloring
- 2 bags of Earl Grey
For the filling
- 100g dark couverture chocolate
- 100ml whipping cream
- 2 bags of Earl Grey
Measure ingredients as detailed above. Line trays with parchment paper with pre-draw circles (if you are a piping newbie like me :D). Fit a large piping bag with 1/2 inch plain tip; set aside
For the shell:
Place the almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor and pulse several times. Process until fine and combined (about 30-40secs). Add in earl grey tea leaves. Sift through a flour sifter into a large bowl; set aside.
Now, meringue time! Place the egg whites in a CLEAN bowl (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!) Beat on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add castor sugar gradually, increase the speed to medium high, and continue to beat until the egg white in color and hold the line of the whisk. This took about 1 minute or so. Add coloring – make sure it is 2 shades darker than what you would like as it typically comes out lighter.
Continue to beat until the sugar is combined, the peaks are stiff and the whites are shiny. It is ready when you lift the beaters and the peaks are stiff enough to stand up firmly.
Now comes the interesting part 🙂
Using a spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg white in 3 or 4 batches until the dry ingredients are JUST combined. PLEASE DO NOT OVERMIX. Make sure your are folding it NOT stirring it. The batter is ready when it falls off the spatula in a nice “V” when you lift it up.
Transfer the batter into piping bag.
Pipe onto baking tray. Pick up the tray and bang them against the work surface to help create the macaron base or what we call “HAPPY FEET”
Now, let the pretty circles sit in a room temperature for about 30 – 40mins to dry the tops and ensure even baking. Start preheating your oven to 150C
Once your macaron is dry, arrange the rack in the middle, bake them in the pre-heated oven of 150C for about 15 – 17mins depending on your oven. Don’t be greedy – bake one tray at a time! Macarons are divas, they don’t like to share 🙂
Allow macarons to cool completely before removing from the baking paper. If it is done, it will come off easily and cleanly.
For the ganache filling:
Add in 2 sachets of tea leaves into the whipping cream and stir well
Using the double boil method, warm the cream until it starts to bubble. Turn off heat and add in chocolate. Allow it to rest for about 7 mins before stirring.
Stir gently until all is combined. Don’t panic. The ganache is too soft to be used at this stage. Place it into the freezer for about 10 minutes or in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It should thicken but still spreadable.
To assemble:
Pair macarons of similar size. Remove the ganache from the fridge and pipe it onto the center of a macaron.Top with another half and press gently. The filling should not ooze out of the edges. Sandwich done macarons in an air tight container and refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.
And tada! Perfect bring along for gathering 🙂
Have fun peeps!
love & bakery. 