Despite the missing "feet"(the ruffled bottoms) these Classic French Macaroons tasted delectable,were still chewy and brittle in texture.Over half a dozen attempts,I couldn't figure out the reason why the bottoms did not develop each time as it were supposed to, in spite of taking all the care and caution as recommended by the expert bakers.May be its just a matter of practice,hopefully I'll have good macaroon days in the future.
I tried flavoring them with saffron,instant coffee but my favorite has to be the cocoa.There is a subtle difference between cocoa and chocolate.I use 100 % cocoa for the sandwiches and the filling is just Dark chocolate.
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Macarons, from Claudia Flemming' The Last Course: The Desserts Of Gramercy Tavern.
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)
3 tablespoon of Dutch processed Cocoa powder for flavoring.Use any other dry powders like crushed saffron,Instant coffee,macha tea or lavender.
Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time.I added the coco powder. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
Cool on a rack before filling.
Dark chocolate Filling
1 cup dark chocolate ,chopped
Melt the chocolate over double broiler,fill about a teaspoon between each of the cookies.
Peek in some of the perfect looking macaroons at the Daring Bakers Blog roll.
