Macarons are on everyone's wish list. These delightful little bites are sweet and airy treats a taste of alomnd mixed with ganache ro buttercream. They're every sugar addicts dream. Unfortunately they can be expensive , costing two and sometimes three times more than the average cookie. Don;'t depair .Macarons can be made at home.
Famed pastry chef and regular contributor Claire Saffitz gave the recipe for chocolate ,pistacchio and raspberry ones in yesterday's new York Times food section.Many home bakers balk at the thought of making them. They can be tempermental at best and even some of the better bakeries have had trouble creating them. There are plusses in baking themat home. One they are very expensive, One cna cost as much as five dollars. You'll be saving a lot of money by creating your won. Also you have more control of the sugar added. Many bakers put in a bit too much sugar which can mask the other flavors.Another asset is that once mastered macarons can be made in a varirty of different flavors with different fillings. Home bakers can go wild with their own creations and have fun using different or unusual ingredients. You do have to be dedicated for baking them. Filled macarons are really a two day process. It stsrtd with almind meal flour, usually King Arthur's is the best choice. Then there are th e egg whites which can be subbed in with aquafaba for vegans and vegetarians,
There are excellent tips included too, The mernigue should be very firm which creates a stable base. Then you mix in your dry ingreidients like almond flour and the confectioners sugar in a folding mtion called macronage. This deflates the meringue which gives the batter a glossy lava liketexture. This will make it settle into flat smooth cirlces on the baking sheet. Keep in mind that if the batter is lumpy it,s been undermixed: if it's pancaking into thin puddles its been overmixed. as for the flur use an extra fine almond variety.A coarseer grind can lead to cracked shells and oils from almond skins can weaken the meringue. Use gel food coloring. The liquid kind can lead to cracking. You have to have a pastry bag to pipe the shells on a silicon baking mat. The mats will stay perfectly flat resulting in rounder shells. DO NOT use parchment because it tends to wrinkled underneath the macarons, sightly distorting the circles. Let the rounds air until a skin forms on them, Unlike other baked good , macarons should be baked at a low oven 275 degrees Farenheit. This will maintain their round shape. Let them sit overnight before filling them with ganache or buttercream.
Merignues are such tasty treats that they're hard to resist. Make them at home with favorite flavors. They'll be at the ready to satisfy a sweet tooth.
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