i’ve never attempted to make macarons and honestly they tend to be a little bit of a hit or miss for me. they are so pretty and colorful but 8 out of 10 times i’m never that excited about them. i’ve had macarons in paris at laduree and my favorite ones to get in the states is at chantal guillon in sf.
my friend lan and i have known each other for over 10 years, we went to high school together… like 15 years ago! eek! after high school she went to on be a nurse and then quickly realized it wasn’t the path for her. two years ago lan set out to follow her dreams with her fiance, jack at culinary institute of america. together they are a dynamic duo with jack’s culinary degree and her pastry/baking degree they are planning on opening their shop in atlanta in 2014. i am super excited for both of them, their passion for cooking and eating is unwavering, wish they were closer so we could share our culinary adventures together.
since i don’t know much about macarons, lan told me what i should be looking for “a macaron should have a slight crunch on the outside and inside should be chewy. look for a sheen on the shell, the texture and surface should be smooth”.
LAN’S MACARONS print this recipe!
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INGREDIENTS
macaron: 275g almond flour 250g powdered sugar 210g egg whites 210g granulated sugar a few drops red or maroon food coloring gel filling: |
PREPARATION
macaron: 1. sift the powdered sugar and almond flour.
2. whip the egg whites with the granulated sugar to hard peak. Add the food coloring.
3. fold the almond flour into the whites in four addition.
4. fold the mixture until it’s shiny and lava like.
5. pipe, banged the tray until the peak settled.
6. let it dry at room temp until you can lightly touch it. bake at 300F convection oven for 15 minutes
buttercream: 1. pour sugar in a pot and add enough water until it’s wet sand like
brush down the sides of the pot with water 2. pour egg whites in the mixer and whip until slightly foamy. Leave it on the second to lowest setting to continue whipping
3. once the sugar gets to 237f turn off the heat (carryover cooking will bring it to 240). while the mixer is on high pour the sugar down the side of the bowl and whip until it gets to room temp
4. add the room temp butter in small portion. switch to paddle attachment. continue until the buttercream is a nice white color.
lan likes to flavor her buttercream with caramel, chocolate, strawberry purée etc! |
PHOTOS BY JENNIFER CHONG
