Well, I checked another item off the 30 Before 30 list, yay! I made some French Macarons! (These are much different than their other macaroon counterparts…you know, the ones with coconut.)
I was a bit apprehensive because there are lots of little steps and tricks to follow in order to get the “perfect” macaron. The biggest thing I was worried about was that you’re not supposed to bake them on a day with high humidity…well, I live in North Texas and there is no such thing as a day like that so I figured that any day was just as good as any other day so I armed myself with the ingredients and got to baking.
The ingredient list is actually pretty small:
Confectioners Sugar, Almond Flour, Egg Whites, Cream of Tarter, and whatever you’d like to put inside. Some have jam or icing filling. I chose to use my favorite buttercream recipe and add in some Blackberry flavoring.
I used this recipe from AmberLee at Giverslog, followed all the instructions with exactness (for the most part) and they turned out pretty good! They were VERY similar to my favorite ones from Ladurée in Paris:
{The flavors I tried while I was there included Coconut, Green Apple, Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Raspberry, and Violet & Currant}
The only differences I made were to add the pulp from one vanilla bean into the macaron part and I cooked it on my Silpat mat instead of parchment paper. I waited until they were cooled completely and they peeled right off!
The filling was a simple buttercream frosting with some Blackberry flavoring. (I wanted to use some fresh ones blackberries, but not bad enough to make a trip to the store just for berries.)
Here’s my favorite buttercream frosting recipe:
1/3 cup softened butter
4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla or your favorite flavoring (I used blackberry this time.)
Food coloring if desired
In a mixing bowl beat just the softened butter until fluffy. Gradually add in about half of the powdered sugar, milk, flavoring, and coloring. Once all this is combined, continue adding in the powdered sugar until you get a consistency you want. (I’ve also made a delicious lemon buttercream by substituting the milk and flavoring for lemon juice! Yum!)
I’ll admit, when they were waiting on the mat for the slight crust to harden before cooking, I was a little nervous:
They really don’t look all that great at this stage, huh? In the end, I was pleased that when I crave macarons from now on I can make my own instead of dream about when I can go to Paris next. (Though I’ll probably still do that anyway!)
Happy Cooking,
Erin
