Raspberry Macarons
Yields: Approximately 30-40 macarons.
Ingredients
- 106 grams Almond Flour
- 106 grams Powdered Sugar
- 45 grams Egg Whites
- 45 grams Egg Whites
- 118 grams sugar
- 79 grams water
- ¼-½ tsp red gel food coloring
- Raspberry Buttercream Icing
Instructions
- Preheat the over to 350°
- Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar.
- Add the 41 grams of egg white to the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture. Stir until combined and set aside.
- Combine the 118 grams of sugar with the 79 grams of water in a small pot on high. Place a candy thermometer in the syrup.
- While the syrup (sugar water) is heating up you will want to take the remaining 45 grams of egg whites and whip until soft peaks form. This is easiest to do in stand alone mixer but I've been using a hand mixer. Keep the egg whites moving as best you can while you attend to the syrup.
- Once the syrup reaches 248°F/ 120°C (or soft ball stage) immediately remove from heat. Pour this mixture into the egg whites while using your hand beater. This is where it would be nice to have a stand alone mixer!
- Whip the egg whites and syrup together until there are stiff, glossy peaks. At this point add the gel food coloring until desired colored reached. Gel is better to use rather than a liquid because the liquid adds to much water and changes the consistency of the meringue.
- Slowly add the meringue to the almond flour mixture. Taking a spatula mix around the perimeter of the bowl and come to the center each time. This type of mixing is called macaronage. Try to make a figure 8 using your spatula. Once you are able to make about two figure 8's without the batter breaking you have properly combined the mixture.
- Fill as pastry bag with the batter. (I use a disposable one)
- Get a silicon baking sheet with a macaron template on it or (trace circles on parchment paper). Holding the pastry bag upright squeeze the batter into the center of the macaron circle. Don't move your hand. The batter will automatically fill the circle. Stop squeezing until just before you reach the perimeter of the circle. If the mixture has been mixed properly the top of the macaron will be smooth (if a peak occurs it means the mixture should probably be mixed more). If it spreads too much it means that it was overmixed.
- Allow the sheets to rest for about 30 minutes. A thin skin should form over the macarons. Once this skin has formed you know they are ready to go in the oven.
- Place in preheated oven and immediately decrease the temperature to 325°. Bake for 9-11 minutes.
- Allow the macarons to cool completely before taking them off the baking sheet. If they have been baked long enough they should come off the baking sheet without sticking to the pan.
- Using a separate pastry bag or a knife put raspberry buttercream icing in between two shells.
Notes
This recipe is adapted from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook. I had the most consistent results getting "feet" for my macarons when I let them rest for 30 minutes before placing in the oven.