Innocently, I asked her back, "What is macaroon?"
Then, she started her story about the macaroon and her passions towards this dish.
Brief info about macaroon...
A macaron is a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient. It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour.
The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.
Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the new (truffle, green matcha tea). The fillings can range from jams, ganache, or buttercream. Since the English word macaroon can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling of the cookie/biscuit. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonymous.
(Source: Wikipedia)
1-2 hours preparation time
30 mins to 1 hour cooking time
Makes 10 macaroons
Ingredients:
- 125g/4oz ground almonds
- 200g/7oz icing sugar
- 3 free-range egg whites
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- pinch red powdered food colouring
For the chocolate filling:
- 200g/7oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream
- 15g/½oz unsalted butter
Preparation method:
- Blend the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until well combined. Set aside.
- Using an electric whisk, slowly whisk the egg whites in a large bowl at a low speed until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the cream of tartar and caster sugar until the mixture is smooth and glossy, increasing the speed of the whisk as the mixture stiffens.
- Gently fold in the food colouring and blended ground almonds and icing sugar until the mixture resembles shaving foam.
- Spoon the macaroon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm/½in round nozzle. Pipe 5cm/2in circles onto the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. If a peak forms, wet your finger and smooth it down. Sharply tap the bottom o f the tray to release any air bubbles from the macaroons, then set aside for 60 minutes (the macaroon shells are ready to go in the oven when they are no longer sticky to the touch).
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160C/315F/Gas 2½.
- Bake the macaroons in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel away the greaseproof paper and set aside to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, for the chocolate filling, heat the double cream and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and well combined. Add butter and stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
- Use the filling to sandwich the macaroons together then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/macaroons_16105)
Hope all of you enjoy the info and the recipe.
