Strawberries and Cream Macarons

The art of the French macaron is fundamentally the same for most flavors, however the fillings make the real difference in each unique cookie. A good fruit based filling uses the same technique as jam, with slightly more pectin to keep it firm. Swirl the confiture into vanilla buttercream and pipe through a star tip for a whipped-cream effect. This batch is for my friend Vance’s wedding (big parties inevitably have food-allergies) so I kept some of them dairy-free by using straight jam, and will serve them slightly frozen rather than room temperature.

Difficulty:

Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes 65 macarons

Equipment: 4 cookie sheets, candy thermometer, electric mixer, piping bag & 5mm tip, parchment paper

225g (1 ¾ c.) Almond Flour

350g (3 c.) Confectioners Sugar

4 Large Egg Whites

Red Food Coloring

200g (1 c.) Sugar

70g (1/3 c.) Water

3 Large Egg Whites

1 pinch Salt

•Preheat oven to 285°F

•Sift together Flour and Sugar into a med-large mixing bowl to remove any lumps. Add 4 egg whites and food coloring; whisk together into a thick batter.

•Combine Sugar and Water in a small saucepan and heat on med-high. Keep a candy thermometer inside to monitor temperature.

•Meanwhile, whisk 3 egg whites in electric mixer on medium-low (4) speed while sugar syrup heats; when it passes 230°F, turn mixer up to med-high to bring whites to soft peaks.

oSoft peaks means when you stop the mixer and lift up the whisk, the whites take form, but do not hold completely firm.

•When sugar syrup reaches 240°F, remove from heat and stream into egg whites and turn up mixer to med-high for 20 seconds then turn off and remove bowl.

•Add 1/3 whites to the almond batter, gently folding in with a spatula…then remaining 2/3.

•Pour into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm round pastry tip. Hold straight, ½” above the silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and allow batter to flow out into 1” wide dots, disconnecting with a circular swoosh. Leave at least 2” space between each macaron so they have room to spread without running into each other.

•Allow macarons to rest for 20 minutes before baking to create a ‘skin’ that will not stick to your finger (skin forms faster in front of a fan).

•Place macarons in the 285°F oven for 6 minutes then turn and rotate pans in oven so they cook evenly. Lower temperature to 275°F and bake 6 more minutes on the other side.

•Cool completely before removing from silpat or parchment.

while they bake, rinse out the mixing bowl to make Swiss meringue…

Vanilla Buttercream

100g (½ c.) sugar

2 large egg whites

175g (6 oz.) butter, room temperature

¼ vanilla bean

•Whisk sugar and whites in bowl of electric mixer over double boiler (pot of simmering water) until mixture becomes hot to the touch.

•Transfer to mixer and whisk on med. speed 2-3 minutes until it thickens to a soft, shiny meringue and cools enough not to melt butter.

•Switch to paddle and begin incorporating butter 1T at a time. Once all butter is incorporated, increase mixer speed to med-high (7 on kitchen-aid) until buttercream firms up (4-5 minutes).

•Transfer to a piping bag, adding a quarter size dot on alternate rows, then sandwich, pack into plastic containers and store in the freezer. Defrost refrigerated for 3 hours or 20 minutes at room temperature.

Strawberry Confiture

350g quartered strawberries (stems removed)

50g creamy honey

¼ vanilla bean

2 Tbsp. fruit pectin (follow package directions)

•In a heavy bottomed pot, combine strawberries and honey and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until it comes to a boil (about 10 minutes). Reduce heat to low, add vanilla bean, and simmer for 20 minutes.

•Crush fruit with a mashing tool, add pectin and reduce for 2-3 minutes. Check consistency on the center of a cold/frozen plate and tipp—if it gells before reaching the border, it’s ready to chill. I use these German glass, tight-sealing jars, all the rage in the East Village. (Sold next door to Il Buco Alimentari.)

•Chill, cover and use (I like to make extra & store for up to 2 months in a well-sealed glass jar) as a filling. A little goes a long way when swirled with vanilla-bean buttercream. Macaron heaven!

Thursday, May 31, 2012