This is a great recipe for any beginners trying to make macarons, as these tiny almond cakes taste as good as they look...and they do look pretty good.
Makes around 15-20
Ingredients
150g Ground almonds
120g Icing sugar – sifted
30g Coco powder
Italian Meringue
(electric mixer needed)
150g Caster sugar
50g Water
55g Egg whites
Chocolate Filling
110ml Double cream
140g Dark chocolate
Coco powder for dusting
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 140c/Gas mark 1.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the almonds, icing sugar and egg whites until a smooth paste.
In an electric mixing bowl, place the egg whites for the meringue. In a small saucepan bring the sugar and water to the boil on a medium heat using a sugar thermometer. Once the mix hits 110c start whisking the egg whites. When the sugar reaches 118c remove from the heat and slowly pour this down the side of the bowl onto the egg whites. You will need to slow the mixer down for this.
Now on full speed continue to beat the whites until shiny, stiff peaks have formed.
Remove 1/3 of the whites and beat into your paste mix. Once beat in gradually add the rest of the whites gently folding in. Be careful not to over-mix. Your mix should almost fall back into itself like a ribbon effect.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Transfer the mix to a piping bag with a straight nozzle and pipe individual circles, roughly around a 50p size.
Allow these to sit for around 30 minutes until they have formed a skin then place in the oven, baking for around 12 minutes. It’s advisable to test one first as all ovens can vary.
Remove from the oven, slide the macarons off the tray onto a work surface and allow to cool before peeling off.
For the filling, bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan at a medium heat. Once boiling pour this over the chocolate. Gently combine together and allow to cool. Place a small amount inside a macaron with a top and bottom and finish with a shake of coco powder.
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