French Macaroons

nchWhilst on a trip to Paris, one of my most memorable food experiences was a visit to the renowned tea salon Laduree. Founded in 1862, this patisserie is famous for its French Macaroons. The Laduree shop has a pale green elegant frontage which attracts Parisians and tourists daily, forming queues to purchase these delicate little 'round cakes'. Once inside Laduree is a rainbow of colour, with displays of Macaroons in various colours, sizes and flavours.
Laduree Macaroons have a round meringue-like dome with a flat base, the outside shell is slightly crisp with a soft and chewy centre, they are then paired together with a smooth butter cream, ganache or jam. Laduree produce both a permanent collection of Macaroon flavours inc. chocolate, pistachio, rose, caramel and liquorice to name a few, along with their collection of seasonal flavours.

Inspired by my visit to Laduree and the latest 'Australian Gourmet Traveller' magazine, (containing a recipe for Macaroons), I decided it was time for me to try my hand at making these little Parisian treats. I spent a number of days searching the Internet for Macaroon recipes and cooking tips. The more research I did, the more daunting the task of making Marcaroons (& them actually turning out) became. How would I acheive that perfectly glossy round dome, would they have feet....??? In all the research I did, it became clear that a French Macaroon was not a Macaroon, unless it had a foot. The foot being the crinkly edge which forms around the bottom circumfrence of the Marcaroon. The foot was dependent on the consistancy of the batter, one fold to many and it was all over, not enough and you wont get feet on your Macaroons.
Finally I faced the challenge, choosing the recipe I had initially seen in the 'Australian Gourmet Traveller' for "Macaroons with white chocolate and raspberry ganache'. I followed the recipes step by step instructions methodically, only making two slight changes, a) the resting time and b) the quantities of white chocolate and cream for the ganache. The Result...THEY HAD FEET, LOOKED & TASTED FANTASTIC!
'Macaroons with White Chocolate & Raspberry Ganache'(this recipe appeared in the 'Australian Gourmet Traveller' - July 2009 edition)Serves 40
Cooking time prep. time 20mins, cook time 15mins (plus resting)
Ingredients
130 gm pure icing sugar
110 gm almond meal
105 gm egg white (about 2-3 eggs), at room temp., left overnight
65 gm caster sugar
4-5 drops rose food colouring

White chocolate & raspberry ganache
40 ml pouring cream
105 gm white chocolate
45 gm raspberries, coarsely chopped (if fresh aren't available, substitute for frozen)
Method

• Process almond meal and icing sugar in food processor until finely ground, triple-sift into a large bowl and set aside. Whisk 90gm egg white in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (1 - 2mins). Add caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously until incorporated & mixture is thick and glossy (2 - 3mins), then add food colouring. Stir in almond mixture in batches until incorporated and mixture slides slowly down the side of bowl when tilted. Add remaining egg white to loosen mixture, spoon into a piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle, pipe 3cm diameter rounds of mixture onto heavy baking-paper-lined trays, stand until a crust begins to form (Note - Gourmet Traveller suggests 4 - 5hrs however I found a crust had formed after 2hrs).
• Preheat oven to 140C. Bake macaroons until firm but not coloured, swapping trays halfway through cooking (10 - 12mins), set aside, cool completely on trays.
• Meanwhile for white chocolate and raspberry ganache, bring cream just to the boil, in a small heavy based saucepan. Remove from heat, add chocolate, stand until melted (5mins), stir until smooth & glossy. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable (45mins - 1hr), then stir until smooth. Add raspberries, stir to form a ripple effect, then spoon a teaspoon of ganache onto half the macaroon. Sandwich with remaining macaroon and refrigerate until set. Macaroons will keep for 1-2 days refrigerated in an airtight container.