Daring Bakers… What a Maroon!*

Another month gone again already? Let’s not even talk about the fact that it seems as though it’s barely been a couple of weeks since our last Daring Baker Challenge… the speed at which time flies only depresses me. The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

The French macaron (or macaroon) is one of those things that I’ve always only admired from afar. After all, the cool kids have been churning out gorgeous macarons in countless flavors and beautiful colors for quite some time. Me? I’ve always been afraid to try. I mean, seriously, have you seen how delicate these things are? Surely I cannot be trusted.

And then along comes Ami with this month’s challenge. Time to make friends with the whipped egg white and conquer another fear! (But I still went in with HUGE amounts of self-doubt and absolutely positive there was no way I was getting trademark macaron “feet” on my first try.) However… small win… I at least managed to not wait until the very last minute this month!

I opted to go for a chocolate on chocolate combination — chocolate macarons with cinnmon-chocolate ganache. I read and re-read the instructions… I combed the forums for tips and tricks (and, quite honestly, success stories to make myself feel better)… and then… I took a deep breath and got to work.

Everything actually came together suprisingly smoothly. I piped my little macaron rounds and popped them into the oven. After five minutes, I pulled them out and raised the oven temp. While I waited for the oven to warm up, I eyed my macarons suspiciously… no sign of feet. None. Nada. Zip. I was bummed. But… since there was no turning back at that point (I’d still need to post something, even if it was a footless macaron)… I continued on.

Back into the oven went the macarons and, a few minutes later… “I HAVE FEET!!” Needless to say, my husband was more than a bit confused. This has to be one of the most beautiful success stories ever — sure my little macaron feet are a bit more “out” than “up” but for my first go, I must say that I am rather proud of the results.

I let the macarons cool a bit while I made my ganache and then pulled them off the silpat and matched them up by size. Filling them was a breeze — I only broke one cookie and it was, no doubt, the tastiest mistake ever. And then…. I stood back and admired my work. And it was good. So good, in fact, that it’s highly likely that I’ll give these another try for Thanksgiving and yet another for the Christmas holiday. No doubt every time I make them I’ll wonder why in the world I waited so long to give them a try.

*BTW… for those of you wondering what’s up with the title of this post: I can’t help it — every time I hear or see “macaroon,” I think of this. You’re welcome.

Thanks, Ami, for a fantastic challenge and a wonderful learning experience! Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see all the other beautiful macarons popping up across the blogosphere.

Macaroon making is somewhat labor intensive, yet simultaneously less difficult than you think it will be. One thing you must do is have your egg whites at room temperature. This ensures they beat up properly, as texture is an integral component to macaroons. You will be piping the batter onto parchment paper or nonstick liners, and some home bakers use stencils to make sure their macaroons are uniform in size. It’s your choice.

Be aware that you are beating your egg whites first to soft peaks. Soft peaks means that the peaks of the meringue curl over when you lift up the beaters. After you add the granulated sugar to the soft peak meringue, you will beat the mixture to stiff peaks, which, true to their name, stand straight up. Be careful not to overbeat your eggs.

You will also be folding the nut flour into the meringue. As with most recipes when you combine something with beaten egg whites, be gentle in your mixing to keep the egg whites light.

Some recipes call for drying the piped macaroons on the counter prior to baking for 30 minutes to an hour. This recipe stipulates that you bake the macaroons at a low temperature for 5 minutes, then take them out of the oven, raising the temperature, and baking them for an additional 7 to 8 minutes. Drying is necessary to get the trademark “feet” on your macaroons. Experiment to find the best technique for you.

If you plan on using parchment paper rather than nonstick pan liners, be careful when removing the macaroons from the paper, as they can stick and are very delicate. Some recipes suggest lifting up a corner of the paper and letting a drop of water fall onto the hot baking sheet, thus producing steam, which helps the macaroons release.

Flavor variations are infinite. In Fleming’s original recipe, she calls for adding vanilla bean seeds to the granulated sugar, and folds in the zest of a lemon to make lemon macaroons. You can add cocoa powder, instant coffee or espresso powder, green tea powder, fruit zests. You can tint the batter (use powdered food coloring to keep from adding too much moisture to the batter). The same goes for fillings—anything goes. Ganache, buttercream, jam, caramel, custard.

An important note about coloring and flavoring: liquid food coloring can be used, but be cautious! Use 1-3 drops maximum, otherwise it increases the moisture in the batter, and that can ruin the macaroons. Trick: mix the liquid color with the almonds and powdered sugar and to let that air dry for a couple of hours. This reduces the moisture a little bit. If you use more than 3 drops of food coloring, you’re going to have a disaster. That means using fruit puree is out. One way to flavor the macaroons is to use 1-2 teaspoons of citrus zest, 1-2 teaspoons of matcha (green tea powder), or 1-2 teaspoons of herbs or freeze-dried fruit powders. If you want savory macaroons, you can try 1 teaspoon of saffron or other savory dry flavorings. If you want to use powdered color, up to 1 tablespoon is a safe amount.

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven to proper temps.

French Macarons
(adapted from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern)
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners sugar
2 cups (190 grams) almond flour
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
5 egg whites (room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Combine the confectioners sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off.

Pipe one-inch-sized mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper). (Stack the baking sheet onto a second sheet to assist with getting a proper rise)

Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F. Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

Cool on a rack before filling.