The macaron is a delicious and versatile pastry that has been around for centuries. It is a light and airy confection consisting of two meringues sandwiched together with a creamy filling.
Brief History and Origin
The exact origin of the macaron is unknown. However, it is believed to have first been created in the 16th century in the court of Catherine de Medici in. Catherine de Medici was the wife of King Henry II of France and was an Italian princess. She is credited with introducing various Italian foods, including macarons, to the French court.
Macaron – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 35 mins
- Cooking Time: 14 mins
- Total time: 35 mins
- Servings: 18
Ingredients
- 85g white sugar
- 80g almonds, ground
- 2 egg whites
- 80g confectioners’ sugar
For the filling
- 65g icing sugar
- 3ml milk
- 25g unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a food processor, add almond and white sugar until everything is well combined, and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add half the egg whites and whisk until everything is incorporated and you get a thick paste; set aside.
- Add the rest of the egg whites into a mixing bowl. Pour water into a saucepan over medium heat, add sugar, and boil until sugar dissolves and the syrup temperature reaches 110 degrees C.
- Start whisking the egg at high speed. When the syrup temperature registers 118 degrees C, remove from heat and slowly pour the syrup into the side of the mixing bowl. Continue whisking at high speed until you get a glossy peaked meringue mixture.
- Transfer the meringue to the almond mixture and gently fold until everything is well combined; avoid overmixing. Transfer the batter to the piping bag with a round nozzle fixed at the end.
- Prepare the oven and preheat it to 150 degrees C. Also, prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Pipe 2.5cm diameter rounds on the prepared baking sheets and leaves for 30 minutes.
- Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. When ready, remove from the oven and transfer the parchment paper to your work surface and leave to cool slightly. Then take off from parchment paper and place it on the wire rack until completely cooled.
- To prepare the filling, add milk, vanilla extract, butter and sugar in a medium bowl, and mix well using a hand mixer. Transfer the filling to the piping bag fitted with a nozzle.
- Pipe the filling on top of 1 shell, then place another shell on top. Repeat the process with all the shells. Serve and enjoy!
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Chocolate Macaron Recipe: These crunchy, chewy, and crunchy chocolate macrons have a deep chocolaty flavor. With the rich chocolate ganache, these macarons will become a guilty pleasure.
- Matcha Macarons: The Matcha Macarons have matcha-flavored cookies based on cream cheese filling. They are crunchy, chewy, and creamy; we like them a lot.
- Strawberry Cheesecake Macarons: Strawberry cheesecake macarons with cream cheese buttercream and homemade strawberry jam are delicious and so satisfying. The cream cheese and strawberry jam combination also create the ideal little cheesecake bites.
- Lemon Macarons: These chewy and sweet macarons are filled with lemon curd and buttercream. They are bursting with tangy freshness and are just as delicious as they sound.
- Pistachio Macarons: These flavored macarons have a certain nuttiness and a chewy texture. We love the macropore because it uses pistachio flour and pistachio cream cheese filling.
