Carrying on a conversation is problematic for me when I'm baking, as inevitably I pay more to attention to one than the other, but I love having music playing when I'm working away in the kitchen. I don't think I'm alone in this, as this month's MacTweets challenge was Sing-a-Song macarons. Normally I think I would have chosen one of the songs on my favourite baking playlist - and some french tunes would certainly be fitting for these popular Parisian sweets - but my quest for the perfect macaron recipe meant that a different song was more appropriate.
"What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm,I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends."
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm,I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends."
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
"With A Little Help From My Friends"... a classic Beatles tune from 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Without our friends, where would we be? I was fortunate enough to meet and make some new friends at Food Blogger Connect in London last month, and not just any friends, but fellow food-obsessed friends. Among the many incredible new friends I made there, was one half of our fabulous MacTweets leadership duo, the lovely and talented Jamie from Life's A Feast, and the sweet and wonderful Cecilia from One Vanilla Bean, who was also my "tube-buddy" while in London. I would love to have met the darling Deeba, our other head MacTweeter and the blogger behind Passionate About Baking, but she wasn't able to be there this year.
It's a fantastic thing to meet a fellow foodie; there's an immediate connection, a kinship that binds you as soon as you first shake hands. I tend to be a bit guarded when I first meet people, so I was delighted & surprised when Cecilia and I headed out in search of a great restaurant for dinner one evening, only to find ourselves in a grocery store.... for two hours. Only another foodie can appreciate (or tolerate) spending a solid two hours in a grocery store in a foreign country.
what happens when you let two foodies loose... |
darling Cecilia |
Needless to say, after so much fruitless searching for his book, I was anxious to try this recipe from the pâtisserie genius that is Pierre Hermé. Not only that, but while in London, Jamie, Cecilia and I discussed the pros and cons of macarons made with French meringue method vs Italian meringue method. Having never tried the Italian meringue, I was curious to see if there would be a noticeable difference. The verdict? There absolutely is! The entire recipe is quite different from the method I normally use; first of all, only half of the egg whites are actually whipped. The other half, in their liquid form, are mixed with the food colouring and stirred into the almond and icing sugar mixture. The other egg whites are whipped into an Italian meringue, which is then folded into the almond-sugar-liquid egg mixture. The result is a thicker, more stable batter that I found much easier to pipe, and didn't spread as much once it was piped. When they baked up, these macarons kept that extra height and looked more like the very ones you find in Pierre's shop in Paris - or the one Cecilia and I visited inside Selfridges in London.
Pierre Hermé at Selfridges in London |
macarons à l'huile d'olive et vanille |
There you have it, the master's method for perfect macarons. Now that I've tried both recipes, I'll be sticking with Pierre's recipe. After all, there's a reason he's called the Picasso of Pâtisserie.
Merci bien, M. Hermé....
Gorgeous Green Macarons |
Macaron à l'huile d'olive et vanille
adapted from Pierre Hermé's Macaron
(followed as closely as possible, but listing the ingredients I could get here)
Macarons
150g almond flour
150g confectioners sugar
55g egg whites
150g granulated sugar
37g water
55g egg whites (yes, another 55g of egg whites in a separate bowl)
5g coffee extract
green food colouring
Olive Oil Ganache
175g white chocolate, chopped
75g heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
113g olive oil
(because the flavour of the olive oil is in the spotlight here, choose a flavourful variety, preferably cold-pressed)
2-3 olives (preferably plain, unstuffed olives), pitted and chopped into small pieces
Directions:
Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the almond flour and confectioners sugar together into a large bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the food colouring with the first 55g of egg whites. Stir the coloured eggs into the almond sugar mixture until well combined and set aside.
In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the second bowl of plain egg whites until they are foamy but do not yet hold a peak. Turn off the mixer and prepare the syrup:
Pour the water into a small saucepan, and pour the sugar into a mound the centre of the pot, but do not stir.
Place the pan over medium high heat, and keep your thermometer handy.
As the sugar begins to dissolve, gently and carefully swirl the mixture around to distribute any sugar that has not yet melted.
Once the syrup begins to boil, periodically check the temperature until it reaches 115˚C (239˚F).
Remove the pan from heat and check the temperature again - the syrup will continue to cook.
When the mixture reaches 118˚C (244˚F), turn the mixer up to medium speed and carefully pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a steady stream.
Once all of the syrup has been added, turn the mixer to medium-high and whip for another 2 minutes until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks.
Using your thermometer, check the temperature of the Italian meringue - it should register about 50˚C (122˚F) or slightly cooler.
Fold the meringue into the coloured almond mixture until no white streaks remain, and has a consistency similar to cake batter.
Fill a piping bag with the macaron batter and pipe small rounds onto the prepared baking sheets.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F and place rack in the centre of the oven.
Allow the piped cookies to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to form a dry "skin" while the oven comes to temperature.
To make sure the cookies are ready to bake, gently touch one with your finger, if any batter sticks to your finger, they are still too wet. You should be able to lightly press your finger to the top and have it come up clean.
Bake one sheet at a time, for 12 minutes. You should have nice puffy macaron shells with the loveliest feet you have ever seen. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
While the macarons are baking, prepare the olive oil ganache.
In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, gently melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the pan.
In a separate small pan, heat the cream until it is hot, but do not allow it to boil.
Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the cream and stir well.
Whisking gently, pour the cream and vanilla into the melted chocolate.
Pour the olive oil into the ganache and continue to stir until everything is well blended.
When you stop stirring, the oil should not separate from the ganache. If it does, gently continue to stir the mixture as it cools, until the oil is remains emulsified in the ganache.
Fill a piping bag with the finished ganache.
On a clean work surface, turn the macaron shells upside down.
Pipe ganache onto half of the upturned shells and place a small piece of olive in the centre.
Pipe a small dot of ganache on top of he olive, so that the olive is completely covered.
Top each filled shell with an empty cookie shell and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove from the fridge about 2 hours before serving.
Believe me - they are absolutely worth the wait!!
Pierre Hermé inspired Olive Oil Macaron |
Pierre Herme's macaron method is absolutely the way to go. I had the wonderful fortune of working with a pastry chef who spent nearly a year at Herme's in Paris. We actually baked together last week and made a number of his creations including kouign aman, tart vanille, and of course macarons - salted caramel and chocolate passion fruit to be exact!
ReplyDeleteUmm will that hate me forever if I tell you that I found Macaron (in French) at Amazon.ca for $75??? It is supposed to be coming out in English this summer so perhaps you will have more luck with that version?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, your macarons are gorgeous and inspiring - I will be attempting Hermé's method next week for the first time and hopefully mine will turn out as lovely as yours!!!
What a wonderful post. The macarons are just gorgeous. And the color WOW!
ReplyDeletethese are fun. my best friend has to see your post! she would just die over these!!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I will ever attempt macarons - I've never even come close to trying! At least I know to use M. Herme's method if I ever do :)
ReplyDeleteJulia!! These are absolutely perfect! My mouth is watering just at the thought of the smooth and creamy olive oil ganache. It was truly such a pleasure to hang out with you in London, I could not have wished for a better 'tube buddy'! I am so glad you liked the Pierre Herme method, welcome to team Italian Meringue ;O) xoxo
ReplyDeleteThese are simply beautiful, and such a gorgeous shade of green. I've never tried the Italian method before, but now I'm tempted to do so.
ReplyDeleteI'm so embarassed that you could see the drool on my chin. Yes I was. Absolutely, just as you suggested. These macarons are that beautiful. I have never tried the Italian merinque method but I think I must the next challenge. Loved this post.
ReplyDeleteThey look so pro! I feel scared when the thought of even attempting a macaron comes into my mind. One thing's for sure, I will definately be popping by Pierre's next time i go selfridges!!
ReplyDeleteThese look awesome - I thought they were matcha at first because of the colour but I like what you've done here more.
ReplyDeleteHappy memories of FBC!
I have the book macarons, the one with the oliev oil is one of the next I defenitely want to try. But I read that you have to be really carefull with the temp of the ganache specially when adding the olive oil. However yours are really nice, and the colour just great (like the green olive)! Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteCan macs be more gorgeous than these? WOW! Julia, you are a mac-pro!! I love them and I love the olive oil ganache. Fabulous macs and kissable 'feet'...
ReplyDeleteHugs dear friend. Sorry I wasn't in at the FBC. Missed meeting up with you!!
What a terrific post, I've learned so much. Next round I'll be using this recipe and the tips you've suggested. Your mac's are stunningly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIf you're going over at least go in October for the Salon du Chocolate but here's another suggestion.
ReplyDeleteContact Galignani bookstore - I saw a copy there in June.
I bet they do mail order for less than 389 euros(the price went up on Amazon)
http://www.galignani.com/en/rayons.php
Bon chance
Ooops
ReplyDeleteMacaron - Pierre Hermé - Agnes Vienot
Parution : 11 Septembre 2008
Prix indicatif : 29.90 €
9782353260355
Indisponible temporairement
there will probably be more copies in the Fall-another printing peut-etre...
I would contact them to hold one for you.
Yr macs are gorge!
Carolg
I found La Patisserie de...for 115
ReplyDeleteHere. they are another good source for mail order.
Oh my gosh-first a wonderful post, but your macarons-PERFECTION !! just absolutely gorgeous...
ReplyDeleteSandy
I did my first mactweets challenge, and NEXT time I am going to try the Italiam Meringue! It sounds more labor intensive, but look at the glorious results! Your macs are gorgeous, and the cream is so, well, creamy!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thanks for the info! Now I want that book too:)
Julia , your macs look absolutely perfect.and you write about them as if they are the easiest thing to make.or better to say, as if they are achievable. I like that.i will keep my eyes open in case I come across this book - so far I haven't.
ReplyDelete