Ladurée Chocolate Macarons

    I've been wanting the Ladurée sweets cookbook for a long time. It's beautiful and, honestly, I'm pretty sure Ladurée's macarons are absolutely perfect. A few weeks ago, my mom surprised me with the book (thank you mom!), and I got to work on some macarons right away. I decided to start with chocolate, a classic. After my last macaron success, I was confident and jumped right in. Fast forward three or so hours, and you would find me sitting on my kitchen floor, staring into the oven with despair. The macarons spread and cracked and were just a fail - I was able to salvage enough to slap together a few sandwiches and leave them in the fridge overnight like the recipe says to, just to see what would happen.

     From the ingredients (and tasting the batter), I could tell that these were going to be good. Tasting one as soon as it was spread with filling, I thought it was tasty. But the next morning, eating one straight out of the fridge for the healthiest of breakfasts, I realized that these were really, really good. They were almost Ladurée.
    So this weekend, I started again. I measured more carefully, sifted more thoroughly and piped more quickly. The first two trays were just like the last batch - the macarons crumbled and cracked. After reading several "trouble-shooting macarons" blog posts (seriously, what is with these little cookies?!) and trying out a few different things, I realized that while Ladurée calls for leaving the piped batter on the counter for 10 minutes, it actually needs more like an hour. After that, everything went smoothly, and after their rest in the fridge, these were even more delicious than last time (and perfectly smooth on top).
   These are absolutely my new favorite recipe, and I can't wait to adapt it to make all of my favorite macaron flavors. Enjoy!

Chocolate Macarons (Macarons Chocolat)

(from Ladurée Sucré, The Recipes)

Chocolate Ganache

10 oz / 290 g chocolate (minimum 70% cacao solids)

1 cup + 2 tbsp / 270 ml heavy (double) cream

4 tbsp / 60 g butter

Macaron Shells

2 3/4 cups / 260 g ground almonds (almond flour)

2 cups + 1 tbsp / 250 g confectioners' (icing) sugar

2 3/4 tbsp (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

2 oz / 65 g chocolate (minimum 70% cacao solids)

6 egg whites + 1/2 egg white

1 cup + 1 tbsp / 210 g granulated sugar 

Equipment

Piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch / 10-mm plain tip

Chocolate Ganache
1. Prepare the ganache. Using a knife, finely chop the chocolate on a cutting board and place in a large bowl. In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream in 3 parts over the chopped chocolate, mixing with a wooden spatula between each addition to homogenize the preparation.
Cut the butter into small pieces and stir into the ganache until very smooth. Transfer to a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap, so that the plastic is in contact with the ganache. Allow the ganache to cool at room temperature and then refrigerate for 1 hour until it has a thick, creamy consistency.
Macaron Shells
2. Combine the ground almonds, confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor and pulse to obtain a fine powder. Sift or strain through a sieve to remove any lumps. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water or in the microwave oven until it is lukewarm (approx. 95 F / 35 C).
3. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the 6 egg whites to a foam. Once they are frothy, add a third of the granulated sugar and whip until sugar is dissolved; add another third of the granulated sugar and whip for another minute; finally add the remaining granulated sugar and whip for 1 more minute. Pour the melted chocolate over the whipped egg whites. Using a rubber spatula, roughly incorporate the chocolate, and then immediately and delicately fold the sifted mixture of ground almonds, confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder into the chocolate and egg white mixture. In a separate small bowl, beat the remaining 1/2 egg white until just frothy. Then add to the final mixture, folding gently to slightly loosen the batter.
4. Transfer mixture to the piping bag fitted with a plain tip. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, pipe small macaron rounds 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches / 3-4 cm in diameter. Lightly tap the sheet so the macarons spread fully.
Preheat the oven to 300 F / 150 C / gas mark 2.
Allow the macarons to sit uncovered for 10 minutes and then place in the oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until they form a slight crust.
5. Remove baking sheet from the oven, and with a small glass, carefully pour a tiny amount of water in between the sheet and the parchment paper (lift the paper ever so slightly corner by corner). The moisture and steam that result from the water on the hot baking sheet will allow the macarons to peel off more easily once they are cool. Do not pour too much water as this could cause the macarons to become soggy. Allow to cool completely. Remove half of the macaron shells and place them upside down on a plate.
6. When the ganache has a creamy consistency, pour into a clean piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Pipe a coin of ganache onto the macaron shells resting upside down. Top each with the remaining macaron shells. Keep macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 12 hours before tasting.

My notes:
-My biggest issue with this recipe is the 10 minutes of resting time - I had to increase this to an hour.
-I found that the step of pouring water onto the baking sheet to create steam was unnecessary - the macarons came right off the paper without a problem.
-Be sure to keep these in the fridge overnight - it makes a huge difference.
-Don't worry if your macarons crack or don't form feet on the first try (or, like me, the second or third try) - they might not look great, but they will taste almost the same!

Vanilla Bean Macarons

I finally, finally made great macarons. I had made pretty good ones before, but these were on a whole different level. They were perfectly chewy with a nice crisp shell from sitting on the baking sheet for an hour before going into the oven.

My friend and I had some issues getting the Swiss meringue to stiff peaks after adding the sugar; it took us a good 10 minutes to get there. I also found it interesting that instead of aging the eggwhites, this recipe gives the option of microwaving them for 8 seconds. I was skeptical, but eventually it worked, and we were ridiculously excited when we saw these come out of the oven.

We filled lots of them with vanilla filling. I tried to use an Italian meringue recipe, but we had some more issues with the meringue, and it just didn't taste all that great (my fault for using salted butter accidentally), so we had to add some powdered sugar as a thickener/sweetener. I'll save the filling recipe for when I've worked on it some more...

We also filled lots with nutella. These were definitely the overall favorites - the vanilla bean in the macarons went perfectly with the chocolatey hazelnut spread.

We added sugar pearls to the sides of one (I had seen this done on a blog and thought it was beautiful) before deeming it too time-consuming to do to all of them. It was so cute though! The little pearls looked perfect with the Tiffany blue color we chose. I promise that they did actually look Tiffany blue - I just wasn't able to get it to come through in the pictures.
I'm so happy I found this recipe and was finally able to make a great macaron - my next task is the salted caramel flavor! Any helpful tips?
Enjoy! <3

Vanilla Bean Macarons
(from Baker Chic)

110 grams blanched slivered almonds or ground almond flour
200 grams confectioners sugar
100 grams egg whites (from 3 eggs, separated 24 hours in advance or microwaved for 8 seconds)
1/4 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
50 grams granulated sugar
filling of choice

Pulse the almonds/almond flour and confectioner's sugar several times in your food processor until thoroughly mixed. Place egg whites in a clean bowl and beat using mixer (or whisk) until soft peaks form. Split and scrape the vanilla pod and add the beans and extract to the egg whites. Add the sugar and turn the mixer to high, whisking until you have a glossy meringue with stiff peaks. (It was at this point that we folded in a couple of drops of gel food coloring.)
Fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites gently, briskly at first to break up the meringue a bit, until thoroughly mixed. It's important you don't over-mix the batter, but it should be well combined and is supposed to "ribbon" off the the spatula when lifted from the bowl.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or a zip-lock bag with one of the tips cut off and pipe rounds of 1.5 inches along two parchment or silicon-lined baking sheets (leaving space between each.) Let sit one hour at room temperature to develop a shell.
Heat oven to 300 F. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes and gently remove from the pan.
To fill, match up like sized cookies and pipe with filling of choice.

Nutella Macarons

As a little girl, my mom and I always made treats for my birthday. These usually consisted either of a simple family recipe from Brazil or cupcakes from a box mix. They were always yummy and a fun way of celebrating my birthday, but I remember thinking that it would be so cool to make something like cupcakes from scratch. Later on, when I started baking on my own, I learned that my mom can do quite a bit from scratch - with a recipe in front of her, she makes great brownies and cupcakes with me. But she doesn't enjoy it as much as cooking. She says with cooking you can taste as you go along, but with baking you put something in the oven and just hope for the best.

This is true, but it's one of the things I like so much about baking. With a recipe like macarons, you do everything you can to make them the right way, and then stick them in the oven and hope they work out. Luckily, no matter what they look like when they come out, macarons are always delicious! Some cookies in this batch came out without the trademark "feet", but some in the batch actually looked okay when I took them out of the oven. The macarons were delicious no matter what they looked like, but they stuck to the paper like glue - I literally had to scrape them off with a knife! This meant that I lost about half of the them to crumbling. Some were underbaked as well, or over. Okay, I'm not making you want to make these, am I?

Trust me, try them. But be smart about it. Bake them for exactly the amount of time the recipe states. DON'T use wax paper instead of parchment!! And above all, trust that no matter what, they will be delicious. A nutella-filled, chocolatey mess perhaps, but delicious. Enjoy! <3

Nutella Macarons
(slightly adapted from 52 Kitchen Adventures)

110 grams almond meal
200 grams minus 2 Tbs powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
100 grams egg whites (3-3 1/2 large eggs), aged in the fridge for 3-5 days (I only left them overnight)
50 gm granulated sugar
about 1/2 cup nutella

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mats.
If you’re using almond meal: run through a sifter. Place in food processor.
Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder to food processor and pulse a few times until everything is incorporated. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites for a few minutes until they are foamy. Place mixer on low and slowly add the granulated sugar to the foamy egg whites. Continue beating until egg whites have stiff peaks.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and fold them in with a spatula. Fit a large round tip (I used one a zip-top bag)onto a piping bag and place a clip above it so batter won’t flow out while you fill the bag. Place the bag on a tall glass to hold it up and fill it with the batter. Twist the top shut and remove the clip. Pipe small circles onto the prepared baking sheets.
Let batter rest for around 45 minutes, until it feels dry (and not sticky) to the touch. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 300°F.
Bake for 12 minutes. Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension. Remove from oven and let cool completely before sandwiching with nutella.
-makes about 20 small sandwich cookies

Daring Bakers: Macarons!

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.

I have to say, I was honestly considering skipping this month's recipe. I, as always, waited until

the last Sunday before the posting date to make these. And, I only filled them ten minutes ago.

No, I'm serious. :D

These actually are not that time consuming, especially compared to last month's vols-au-vent.

The batter is fairly easy to make, and the only challenging part is piping the circles. But, that

isn't too hard either when you use a template.

The batter, which consists of beaten egg whites, confectioners' sugar, almond flour (you can see from the picture at the bottom that mine wasn't quite sifted enough), and regular granulated sugar. We were given the freedom to choose our own flavorings and fillings (although we had to make at least one filling, preferably from scratch). I chose chocolate, a classic. I added two teaspoons of cocoa powder to the batter and it worked great, because the ganache I used to fill them has a very strong chocolate taste.

The piped batter. It was actually fairly hard to get the circles, even using the template. You can sort of tell from the picture. :)

The baked macaroons. I'm so proud of my little feet! I got three trays of piped macaroons, but the last tray didn't work because I used a hot baking sheet (stupid, I know). So I got a total of nineteen sandwiches (more if we hadn't tasted them straight out of the oven). I really recommend you try this recipe; we loved it!

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). 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.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

I used Dorie Greenspan's chocolate ganache recipe from The Book to fill them. Enjoy!

P.S. My apologies for how the words appear before the second picture; I have tried everything but I can't get them to change.