Macarons are colourful and cute looking French sweets or cookies. The preparation of macarons is based on meringue (from egg whites and castor sugar), almond flour and powdered sugar. Different food colours or gels are often used to give them the attractive and pretty look. Various fillings like chocolate ganache, buttercream, lemon curd, jam etc., are used to sandwich two cookies together.

When I saw them for the first time, I was highly impressed and taken aback. In fact their look invited me more than their taste. Since then I often thought of preparing it but took a long time to try my hand. It is my first attempt to make the macarons and I try here to adapt a simplified approach. I don’t use any colour and choose the simple chocolate ganache for filling.

Though I prepared these cookies two month back, I choose today for posting its recipe as the day is very special for all of us. On the eve of Valentine’s day make these prettiest cookies for your loved one 🙂

Ingredients for 25-30 pieces :

For Macaron :

1. Powdered sugar – 180 gm.
2. Almond flour – 100 gm.
3. Aged egg white (at room temperature) – 100 gm.
4. Cream of tartar – ¼ teaspoon (optional)
5. Caster sugar – 40 gm.

For Chocolate Ganache Filling:

1. Plain chocolate – 200 gm.
2. Double cream – 160 ml.
3. Butter – 2 tbspoon

Procedure :

To make the chocolate ganache take the butter and cream in a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Break the chocolate into small pieces and transfer to a heat proof bowl. Pour the hot cream over it and mix well until all the chocolate melted. Refrigerate this smooth melted chocolate for an hour to become stiff.

Take a flat parchment paper and draw circles on it with diameter 3-4 cm. Place the paper on a baking tray. Now put another parchment paper over the marked one. Keep the tray aside.

Put the flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and process for 1-2 minutes until well combined and then sift on a parchment paper.

Take a clean, grease-free bowl and whisk attachment of a stand or hand mixer to make the meringue.

Put the egg white into the bowl, add cream of tartar and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until nice and foamy.

Then gradually add caster sugar (1 tbspoon at a time) and beat on medium-high speed. Continue beating until shiny and soft peaks are formed.

Now fold in the almond flour mixture in three parts. The french macaron batter is ready to use.

Put a 1 cm. or ½ inch plain tip in a piping bag and fill the bag with the prepared batter.

Take the baking tray arranged with parchment papers and start piping onto the circles with the batter. Don’t fill the circles completely, leave a small gap from the edges.

Take out the marked paper from the bottom and gently tap the baking tray. Remove air bubbles with a toothpick, if any, also smooth the top if there is any peak.

Then let it set for 30 minutes to 1 hour till a little crust is formed on the top and the batter is no longer tacky.

Meanwhile fill another sheet with the batter until it is completely used up.

Now bake them in a preheated oven at 160ºC/325ºF for 14-16 minutes until the tops are little brown and bottoms are ruffle. If your are baking two sheets at a time then put the trays at top third and bottom third of the oven. Then at the halfway exchange the position of the trays and also rotate them for even baking.

Let the macarons come to room temperature. Then pair up equal size macarons, one with top side down and putting the other over it.

Take the chocolate ganache in a pipping bag with a smaller tip.

Now arrange the macarons top side down, pipe the chocolate filling over it and sandwich with its counterpart.

Crunchy and moist French macarons are ready to serve.

 Note :

1. To get aged egg white, separate the egg whites in a bowl, cover with a paper towel and refrigerate for minimum 24 hrs. and maximum 5 days.
2. Don’t beat the egg whites for a long to make the meringue.