hazelnut macarons

hazelnut macarons with valrhona guanaja ganache. basic french meringue, with hazelnuts replacing the almond meal. the hazelnut flavor is to die for, but the nut makes for seriously fragile shells. the only way I could fill them without breaking was to freeze them overnight & then pipe a very soft ganache. I'm hoping an italian meringue version may produce a firmer cooky, but will probably have to resort to mixing the hazelnuts with almonds, and hope the flavor comes through.

mishaps: truman ate three shells during filling when I wasn't looking, and immediately after carefully placing the finished sandwiches in their containers, I tripped and spilled the lot of them, a now cracked batch.

back to the italian meringue:



the next time I do super red macarons, I'll make a cinnamon ganache;
this time I leaned on the simplest proportions ever::

ingredients

100 g whipping cream100 g valrhona guanaja 70%

1. chop chocolate in a double boiler.

2. bring milk to a boil, then pour over chocolate in three parts,
stirring after each addition to emulsify. let cool.

coconut pinkos!again, italian meringue, with a white chocolate coconut ganache:

8 oz white chocolate
3 oz coconut milk
4 oz sweetened coconut

melt chocolate in a double boiler and cool to 90 degrees. Add coconut milk and mix well. set aside until it sets, but do not refrigerate. when mixture has firmed up, place the bowl on top a double boiler until warmed throughout. beat mixture until smooth and creamy. mix in coconut.

I'm not sold on this recipe -- it's passable, but I think next time I'll try adapting mercotte's basic ganache montée recipe, or play around with a mixture of coconut milk and cream.

bryn mawr macaron.

chocolate burgers

whipped espresso ganache.



valhrona ganache & caramel fleur de sel.

Chocolate macaron recipe is thanks to Mercotte, as well as the whipped ganache recipe (see "synthesis of the recipes in English"). I added 1 tbsp instant espresso to the hot cream. The caramel fleur de sel was modified from Chubby Hubby's recipe. Thanks, everybody!

first chocolate tray

ecstasy: after so many horror stories about chocolate macarons,  I expected trays and trays of failure, but these are the best batch yet. Three stainless baking sheets stacked on the second-from-the-bottom rung of the oven, door propped ajar with a wooden spoon, temp ranging between 275 & 300. choco-success! once again, all praise goes to Mercotte!

matcha macarons

a full-on, unadulterated green tea experience: matcha macarons with a whipped matcha ganache.  italian meringue made with the help of Mercotte's recipes and guidance. I think I added slightly less than 2 tsp matcha powder to the macaron batter and the hot cream for a whipped ganache (Mercotte has instructions for both simple and whipped ganaches). lightest macarons yet.

fruity experiments

blackberry.



mango.

seeking a flat top, last night I went back to the french meringue
method, & experimented with making a chai macaron.



I was pleased with the cookie results, but wonder
what the best possible filling would be?

pictured here are chocolate ganache & caramel fleur de sel:
the chocolate was delicious, but overpowered the chai; t. liked
the caramel best, proclaiming it tasted just like a pumpkin
pie. miam! but pumpkin pie, ce n'est pas le chai.

I always want to shoot the sheet.

a lone, nude macaron from saturday's batch, awaiting filling:



sunday's batch: lopsided violets.



the worst offender, also my favorite:

first macarons

Filled with lemon curd and chocolate ganache (Valhrona splurge).
These were made according to Mercotte's French meringue method: today
I tackle Italian meringue, once I get a decent thermometer.

Tres grand merci à Mercotte!!!