Sunday, July 24, 2011

Chocolate Macarons

I was always perplexed seeing these beautiful macarons everywhere. And now I am able to make some not-so-bad (look wise) macarons. Long way to improve – Need to learn the basics in piping and drawing circles of same size.

Chocolate Macaroons 1

Ingredients:

Macaron Batter :

Powdered Sugar             --   1 cup
Powdered almonds       --   ½ cup
Unsweetened powder  --   3 tbsp
Large egg whites            --  2
Granulated sugar           --   5 tbsp

Chocolate Filling:

Heavy cream                  --  ½ cup
Light corn syrup           -- 2 tsp
Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate -- 4 ounces
Butter                                 --   1 tbsp

Preparation of macarons:

Line two baking sheets with parchment/foil paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip ready.

Grind the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps. If you have whole almonds, grind it along with granulated sugar, so that you get fine powder. If you try to grind almonds separately, it releases oil and becomes a paste. So take care.

Beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white,scrape the batter into the pastry bag/zip loc.

Chocolate Macaroons 4   Chocolate Macaroons 5

Pipe the batter on the lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart. I was not able to make all in the same size and hence had to adjust it while sandwiching. Tap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top and let it rest for 15 - 20 minutes. This helps to flatten the macarons and develop the foot.

Chocolate Macaroons 7

Meanwhile preheat oven to 350ยบ F .Bake the macaroons for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Chocolate Macaroons 3

To make the chocolate filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using. I did not have enough chocolate in hand and hence the consistency of the filling was a lightly thin. You can see in the clicks that the sandwiched macaroons are sliding down. :)

Assembly:

Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together.

Let them stand at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors.

Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Macaroons 2

Recipe Courtesy: http://www.davidlebovitz.com

47 comments:

  1. They look very beautiful.....Nicely done dear...I too wonder seeing their clicks in magazines...urs too look like that...:)Great work..

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  2. wow!!nitha perfect n yummy macarons!....beautiful pic n lovely click!

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  3. Wow! U have done it so well .Looks absolutely beautiful

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  4. Wow perfected to the core...looks yummy

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  5. Woow... That looks so neatly done for a first timer... Nice one...

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  6. ha u got feet dint ya? good going for a first timer. i still havent got the courage to make it :)

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  7. They have come out so perfect..beautifully captured it ..simply wow!

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  8. Wow! Looks gorgeous, I always wanted to make this. Thank you for this clear instructions, it helps a lot

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  9. the best snap i saw in this month...!!
    Excellent work Nitha and definitely i will try this :)

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  10. Oh...so..perfect & divine & heavenly!!!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  11. Girl, Are U kidding? These look so perfect. what's there not to like. Yummy.


    Event: Let's Cook – Subzis for Rotis

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  12. Superb Nitha!! I have always admired macarons. Will surely try it once. Thanks for sharing..

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  13. congrats on happy feet, well done for first time!

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  14. Perfectly done and looks fantastic dear...

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  15. Tempting macarons .. looks yummy. Pictures are amazing.

    Vardhini
    Check out my 100th post giveaway

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  16. Nitha,I think you have done a wonderful job of these:)!!! They look deliciously tempting and I am tempted to go for one of these...:)

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  17. Daring attempt, Nitha!
    They look just perfect and make anyone grab right away! :)

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  18. Nitha chocolate macaron looks perfect. I love it. I still have a courage to try them.

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  19. They look perfect Nitha..Sammadhichu thannirikkunnu!! Adipoli clicks! Adhyamyittu cheyyuvannu aarum parayilla, athra superb aayittundu!

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  20. looks great........so perfect macaroons

    http://www.panchamrutham.blogspot.com/

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  21. Vowww!!! they are looking grt..yummy...
    my first visit here..you have a wonderful space...glad to follow..
    keep going
    Happy cooking!
    happy hosting!

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  22. Nitha, this is a really good attempt! You are almost there. Looking at your macarons, what I think happened was you had folded too much and over deflated the meringue a little. This is what I meant by understanding the end point. So it you would have folded a few strokes lesser, the piped batter should not have spread as much. ( I am assuming that you were not deliberately going for the flatter appearance) one has to go through the rites of passage... You are on the right path..:)

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  23. OMG! this looks awesomely perfect....bookmarked dear....

    my first time here....very nice space you have

    Happy to follow you...

    Chk out my space too:
    http://anuzhealthykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/event-july-healthy-fiber-and-protein.html

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  24. u have done it perfectly dear...

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  25. OMG, They are really lovely. I eat them full at single.

    Cheers,
    Uma

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  26. ur macaroons have feet! awesome job!

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  27. wow... Love the yummy looking macroons...

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  28. Your macarons look very pretty =). I have to admit, I'm scared of them...I'll just keep admiring everybody else's.

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  29. beautiful looking macaroons Nitha it looks delicious

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  30. Awesome macarons. Loved the way you wrote. It will be great help to starters. Its delicious and tempting.

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  31. Absolutely divine...they have a professional look.

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  32. Awesome...perfect macarons..yumm yumm!!

    http://vegetarianmedley.blogspot.com/

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  33. wow...they look super tempting...amazing...btw,,u hav a lovely blog...very nice

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  34. Perfect Macarons..I am sure its tough to make..UR 's luks perfect..

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  35. Very impressive! You did a fantastic job with these- it definitely needs superb skills to make macarons.

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  36. great job! u got perfect feet! gorgeous n picture perfect. i simply envy u for this. btw did u mean 'cocoa powder' when u said 'unsweetened pdr' in the recipe?

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  37. WOW Spectacular !!

    http://www.mumbaitomelbourne.com/food-and-health-blog-posts

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