Macarons 101 At Enderun Colleges

      Macarons are perhaps my favorite French pastry. I have gushed about them for years and have always wanted to perfect baking them. I had a chance to learn about them again at Enderun Colleges when I took their Macarons 101 class under Chef Instructor Randolf Sapitan.

     So what makes a good macaron? A good macaron must have a smooth surface, a "foot" and must be chewy when you bite into it.

     There are many recipes for macarons to be found.  What we learned involves making Italian meringue. A candy thermometer is essential to have onhand for making the meringue. The process of incorporating  the meringue into the almond flour-sugar-eggwhite mixture is called macronage. The mixture is folded until it flows like lava. Care must be taken to avoid overmixing the batter and making it too runny. Overmixing will result in flat macarons.

     To ensure uniformity in size, a paper template is used under the silicone mat as a guide for piping. There are some mats available with circles printed on them specifically for macaron use. The piped batter circles are air-dried at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to baking. This step must not be omitted as this will ensure that a "foot" is formed during baking. While the shells are drying, the filling can be prepared.

The macaron shells are baked in a low temperature oven for 15 minutes. After they are cooled, the shells are matched up with a similar sized pair in preparation for filing.

     Filling the macarons involves piping about a tablespoon of filling onto one half of the macaron shell and gently covering it with the other half.  The fillings for macarons can be a simple buttercream, whipped ganache, caramel or fruit confit.

   Now these macarons are ready to be enjoyed. They keep for a week in the chiller that is if they last that long without getting eaten.

Macaron Shell
¾ cup refined sugar
¼ cup water
4 large eggwhites, divided
1½ cups almond flour
1½ cups confectioner's powdered sugar

1. Sift together almond flour and confectioner's powdered sugar three times in a bowl. Add in half of the eggwhites and mix until smooth. Add the food color at this point if you are using one. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, heat together refined sugar and water until 118°C.
3. When sugar mixture is at 110°C, start beating eggwhites at medium speed until fine bubbles form.
4. Pour hot syrup slowly into the beaten eggwhites. Continue mixing until meringue cools down.
5. Fold in meringue into the almond flour mixture. Continue folding until the batter flows like lava.
6. Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a ½ inch round icing tip.
7. Pipe uniform circles of batter onto silicone mats. Set aside to dry for 30 minutes.
8. Bake macaron shells at 140°C for 15 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

Dark Chocolate Ganache
¾ cup heavy cream
1 cup chopped dark chocolate
2 tablespoons butter

1. Heat cream in a saucepan until barely simmering.
2. Pour over chopped chocolate and mix until smooth.
4. Cool down mixture to 35°C and add butter. Stir ganache until smooth and glossy.
5. Cool completely before using to fill the macaron shells.