Beary Macarons

Beary Macarons

Recipe by Loretta Liu from On Cafe London

Ingredients:
Egg whites 150
Caster sugar 100 gr
Ground almond 180 gr (whizzed it in a food processor to make them even more finer)
Icing sugar 270 gr

Method:

1.Whisk the egg whites to glossy firm peaks, adding the caster sugar gradually.

  (If making coloured macarons, then add a dash of colouring)

2. Shift the ground almond.

  (Discard any large pieces. Weigh them and replace them in the mixture with more ground almonds to make sure still have the 180g)

For chocolate macarons also sift in the 10g of cocoa at this point.

4. Now folding the mix together.

Tips: you need to have a rhythm when folding, the quicker the way you fold the better. Beware this folding bit is a bit hard to do as it's quite heavy, by the time you finished folding you'll feel your arm is aching . Be careful not to over fold the mixture, as this will result in a very liquidy mixture and brittle macaroons.

5. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a plain nozzle and pipe (in an upright position, not in an angle) onto a silpat on the tray to the size you desire

6. Leave them to set for about 30 minutes to form the skin, they will need more time to set if you live in a tropical country with humid weather. When the skin is formed, there shouldn't be anything sticking in your finger when touched.

7. Baking time: bake at 130 C for 20 minutes.

   According to your own oven temperature.

8. When finished baking, leave the macaroons to cool down.

9. When the baking tray is totally cool, you can start removing the macaroons. If they're a bit difficult to remove you can use a palette knife to scrape them off. Pipe the filling to one shell and pair up with a same size shell.