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Probably made famous in recent years by the 160 year old Parisian baker Ladurée, recipes can be traced back to the 8th century in Tunisia, Persia and Morocco. The Japanese, South Koreans and Swiss have their versions too.
Here's a supersize recipe for Xmas which makes a beautiful ornament before becoming a delicious treat. Good for sharing!
Ingredients:
For the macaron:
200g icing sugar
110g almond flour
3 large egg whites
A few drops of green food dye
Pinch of salt
For the buttercream filling:
280g icing sugar
140g butter (room temp)
1-2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
To decorate:
Gold edible stars
Gold edible balls
Gold edible glitter spray
Method:
For the macarons:
Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper.
Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and sieve the icing sugar and almond flour, discard any lumps.
In another large bowl whisk the egg whites with the salt, slowly to begin then increasing speed until they are foamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until you have stiff peaks. Add the food dye and mix in.
Fold in 1/3 of the dry ingredients at a time to the egg mixture until all is incorporated.
Insert a medium round nozzle to the end of a large piping bag and then spoon in the mixture. Cut the end of the bag and pipe out dollops onto the prepared tray. For a 5- tiered tree you will need 5 need to make 5 different size macarons. Leave space between each. Tap the trays on the work surface to release any air. Leave to sit for 30 mins. Preheat oven to 150c.
Place in the oven and bake for appx 12-15 mins, you can change tray position halfway through. The smaller ones will cook quicker than the larger ones.
Once ready remove from oven and allow to cool for a few mins before removing from parchment paper. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool fully.
For the filling:
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until thick and creamy, this can take a couple of minutes.
Using a piping bag and nozzle, pipe the buttercream onto the top of the largest macaron, then place the next size down macaron on top and repeat this with the next 3 macarons, getting smaller with each tier. Once the trees are assembled you can decorate. Pipe a little of the frosting on the top for the star to stick to. Place the gold balls onto the frosting and then spray a little gold dust over the top.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
Where were you standing when you decided to adjust your hair colour? Do you stand there often?
At the first salon I worked as a junior, back in the last century, the colourists at the salon had an interesting technique for showing clients their finished results; escorting them to the ladies toilet where a single electric wall light seemed to cast a favourable glow.