The Inspired Occasion - Macaron Recipe and tips

 
The Inspired Occasion just can't believe how crazy people are over our Macarons. They are by far the most popular baked items on our edibles list and make a great addition to any function. Not only do they taste amazing but we can also colour match to any theme.


Its hard to believe that these simple ingredients can create something this mouth-watering, and believe me it’s very difficult to  just stop at one.


Although Macarons use only simple ingredients they are certainly not a quick whip together recipe, they require total concentration without distraction!!  Because of this we tend to bake our macarons at night when we are less likely to be distracted by the pitter patter of little feet.

Because of their popularity you will find lots of new products on the market to help you make perfect macarons, from special baking trays, silicone mats, powdered egg whites and ground almond meal.   However we have found that just sticking to the basics and using a few everyday appliances such a a mix master, fine sieve, piping bag, spatular and metal bowls you too can create beautiful mouth-watering macarons without unnecessary expense.

here are a few of our top tips to help you achieve amazing home baked macarons:

Top 10 tips from The Inspired Occasion

• Always use old egg that are at room temperature
• Never try to make macarons on a hot or humid day
• Process, Process, Process your almond meal and icing sugar through the blender prior to sieving
• We use a teaspoon of egg white powder in our egg white to aid in stability
• Wipe you electricmixer out with some salt to make sure it is clean and dry for best egg whites
• Lower temperature oven is better than higher we recommend 150degrees
• Macarons hate heat and humidity, if in doubt we always put the air conditioner on.
• Macarons get better with age, wait 24hour once assembled before you eat for best results
• Use good quality chocolate and essence for your fillings
• Once you start you can't stop so make sure you have some time to yourself without distraction.

Ingredients: 200g almond meal 210g pure icing sugar 150g egg whites ¼  tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp egg white powder  200g caster sugar 50g water food colouring

Equipment: Kitchen Scales Food Processor Stand Mixer Fine Sieve Saucepan Thermometer Spatula Piping bag and round tip Baking Trays Baking Paper

• Preheat oven to 150C.

• Place almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor and grind for 2 minutes to get a fine consistency. Sieve into a large mixing bowl. Discard any large bits to ensure a smooth finish.

• Place egg whites in an electric mixer (stainless steel base and wipe out with a little salt and kitchen paper to ensure it is free from grime), add cream of tartar and egg white powder and set aside,  whisk egg whites on low speed.  While this is mixing make sugar syrup.

• Make a sugar syrup with caster sugar and water. When sugar syrup reaches 118C and the egg whites are ready, slowly pour down the side of the mixer as you continue to whisk the egg whites on medium speed. Continue to mix until the meringue cools about 7- 10 minutes. Add food colouring.

• Using a spatula,  fold the dry almond meal mixture into the meringue in 3 batches.  Continue to fold until the mixture is supple and shiny. (The batter should be like lava). When you fold the mixture over itself, it will spread slowly if too thick add a drop of cold water until you get the correct oozy consistency). Do not whisk or beat as it will deflate the eggs.

• Use a piping bag with a plain nozzle/tip and pipe onto lined baking trays or macaron trays. Getting perfectly shaped macarons can be tricky and we still find that we have a pointy tip after piping, as they do rest before cooking they will smooth out a little however you can also a small spatular to smooth the tip off.

• Tap the baking tray on the bench firmly a couple of times remove any air bubbles and this will create the pied/foot.

• Leave out for at least 20minutes prior to cooking, some say to leave out up to an hour.

• Bake in oven for about 13-18 minutes. 

• Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking trays. We find placing in the refrigerator over night seems to help the macarons come away from the paper easier.

• Sandwich together with your favourite ganache fillings and refrigerate 12 hours whilst the magic between the ganache and the macaron occurs.

• Can be frozen for up to 4 weeks.

Makes approx 45 - 50 Macarons

And if your first attempt does not work the only thing we can recommend is practice practice practice. Or contact The Inspired Occasion and we can custom bake for you.


The Inspired Occasion.