Mint Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Sometimes, there just things you won't get right the first time (read: I am speaking for myself)

Like these macarons, remember the first time I made them? See here. 

Then I made them the second and third time? Still no success... see?

The the fourth time I made it, yes!!! Finally. 

And so, after making  my first ever successful macaron batch, my hands are itching to make another batch again. There are some things I want to improve on. One is that I find it a bit sweet. But that's because I used all the 50 grams sugar. This time around, I used just 25 grams. Also, I find the texture to be gritty. My friend Joed said I need to use a food processor so the macaron will have a finer texture. I still don't have a food processor to my name so I went to the mall and looked for one. I didn't realize they were a bit expensive so I was thinking, a food processor will have to wait. But then again, I saw a food chopper that looks like a processor but much cheaper and it's 50% off! It must be fate. 

This time around, instead of making a basic macaron recipe, I made one of my all time favorite flavor combinations - mint and chocolate. Want to see how I made it?

Mint Macaron Recipe

adapted from Tartelette's Recipe from Bakerella's Blog

What we need:

90 grams aged egg whites 

25 grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams ground almonds 

1 tsp egg white powder

1/4 tsp peppermint oil

Mint food color (optional)

Here's how:
(1) Add egg white powder to the aged egg whites. Beat until foamy.

(2)  Once foamy,gradually add in granulated sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. How do you know if the meringue is stiff enough? Flip the bowl upside down. If it doesn't fall off, you're good to go. 

(3) Now, time to use my new gadget. Only, the second I began to use it, nothing happened. Oh no, I was actually contemplating on throwing the whole thing against the wall or walk all the way back to the mall to return it when my sister saw my distress. Thank heavens she's just nearby. She was the one who figured out how it works. It was not the chopper, it was me, oopsie :)

Okay I digress, I used my new gadget to process the powdered sugar and almonds. And wow it works! Here's how it looks like. Finer than my earlier macaron batches. And by the way, sift it three times after grinding it. 

(4) Fold in the meringue. 

(5) Now is the time to add in the mint food coloring. I added two drops. In hindsight, I should have used just one drop. It's too bright.

(6) Add in the mint oil as well. 

(7)  Fold and fold (and fold) until the mixture becomes sticky. 

(8) Place in a piping bag with a round tip. Or if you suddenly can't find all your big round piping tips, you can use a coupler - like I did. 

(9) Pipe the shells into the Silpat or parchment paper. Leave to rest (or sleep) for one hour.

(10) Baked the macarons for 15 minutes at 200F then for another 5-8 minutes at 350.

(11) Make the ganache for the filling. I used the ganache recipe from here. 

You'll make more than enough ganache so you can either half the recipe or just eat the rest. I opted for the latter, made my day. 

Easy Macaron Recipe

First of all, I want to thank you my dear Bake Happy friends for cheering me on throughout this macaron making adventure. I know, it's not over yet - you and me... we're just starting. I have a feeling you'll see a lot of macarons on this little blog from now on. 

Anyway, I can not wait to share my first ever successful batch of maracons. I want you to know that as I make these sweet little confections, in my mind I imagine you all cheering me on! And I thank you for that, along with all the countless  tips and techniques you've sent my way, most specially my friends Monette and Joed! You guys rock!!!

The recipe I used was Tartelette's that I got from Bakerella. I've seen a lot of recipes and techniques in making macarons but hers seem simple enough for a beginner like me. Not intimdating at all. No need to use a candy thermometer and basically has only four (I repeat, four) ingredients (but I added one more to make sure the macarons are a success). I don't think it can get any simpler than that. Let's break it down, one by one, shall we? 

1. aged egg whites - the egg whites we'll use has to be aged. And by aged it means the egg whites has to be left alone at room temp for 24 hours. If you're still not using it after 24 hours, place it in the fridge and bring it out 2 hours before using it. The aged egg whites can last up to four more days in the fridge. 
2. powdered sugar or icing sugar - make sure to sift well to remove lumps
3. ground almonds - or sometimes called almond meal. I got mine from Sweetcraft. Then when my stash ran out, I ordered online from Karen of Love2bake. Thank heavens they deliver!
4. sugar  - or regular sugar or refined sugar. 
5. egg white powder - per Helen of Tartelette, this is an optional ingredient. But I made sure to add it in my macaron recipe since it helps lessen the moisture out of the egg whites. I bought mine from Sweetcraft.

And with that let's make macarons!!!

Easy Basic Macaron Recipe

adapted from Tartelette's Recipe from Bakerella's Blog

What we need:

90 grams aged egg whites 

25 grams to 50grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams ground almonds 

1 tsp egg white powder

Here's how:
(1) Add egg white powder to the aged egg whites. Beat until foamy.

(2)  Once foamy,gradually add in granulated sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. How do you know if the meringue is stiff enough? Flip the bowl upside down. If it doesn't fall off, you're good to go. 

 (3) Sift together powdered sugar and ground almonds. 

(4) Fold in the meringue. Fold and fold (and fold) until the mixture becomes sticky. 

(5) Sort of something like this. 

(6) After four tries, I still have trouble piping consistently sized macaron shells. I know I need all the help I can get so I printed out the templates from Food Nouveaun which I placed under the Silpat. Thanks Monette for sharing this one!  I placed the macaron batter in a piping bag and piped into the dots one by one.

 Result - consistenly sized shells! Yahoo!!!

(7) Let the shells sit for an hour before baking. This will ensure that a thick crust will develop to prevent cracked macarons. 

(8) Baked the macarons for 15 minutes at 200F then for another 5-8 minutes at 350. Make sure to keep an eye on the macarons to prevent it from burning, okay? Important note> please remove the templates before baking.

These basic macarons can be filled with jams, ganache and jellies. This time, I decided to use Nutella and wow was it yummy! Though I was a bit sweet because I used up all the 50 grams of sugar in the recipe. Next time, I'll cut it in half. 

As you can see, my macarons look grainy / gritty doesn't it? I was reading up my friend Joed's tips and it seems I need to use a food processor to mix the almonds and powdered sugar together to make it more fine. Unfortunately, I do not have a food processor to my name. Hmnm... maybe that will be my next investment. Haha, a red hot Kitchen Aid will have to wait I guess.