Vanilla Macarons
Gluten Free
These are one of my favourite sweet treats! They are time consuming to make but well worth it for a special occasion.
The shells should have 'feet' around the base. (if these do not develop during baking, either the shells were not left to form a crust for long enough , or the oven temperature was too low.)
Macaron
Shells
Ingredients
225g (8oz) pure icing sugar
140g (5oz) almond meal
100g (3.5 oz) egg whites at room temperature
Line two
trays with baking paper.
Combine the icing sugar and almond meal and sift together
twice, discarding anything remaining in the sieve.
Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. If
colouring the shell, add the colouring to the egg whites now and beat in.
Fold the sifted sugar and almond meal into the egg whites,
continuing to fold until the mixture is glossy and moves slowly when the bowl
is tilted.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm nozzle.
Pipe rounds 3cm in diameter spacing 2-3 cm apart. Tap the tray firmly on the
bench a couple of times to knock out any air bubbles.
The macron shells must now stand at room temperature until a
crust forms – this will take 2 - 6 hours depending on the temperature and
humidity. When they are ready you should be able to touch one lightly and have
no mixture stick to your finger.
Preheat oven to 150 degrees C
Place macron shells into the oven and immediately turn the
temperature down to 130 degrees C. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until firm to the
touch but not coloured. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking
tray.
 |
| Pipe on a greased tray |
 |
| or use a silicone mat |
Filling
3 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
90g (3oz) caster sugar
2 Tablespoons water
125g (4.5 oz) softened unsalted butter, chopped
Beat egg
yolks and vanilla seed on high for 10 minutes until pale and creamy.
Place the
sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the
syrup reaches 121 degrees C (250 F)
Slowly pour the sugar syrup
into the creamed yolks. Beat on high speed for 10 minutes until cool.
With the
mixer on medium speed, add the softened butter a cube at a time, allowing each
piece to mix in before adding the next. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Spread onto macaron shell and join together.
