Vanilla Macarons

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.