French almond macarons (Les macarons)
3 servings
100 minutes
French macarons are delicate almond cookies that have won the hearts of gourmets worldwide. Their history begins in France, where pastry masters created these soft clouds with a smooth shiny crust and a soft, melting center. Almond flour and airy egg whites turn into light, fragile shells, while creamy caramel with vanilla gives the macarons a delightful flavor with subtle nutty and caramel notes. These elegant sweets, adorned with bright colors, are perfect for an exquisite tea party or festive treats. The taste of macarons is a blend of fragility and richness, each bite revealing the secret of French pastry magic.
1
Soak the sheet gelatin in cold water.
- Leaf (sheet) gelatine: 1 piece
2
Pour 65 grams of sugar into a steel saucepan, grind half a whole nutmeg into the sugar and place it over medium heat to melt until amber in color without stirring. Meanwhile, mix the cream in another saucepan and heat it to boiling but do not let it boil.
- Sugar: 115 g
- Nutmeg: pinch
- Heavy cream 35% fat: 240 ml
3
Once all the sugar has melted, pour in the cream in 4 batches into the melting sugar (do not remove from heat), stirring constantly. After all the cream is added, simmer for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Sugar: 115 g
- Heavy cream 35% fat: 240 ml
4
Transfer to a bowl, cool to 40 degrees, add soaked gelatin, add the insides of the vanilla pod (or vanilla extract), mix, place in the refrigerator, stirring every half hour.
- Leaf (sheet) gelatine: 1 piece
- Vanilla pod: 1 piece
5
Sift almond flour with powdered sugar — the more times, the better (3–5).
- Almond flour: 120 g
- Icing sugar: 220 g
6
Whip the aged egg whites (put in the fridge for a day) first to a stiff homogeneous mass, then add the remaining sugar (50 grams) and whip for another minute.
- Egg white: 130 g
- Sugar: 115 g
7
Add sifted flour to the mixture, mix well. Divide into portions for different colorings, add the coloring, and mix.
- Almond flour: 120 g
- Food colouring: 4 g
8
Take a baking tray, fold baking paper into 4 strips (borders for pastries), and lay it on the tray. Take a piping bag, fill it with filling, and pipe macarons onto the tray in the middle of each strip (macaron 2.5 cm, height 2.5–3.5 mm).
9
Preheat the oven to 80 degrees, place the tray on the bottom shelf for 5 minutes, remove the tray, heat the oven to 155 degrees, place the tray again for 15-17 minutes, remove the tray and let it cool. Remove the macarons from the paper (if they don't come off, let them cool more).
10
Take the filling for the macarons, put a little in the center of one cookie, cover with a second cookie of suitable size. Put in the refrigerator.
