French macaron

This delectable treat is the perfect addition to all recipe collections. Typically known as a French dessert, it’s common belief that the macaron was originally created elsewhere, some say Italy and some say the Middle east, but the French definitely make the best macaron and made it ever so chic and famous.

For anyone who is specifically looking for gluten free recipes, look no further as this is a dessert that uses ground almonds and no flour.

I started using this recipe around 10 years ago and the photos I have included were taken the first time attempting this dessert… I promise that they have drastically improved since then.

Makes around 20 macaron

Ingredients macaron:

100g ground almonds (sieve the ground almonds first to remove any large bits and then weigh out the 100g)
170g icing sugar
15g unsweetened cocoa powder
100g aged egg white (separate eggs the day before and bring to room temperature before using them)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
35g castor sugar
Ingredients for chocolate ganache:
120g milk chocolate
120ml double cream
½ tablespoon Liquor (optional)
6g unsalted butter

Preparation:

Prepare the baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper. I like to draw 4cm circles on the paper as a good guide and then flip over the paper so that the ink doesn’t touch the mixture.
Sieve the almond flour/ pre sieved ground almond, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl.
Whisk the aged egg whites and cream of tartar on a medium setting until the eggs become foamy.
Gradually add the castor sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
Add and fold the dry mix to the eggs in 3 additions. The mixture is ready when it falls into the bowl in think ribbons.
Fill the piping bag and pipe the batter onto the circles.
Once finished, tap the tray on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
Let the macaron sit on the counter and rest until they are no longer tacky to the touch. Normally takes between 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Once the macaron are ready place them in the oven for around 14-16minutes.
You can tell they are ready when they only just separate from the greaseproof paper.
Bring them out of the oven and leave them to cool.
Now it is time to prepare the filling:
Place the chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl.
Heat the cream and butter in a pan until it just starts to boil.
Take the cream and butter of the heat and pour the mixture over the chocolate and allow it to stand for a few minutes then gently stir until its smooth.
If desired, you can add the liquor now.
Sit at room temperature until it becomes the right texture to pip.
Start filling and sandwiching the cookies. Remember not to pipe right to the edge.

If you would like to try other flavours, simply remove the 15g of cocoa powder and replace it with and extra 10g icing sugar. You can use food colouring, flavourings and other fillings to create so many different types of macaron.