CHOCOLATE MACARONS WITH NUTELLA GANACHE

Setelah sekian lama sentap kerana kadang-kadang jadi kadang-kadang tak jadi, hari minggu yang lalu saje-saje mood datang balik nak-nak bila teringatkan si comel-comel ni, nak mencuba sekali lagi membuat macarons dengan penuh nekad harap-harap menjadi.

Egg whites pun dah dua hari kept in the fridge to age.  So, balik jer dari pasar dan setelah simpan semua lauk/sayor yang dibeli dan bersihkan dapur, lagipun hubby ade gotong-royong membersihkan taman, so free sikitlah boleh take my time buat macarons ni, so bermulalah cabaran yang paling mendebarkan setiap kali membuat si comel-comel ini.  Tapi yang peliknya kalau buat dengan berhati-hati (being too careful) selalu tak jadi so semalam buat-buat macam biasa saja sambil mulut terkumat-kamit membaca bismillah agar dipermudahkan agar dengan pertolongan Allah dan kehendakNya, jadilah macarons saya kali ini.

Alhamdulliah, inilah hasilnya - kejadian macarons semalam iaitu Chocolate Macarons with Nutellah Ganache yang saya ambil dari blog Culimary Couture.  Tersangatlah happy tak tahu macam mana nak kate bila kelihatan "feets" kat macarons yang tengah bake dalam oven terus menadah tangan dengan rase penuh kesyukuran...terima kaseh Allah.

Sedap sangat Chocolate Macarons with Nutella Ganache ni tapi memang manislah, ialah macarons kan mestilah manis!  Tapi rasenya I should have let it bake a little bit longer tapi takut pulak dia crack...tulah buat macarons ni byk juga pantang-larangnya.  Kena banyak membaca tentang macarons untuk mengetahui tips dan kaedah yang betul sebelum cuba membuatnya.  Macam saya, entah berapa buah dah buku macarons yang dibeli dan berapa kali dah asyik google2 tentang macarons ini, itupun belum pandai-pandai lagi...but not to wory, In Syaa Allah kalau ada kehendak, pasti ada jalannya.

So apa lagi, kepada yang nak mencuba bolehlah try ikut resipi ini ye....selamat mencuba, semoga berjaya. 

Yield : Approximately 30 macarons

Ingredients:

• 110 grams almond flour
• 200 grams powdered (confectioners) sugar, minus two tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 90 grams aged egg whites (about 3 large eggs), room temperature
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 30 grams granulated sugar

For the Nutella ganache

• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (or can use chocolate chips/chunks)
• 1/4 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Add almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine and break apart any lumps.  Sift this mixture into a clean bowl.  Discard any large pieces that do not pass through the sieve.  Set aside
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, bet egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.  Add sugar and beat on medium speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Do not overbeat.
3. Pour dry ingredients into the bowl with the beaten egg whites.  Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites, until the batter is thick and lava-like.  This should take about 40-50 folds.  The batter should slowly fall off your spatula when you pick it up and any peaks in the batter should settle down within 20 seconds.
4. Transfer batter into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Pipe 1.5 inch rounds onto the parchment paper.  It is helpful to use a guide/template here, so all your macarons are the same size.  Once all the rounds are piped out, slam the baking sheet against a flat, stable surface, then rotate and slam again.  This is done to force any large air bubbles to the surface.
6. Let the piped macarons dry on the countertop for 1 hour or until a dry skin forms on top.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees Celcius.
8. Right before you put the macarons in the oven, decrease the oven temperature to 300 degrees F or 150 degrees celcius.  Bake for 15-17 minutes.
9. Let cool completely on baking sheet, before removing from the parchment paper.

To prepare the ganache

1. Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl.
2. Heat heavy cream in a medium saucepan until simmering then pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips.  Let stand for one minute, then stir together until all the chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth.  Stir in Nuttela.
3. Let ganache sit at room temperature until it thickens to piping consistency.  You can pop it in the fridge to speed up the process, but keep an eye on it.
4. Match macarons up into pairs of similar sizes as best as you can.
5. Pipe a small dollop of ganache onto the flat side of half the macarons.  Top them with the other half. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 24 hours to let the flavors develop.  Bring to room temperature before serving.
6. Happy trying & happy baking!  

RED VELVET MACARONS

These red velvet macarons are light and airy red velvet meringue cookies made with almond meal and filled with vanilla cream cheese.  Macarons can be pesky and frustrating.  However, if a newbie like myself can manage it on occasion, so can you.  I am no trained professional, after all!..so go ahead, give it a try.

I will leave you all with this photo because it is awesome!

Ingredients

Macaron Shells

• 105 grams almond meal, sifted

• 130 grams sifted Confectioners Powdered Sugar

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

• 90 grams aged egg whites

• 65 grams fine granulated sugar

• A few drops of red gel food colouring

Filling

• 3 oz cream cheese, softened

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.  In a medium bowl sift together powdered almond meal, powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, whisk egg whites at medium-low speed.  Once the egg whites begin to foam, slowly sprinkle in granulated sugar.  Slowly increase speed to medium-high and beat until a firm meringue forms.  Once you have stiff, glossy peaks, beat in the red food coloring.
3. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in dry ingredients into meringue, until combined.  You will have to break meringue to do this, but do not over stir.  Fold dry ingredients into meringue until just combined.  Transfer mixture to a pastry bag with a plain round tip.
4. Pipe 1 inch rounds onto prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch between macarons to allow batter to spread.  Once all macarons have been piped, pick up baking sheet with both hands and tap it firmly on counter several times.  This will remove any air bubbles.
5. Let macarons sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on humidity levels.  The macarons are ready to bake when tops are no longer sticky to touch.
6. Once macarons are dry to the touch, preheat over to 285 deg F; once up to temperature, bake both trays at same time for 16-18 minutes, rotating trays once.  Let macarons cool completely on parchment paper or silpat liner before removing.

Filling

1. Cream the cream cheese and butter together in bowl of a stand mixer.  Add vanilla extract, mixing until smooth.  Slowly add powdered sugar, scrapping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
2. Pipe filling onto a cooled macaron shell and sandwich together with a second shell.  Repeat until all shells are used.  Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for 24 hours before eating (They are best next day.  Let warm to room temperature before serving.