Monday, May 2, 2011

Still mad at macarons


As the title says it, I am still mad at macarons, that is, them not turning out perfect or as I would like them to be. But I have succeeded in getting those 'feet' and the soft texture inside the shells. The classes I have attended have helped me but it definitely must be what I had picked up and the steps I had meticulously followed in making that great macarons from Jill Collonna's Mad About Macarons!

Yes, I happened to google for macarons and came across Jill's website. I posed a question to her and to my surprise, she replied through my blog (Mac Madness 22 April) and encouraged me to keep working on them. Over the weekend, I purchased the book from our bookstore Kinokuniya and had since tried out two of her recipes.

The ones I am featuring are the Macarons Au Chocolat Noir or Dark Chocolate Macarons.

It was easy - looks easy, seems easy but not-so-easy to make them! Especially getting that egg whites beaten to the right consistency and folding the meringue into the almond meal and icing sugar were so tricky that I repeated the two steps not less than 3 times. Yes, when I saw that the whites were not what they were supposed to be, I discarded them and whipped up a new batch. Yes, when I thought the final batter did not lend a certain consistency as Jill has mentioned, I disposed them and mixed up a new batch again. I know it is painful to see them going to waste but it is even more painful not getting them right!

Finally, churned out the batch you are looking at:



I will not be publishing her recipe as I respect copyright issues but I did tweak the recipe for the ganache fillings. I used Valhorna Dark Chocolate Equatoriale 55% and reduced the recommended amount from 200g to 130g. I reduced the unsalted butter by 10g to 40g. Perhaps I should have stuck to 200g and 50g respectively. In any case, I am quite pleased with the macarons I churned out this afternoon.

Thanks again, Jill, for the encouragement you gave and the wonderful book you wrote. 
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9 comments:

  1. Jill ColonnaMay 2, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    Ken,

    I loved seeing how you have gone from being Mad-angry about macarons to Mad-crazyily happy about them.

    There is nothing more satisfying than seeing you produce such gorgeous chocolate macarons like this. Fabulous!

    Now that you've cracked the recipe, I can tell this is going to be the first of many macarons!? Once you also have the confidence, there's no stopping macaronivores. :-)

    Thanks so much for your lovely comments and do keep in touch via the website: http://MadAboutMacarons.com

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  2. ken bakesMay 3, 2011 at 11:49 PM

    Thanks, Jill. You are my source of inspiration:)

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  3. ERINMay 4, 2011 at 7:10 AM

    I think your macarons look wonderful! I loved the chocolate ones that I made from Jill's book...so addicting! I was wondering what your e-mail was? I have a question for you about the blackberry curd!

    -BigFatBaker

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  4. ken bakesMay 4, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    Thanks Erin for the compliment. Geez, hope I can answer your question:)

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  5. faithyMay 5, 2011 at 6:39 AM

    Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving me your comments! You have a great blog here! And your macarons look beautiful! :D Yums!

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  6. Kim K.May 5, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    I too love Jill's book and by following her directions was able to produce a decent macaron!! Jill's personal touch is such a treat, and her willingness to help gave me such inspiration!
    I've yet to try the chocolate version, they are supposed to be a touch more difficult, but they will be up next!
    Nice job! Keep us posted on your new experiences!!!

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  7. ken bakesMay 5, 2011 at 11:40 PM

    Thanks faithy, the baker. Still need to perfect them.

    Thanks for the comment. Yes, Jill's directions are clear and she IS very inspiring. I don't think the chocolate version is that difficult. You have got to try making them.

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  8. salwapauziMay 6, 2011 at 6:40 AM

    I have bought the book and tried once. But it was a disaster. Since then I have not tried again but the book is always by my side. How stiff should the egg white be?

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  9. ken bakesMay 6, 2011 at 11:58 PM

    Hi salwapauzi, thanks for dropping by my blog. I do not profess to be an expert on macarons - yet - but from my numerous tries resulting in both disasters and successes, your beaten egg whites should be what is written in the book on p25. "Glossy firm peaks". I made sure that my beaten whites looked exactly like the one in the photo:)
    Don't be discouraged. I have been there. I suggest you try out the basic recipe till you perfect it. Really, keep going and keep asking questions. Besides me, I am sure those reading my blog and your questions will be able to chip in to give their expert advice too.

    ReplyDelete

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