French Macarons
French Macarons - Dark Chocolate and Pastel Delights
Ingredients
- For the macarons
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tsps lemon juice
- 250 grams very fine sugar
- 200 grams ground almonds
- Food coloring (as desired)
- 1 tsp Cocoa
- For the filling
- 100 grams dark Couverture (or light chocolate)
- 2 Tbsps Whipped cream
- 20 grams butter
- Food coloring (as desired)
Preparation steps
For the macarons, beat egg whites with lemon juice until stiff peaks form. Gradually sprinkle with sugar and continue beating until mixture is glossy and cut resistant. Fold in almonds. Divide into as many portions as desired. Add cocoa to one and different food colorings to others as desired.
Place meringue mixtures into piping bags with large round spouts. Pipe small circles on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Circles should be about 2 cm (approximately 1 inch) in diameter. Bake in a preheated oven at 130°C (approximately 250°F) for about 40 minutes, leaving oven door open a bit.
For the filling, chop chocolate into small pieces and gently melt over a hot water bath. Add heavy cream and butter (cut into small pieces) and stir until incorporated. Color as desired with food coloring and cool.
Top half of macarons with colored filling. Place remaining macarons on top. Serve.
