Say What!!!! I did it again...

OK this is fun looking for the right French Meringue technique for French Macaron. But I guess I found one…. here it is.. French Macaron Helen Dujardin Recipe
 I just copied and paste it here:

Basic MacaronsMakes approximately 25 – 30

Ingredients

• 100 grams aged egg whites (approximately 3)
• 50 grams sugar
• 200 grams powdered sugar (icing sugar)
• 110 grams ground almonds

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until foamy.  Gradually add the 50 grams of sugar and continue to whisk until you obtain a glossy meringue
2. Combine the ground almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them quick pulses.  You want a super fine result.   Have a sifter ready on top of another bowl, and sift the mixture.  I usually repeat the process 2-3 times in total
3. Add the ground almond mix to the egg whites and begin your macaronage.  Start with quick strokes (folds) to break up the meringue a bit, and then slow down.  You should not fold more than 50 times.  This is where I made mistakes with my first two batches.  The first time, I folded too long, the second time, I didn’t fold enough
4. Fill a pastry bag with a round tip and pipe small rounds about 1.5” in diameter, onto 2 parchment lined baking sheets (or use Silpat).  I don’t have a steady hand, so my “Sous Chef” drew circles from a template onto parchment paper for me
5. After the macarons are piped, take the sheets with both hands and wrap them hard on a counter to release any air bubbles, being careful not to disturb the perfect round circles you just piped.  Leave on your counter for 1 hour to form a hard skin
6. Preheat oven 300°F and bake 10-15 minutes, rotating halfway through, top to bottom and inside to outside.  Keep a close eye.  If you can grab the top of the shell and they don’t jiggle, they’re ready.  If they still move when you grab them, they need a bit more time (minute or two)
7. Let cool completely before filling

Macaron Recipe I Am Using That Works For Me...

Macaron shells 

275g (2 3/4 cups + 1 tbsp) ground almonds (almond flour)
250g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) confectioners (icing) sugar
210g (6 1/2) egg whites (I used 24 hour old egg whites)
210g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) granulated sugar
a few drops red or maroon food coloring gel 

Prepare all ingredients and your baking sheet with parchment paper before you start.

First you  combine the almond flour and the confectioners sugar together and whisk it. After that you put it in food processor. I used magic bullet, coffee bean grinder 1/2 cup  of the mixture at a time. after you have grind everything together, sift the ground mixture making sure there's no lumps and whisk again and set aside.

Next, in a dry mixing bowl, beat your egg whites until foamy and gently or little by little add the sugar while mixing in medium speed. Make sure all sugars are melted and then turn the mixer to medium high speed till glossy and stiff peaks are formed. Add the food coloring and beat briefly till it's incorporated

With a large flat rubber spatula, fold one third of your sifted almond/sugar into the egg whites until combined. Repeat, until you've added all the almond mixture. How much mixing beyond incorporation is the tricky part to describe.

Pipe your batter onto parchment paper, I used #12 pipe from Ateco and I let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Place your rack on the middle level inside your oven to make sure it's gonna get same level of heat on top and bottom. 

Bake your Macarons at 300 deg F for 13 minutes… you don't want it less that 13 minutes or else it will be super gooey inside and the outer shell is gonna be soft and you don't want to leave it in the oven more than 13 minutes either or it will start to brown and burn.

Allow the cookies to cool down completely on the baking sheet.

Pipe the filling of your choice and allow 24 hours for the macarons to mature before serving.

Enjoy!

In Search For The Best Macaron Recipe and Tips and Tricks….

OH MY GOSH! So I thought I saw a good macaron recipe and tips and tricks… There's this blogger that says this and that and so I did it, and I don't know why her macaron turned out soooo beautiful and mine looked like this….

THEY GOT TUTU SKIRTS!!!!

Pretty huh! LOL well they end up in the trash except for the one's I ate coz I felt so frustrated…. NOT A GOOD IDEA! I know!!! Don't do it you'll end up eating half of them…. I did… They taste the same,  good, but texture wise and appearance are UGLY!  They are too soft, hollow insides, "tutu skirts" and even sticked on the parchment paper… 

But I never stopped there… So I went back to youtube and pinterest and google and find more tips and tricks….

The ones that really worked for me visually on youtube is this guy Les Macaron Partisien. I was just watching him how he mixed his macaron batter, you know that word they say, "macaronage". Well I actually didn't understand what he was saying as he is speaking french all I know is Ouie ouie! hahahaha

But anyways it really helped me a lot on achieving the right texture the "lava like" batter.

and for the recipe I have this website I always go to coz I love all her post and the pictures they are just really pretty anyways… Like I feel like I am in PARIS..(I've never been there FYI..Hopefully someday!) Anyways here's her site Not So Humble Pie and used her tricks as well...

Soooo here's he picture of what I made after watching that and following the tips and tricks…

Ooooh yeah! Nice! with feet!  No Skirt!

Yeah baby no skirts!!! just feet!

Crunchy outside Soft and Chewy inside! I LOVE ET! LOL

I know I had a bite! well I finished this one! and I kid you not, I need to workout again! Insanity Baby! That's how I need to roll!

Oh this one is ButterCream Filling and Lemon Curd yummmmm!

For The Love Of Coffee!

So I love coffee, I cannot start my day without it.  I love the aroma, I love the taste, I love all the flavor. Coffee is something I know I cannot give up. Anyways, So I thought of making Coffee Macaron as I am learning more and more about them. 

First, this time I did not put any color on them. I baked them under 310 deg. F for 12 minutes. Then after I pipe them on the baking sheet with parchment paper I sprinkle some coffee grounds on top of them then I dropped the baking sheet on the counter a few time so the macaron batter would release the excess air inside it. Then after baking them all I made the filling, Egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and fresh brewed coffee. To make the long story short, The coffee macaron was really good! 

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New Filling I just Invented… Strawberry Jam Curd!

So as I am practicing my skills to a BETTER MACARON I ran out of supplies for filling… I went to PINTEREST and tried to find some filling made out of Strawberry… and I found Strawberry Curd! Too bad I don't have FRESH strawberries and I only have strawberry jam. So I went for it anyways.

 OK, with this one, I am trying to make hearts. LOL as you see I need more practice. But I am pretty sure I will learn it. Tomorrow November 14th is our 9th Anniversary. So I am pretty sure I will get an A+ grade for A-FFORT! hahaha

Getting there to my Macaron Journey….

So after making my first attempt of French Macaron, my husband and I took the kids to the zoo and they were surprised that I have some treats and they loved it. My daughter asked me if I would be making them more, so I said yes. My family is my taste testers! If they liked it then it's approved to be good and presentable. But anyways my First attempt was not really pretty they are a bit rough. So today I tried to make em. The first try (AGAIN) was flat and cracked, I knew something was wrong while I was piping the batter. It was too watery. So I made  another batch and thought if I should grind the Almond Flour again, so I did and boy it was fine! And I mean the shells are smooth looking I loved it! I made butter cream frosting with OREOS so yeah "FRENCH MACARON" went "AMERICANIZED" BABY! hahaha  It was too sweet so maybe it would be good with black tea or black coffee. Then I made some with Lemon Filling, And White Chocolate… I will try the BlueBerry and coffee later next week… 

My French Macaroon Journey- For the VERY FIRST TIME!

So this is the very first time I am making french macaroon. I got the recipe from Sweet N Bake . It was very easy recipe. The only thing is my arm was hurting sifting the sugar and the almond flour… Maybe I need to air dry the almond flour first? I don't know, coz I saw some people said that they air dry their almond flour by letting it sit on the counter in a bowl over night. I will try that method later. For now this is what I have.

Anyways, So I tried the Sweet N Bake's recipe, followed all the instructions, and BAAMMM my French Macaroons got burned.. Now I am not saying something is wrong with their recipe and instructions but I don't know what went wrong. I just wish my husband didn't throw them right away so I could have taken photos of my first batch ALL BURNT! :(  Alright so I was heart broken I burnt the very first batch I made… I had a big deep breath and told my husband "OK I am going to make another batch and I will work on the time and temperature." My husband replied, "tonight???!!!" I said "yes, Tonight!" My husband just shook his head off… LOL Well I can't accept defeat on baking… When I want something I want it! Especially when they are so expensive and the only way for me to try them is if I make them my self… so to make the story short I adjusted the time to 7-10 mins and the temperature to 300 and WOOHOOOO!!!! I DID IT! 

So here y'all my very first (SECOND ATTEMPT) FRENCH MACAROON!