Saturday, September 3, 2011

THE PERFECT FRENCH MACARON



There's been a lot of discussion lately, amongst certain bibliophiles in my life, about the difference between a "macaroon" and a "macaron".  Below, the traditional macaroon.
COCONUT MACAROON
"Macarons", on the other hand, are quite different.  First of all, you need to pronounce it correctly and you can learn that here.  According to the dictionary, macarons are a confectionary, characterized by a smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (known as the "foot"), and flat base.  It is mildly moist, and easily melts in the mouth.  It is commonly filled with buttercream or ganache filling sandwiched between two of the cookies. 

So, here is a diagram of the perfect Macaron.  This just shows you that people take this little confectionary treat very seriously!  There are diagrams! 

So.
The Perfect Parisian Macaron.  

I'm following a recipe by Martha Stewart found here which calls for whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks.

 My macarons, waiting to get "dull" so they can go in the oven.

They have feet!
So, now for the filling.  I used this recipe for Chocolate Ganache filling.  

Now to complete the Parisian Macarons with their filling.

later . . . my so-so Macaron.

5 comments:

the occasional pat said...

They look lovely and yes I have made macarons and they were also lovely first time. The most important thing is to accurately weigh the ingredients. Please see my link http://theoccasionalpat.blogspot.com/search/label/macarons
Good luck with your next batch.

Gwen said...

Mmmmm these look yummy! And I loved hearing the correct pronunciation. Nicely done.

annies home said...

oh my these look heavenly as if they would melt in my mouth thanks for sharing will have to try them out come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

You are amazing! klk

Savorique said...

Congrats on making these macarons with footed shell :) But the feet are not that hard to get, what's difficult is the texture of the shell.
Did you use aged egg whites? It is said that extra humidity must be removed from the whites but letting them sit out in a towel-covered bowl for 2 days.
The whole macaronage process is tricky and critical. For more info about it, check this link with a 10 min video about making macarons and about the macaronage as well as the links included in the post.
http://blog.savorique.com/2011/05/two-of-the-best-french-macaron-recipes/

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