Hello everyone! I am so excited to have Hanna from bouffe e bambini here today guest posting. I have gotten to know her over the past few months and love following her blog. She is such a lovely and talented woman with two adorable little children. She is an amazing cook and is always sharing fabulous recipes on her blog. I am a horrible cook and I am always drooling over her posts wishing I could make something half as tasty. Be sure to head on over to her blog and check out all of her fabulous recipes and all of the wonderful giveaways she is always hosting!
Hi there!! It's Hanna from bouffe e bambini here.
I am so honored to be guest blogging today on Dear Lillie. I adore Jennifer's blog and am just tickled that I get to spend the day with you.
I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. Bouffe e Bambini very roughly translates to "food and babies." I named my blog that because those are the two things I enjoy the most. I started a blog during my pregnancy with my first baby because a friend suggested I might enjoy it. I hardly even knew what a blog was let alone how to write one. I kept up that blog up for about a year and I loved it but it was geared more towards family only so I decided to start another blog where I could share recipes and highlight handmade shops that I love. So bouffe e bambini was born. I currently only feature handmade shops on my blog. All my sponsors and giveaways are handmade only! Even though I don't have a shop myself, I am passionate about protecting the handmade trade!
I feature lots of recipes on bouffe e bambini. I love to cook and I find that the blog helps to keep me motivated and eager to try new things. My husband and I both love to cook and eat. In fact, that's how we plan our vacations, around where we would like to eat. I have two children. Little Milton is 18 months and Ginger is 3 months. I have my hands full:) I am also a nurse by trade.
So let's get to it, shall we?
Today I am going to share a recipe and a method for making French Macarons. I have recently become a bit obsessed with them. They are so intriguing and gorgeous; like little magical cookies with their perfect shells and radiant colors. I just L*O*V*E them! Let me start by saying these are not for the faint of heart. It took me 3 tries to get these right so don't be discouraged if you try once and they don't turn out. As you can see in some of my photos the lavender macarons did not turn out perfect because they are missing the "feet". That's because I under beat the egg whites. I decided to showcase them anyway because they were still pretty. Macarons are like riding a bicycle, once you get it, you'll be a be a macaron fool! I promise just me patient.
The recipe and method I am going to share with you today is a compilation of recipes that I tried. It is a hybrid version that I found worked best for me. The recipes I used were this {RECIPE} from Martha Stewart and the recipes from {THIS BOOK}.
Recipe for Mango Mascarpone Macarons
(will yield 8-18 macarons )
Ingredients for shells:
The whites from 2 large eggs
3/4 cup ground almonds
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
food coloring of your choice to match the flavor (for this recipe yellow and red)
Ingredients for the mango mascarpone filling:
(please see method below for instructions)
1/2 a packet of unflavored gelatin
1 ripe cubed mango
1 egg
4 tablespoons of superfine sugar
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
pinch of salt
Recipe for Mango Mascarpone Filling:
Puree mango cubes and place in small pot. Heat gently on medium and sprinkle in gelatin. Once gelatin is mixed in and dissolved remove from heat and set aside. Separate the egg with the yolk in one bowl and the white in the other. Add the superfine sugar to the yolk and mix well. Now add the salt to the egg white and beat until medium peaks form. Now gently fold in the egg yolk and the mango puree. Chill in refrigerator. Now simply place in piping bag and fill macarons.
Helpful Hints About Egg Whites:
1."aged" egg whites work much better so separate the egg white from the yolk and set aside in refrigerator at least 24 hours in advance but can be up to 4 days.
2. Egg Whites must be room temperature before beating. Set out for at least 30 minuets prior to using.
3. Use a copper or glass bowl for best whipping results.
4. Insure your bowl and beaters are squeaky clean. Any residue or oils will interfere with beating.
5. Do not over beat egg whites as they will fall apart and become liquid again. I found 4 minuets was perfect.
Here are 2 of the specialty products you will need to make the macarons. You can buy the almond flour at a whole foods market or a specialty grocer. You can buy the super fine sugar {HERE}
#1. The first thing you need to do it put the almond flour and the confectioners sugar into a Cuisinart or blender and mix thoroughly.
#2. Next you need to place the almond flour and confectioners sugar mixture onto a cookie sheet and bake @ 300 degrees for 7 minuets. Remove, cool and put through a sifter or strainer TWICE!!
#3 Set the 1/4 cup of superfine sugar in a small container on the side so it's ready to go. Place the room temperature egg whites into a bowl and beat until foamy. Now add the cream of tartar. When soft snowy peaks begin to emerge, add the superfine sugar slowly and DO NOT stop beating (use one hand to pour in the sugar that you set aside before you started). As soon as the egg white form stiff peaks STOP beating!! You can easily over beat egg whites.For me this was exactly 4 minuets. If you over beat the egg whites the macaron will fall flat. You may add food coloring towards the end of your beating process. Gel food coloring works best and you can get it at Hobby Lobby or similar craft stores (if all you have is water based grocery store food coloring it will still work fine).
#4. Next take the cooled almond flour and confectioners sugar mixture and sift it into the egg white mixture (this will be the 3rd time you've sifted). Do not use the beater. Simply fold in with a silicone spatula once you have sifted the entire portion of flour and sugar into the whites. You should fold somewhere between 40-65 times. This is the most important step in the entire process. The batter should be smooth and shiny!! When you put it in the pasty bag it should begin to ooze out of the tip but not drip. It should appear like hot magma. If it doesn't ooze then you need to fold it just a few more times. My experience was just a few folds made a BIG difference here so be careful..
#5. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place mixture into a piping bag. If you don't have a piping bag, no worries, simply get a gallon zip lock bag and snip a little hole in the corner to insert piping tip. Now pipe uniform circles onto the cookie sheet. Try to place the tip to the side to avoid a peak in the center of the macaron. Now let the macarons rest for 1 hour prior to cooking! They should form a nice crust prior to baking. When ready you will bake at 300 degrees for 10-12 minuets. They should never brown and you should see the little "feet" emerge within a few minuets of baking.
#6. Now once they are finished, let them cool almost completely and now drizzle water under the wax paper. This seems a bit ridiculous but trust me it will make lifting the macarons off the wax paper MUCH easier. I tried it skipping this step and I tore the inside out of the macaron. If you do tear the inside out of the macaron don't panic. Once you fill it you can mask that part.
Now simply pipe the filling onto one half and top with another macaroon! VOILA!
Enjoy this magical creation that you've worked long and hard to make! Aren't they beautiful?
Pop in and see me anytime!! I LOVE meeting new people!
Thanks so much, Hanna! I hope that you all have a wonderful Wednesday and I hope to be back Friday with some photos of the rest of our porch and a tutorial.
Post Title
→French Macarons with Hanna
Post URL
→http://day-lab-diy.blogspot.com/2011/05/french-macarons-with-hanna.html
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