Tutorial and Recipe: Macarons

So, let's get this straight right up front: Macaroons ("Mah-kah-ROONS") are homey, chewy coconut cookies containing condensed milk, and French macarons ("Mah-kah-RAWN" - the "s" is silent) are light, delicate meringue cookies sandwiched together with a luscious filling. 

I try not to be a Judgy McJudgypants when people mispronounce words, even though it hurts my heart to hear my beloved English language butchered...or in this case, French (but I digress); however, I would greatly prefer that the appropriate name is used in this particular case.  And no, you're not paranoid; all professional bakers WILL judge you.

Macarons are, admittedly, one of the most challenging patisseries for a baker to attempt. So many factors need to be controlled for a successful outcome, and many times the recipe will fail if even one of the main elements is a little out of whack; sometimes, your macarons recipe will fail because the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter is aligning with Mars, or you frowned at the batter for too long. Or mispronounced "macaron".  Who knows.

The best thing to remember when attempting this massively finicky cookie, is that the most important, controllable elements to get right are humidity, freshness of ingredients, oven temperature, timing, proper kitchen equipment, and a light, steady hand.

 

The first time I ever made macarons was in Pastry school; the class was taught to make four different flavours (2 per team), which we then boxed up, three of each, and the school sold them as holiday treats (we were not allowed to keep our production, although we could buy what we made for a seriously reduced price). 

I've been fascinated by what makes macarons so special ever since.

The anatomy of a macaron is simple; you have two biscuit bases, with a luscious filling sandwiched between them. The perfect macaron is solid (no cavity of air within), has a "pied", or "foot" that happens during baking, and is smooth on the top surface, with no wrinkles, cracks, or gritty bumps. Perfect macarons only occur when all of the above criteria are met (temperature, timing, etc.); in other words, there is little to no leeway, wiggle room, or forgiveness when making these challenging little cookies!

I decided to lose my mind make these for my wedding dessert table, because, hey, I'm a pastry chef; I'm *sure* I have the time/skill/motivation to do them perfectly on the first try!

...hehheh...hubris is funny.

So yeah...of the several dozen macarons I made (in three different flavour combinations, no less, because I am apparently insane...), maybe half turned out at the very least halfway acceptable to my perfectionist mind. Frustrating.  I was battling against some of the hard limits that Macarons impose upon their creators, namely time (I was rushing things at certain points), temperature (trying to make the perfect macaron during an August heatwave is dumb dumb DUMB), and killer humidity (see previous).

One more obstacle I didn't foresee: all of my desserts were being made to be boxed up and delivered  to the venue on the day prior to the wedding, as the kitchen crew would be completing and displaying my work on the day of, me being busy getting married and all.  Fine and well if one of the kitchen crew happens to be a pastry chef, and knows how to store/handle items as delicate as macarons, which in this case, they did not.  I blame myself for that one; I should have left more specific instructions on how delicate they were.  I'm sure many of my creations suffered from rough handling in the 24 hours prior to the wedding, sometime between storage, un-boxing, and display, given that the best picture I can find does not show my poor wee babies in their best light...

So ...much...damage...wahhh!!

I made pink rose flavoured ones with raspberry preserves filling, orange flavoured orange ones with milk chocolate buttercream filling, and (what were supposed to be blue, haha) green marshmallow flavoured ones with blueberry nutmeg preserves filling.

Anyway, here is a perfect recipe for basic macarons; this recipe works very well, given that you follow all of its steps in the proper order. Good luck!

Basic Macarons

Yield: 80-100 1" round halves (40-50 sandwiches)

• 225 grams icing sugar
• 125 grams ground almonds
• 110 grams egg whites (about 4), aged overnight at room temperature
• 30 grams granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt

Step 1: Size and print out four pages of 1" radius circles about 2" apart (template included at bottom of this post for your convenience); place each sheet on a doubled baking sheet and completely cover with a flat piece of parchment paper; set aside. Note: if you're skilled with piping and don't need a "cheat sheet", skip this step and just use the blank parchment paper or a Silpat, you Fancy Jack, you.

Step 2: Push almond flour (also called almond meal) through a fine sieve into a medium-sized bowl, and sift icing sugar on top. Mix together and set aside.
(Tip: at this point, I ran the icing sugar/almond flour through the food processor for about a minute for a fine grind. This helps lessen/eliminate lumps and the grittiness of the almond flour in the final product).

Step 3: In a large clean, dry mixing bowl, whip the room temperature egg whites with the pinch of salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar as they whip. Continue to whip to stiff peaks—the whites should be firm and shiny.

Step 4: With a flexible spatula, gently fold in icing sugar/almond flour mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and "flow like magma" (when small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, that's your clue to stop mixing).

This is the time to add any flavourings or colourings you want for your macarons. I highly recommend using candy oils and food colour paste or gel because they are highly concentrated and will not dilute your batter adversely.

Step 5: Fit a piping bag with a 3/8" round tip. Gently pipe the batter onto the baking sheets, within the circles. It's best to work from the back to the front so you don't accidentally drag through your hard work! Gently but firmly tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours to allow skins to form (important to achieving a smooth, unwrinkled surface during baking).

Step 6: Bake in a 325 degreeF oven for 10 to 11 minutes. Make sure you have double-panned your baking pans to protect your delicate macarons from burning. Use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar, and carefully rotate the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking.

Step 7: Remove macarons from oven and transfer the parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or paring knife underneath the macaron to remove from parchment. If they are stubbornly resisting being removed, you can carefully pour a small amount of boiling water underneath the parchment paper to help "steam" them off the paper (put the parchment back on your baking pan first!).

Step 8: Pair cooled macarons of similar size, and pipe about 1/2 tsp of the filling of your choice onto one of the pair. Sandwich macarons together gently but evenly and firmly, and refrigerate to allow flavours to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

Have fun with your flavour pairings!  There are virtually unlimited possibilities, so go as wild as you can stand.  I'm always up for pictures and reviews of your own recipe success (and failures!), so please feel free to send me a comment with pics if possible.  Good luck!

Tutorial and Recipe: Cream Cheese Berry Tarts

These tiny little tartlets are melt-in-your-mouth delicious, if I do say so myself.  I sort of cobbled together a couple of different recipes, changed a few things up, and came up with these little guys for my wedding dessert table last month.

Even though the pastry is a little finicky (a light touch and not too much flour are the keys to this perfect pastry case), the cream cheese filling made up for it by being a snap to make!  In fact, I had tons left over since I had only made enough pastry for about 18 tiny tartlets; therefore, I'd recommend doubling the pastry recipe to use up all of the cream cheese filling; that way, you don't have to re-roll your scraps more than once (another major no-no that leads to tough and oily tart shells).

When the cream cheese filling (recipe below) is ready, spoon into a piping bag, or in a pinch you can use a large ziploc bag. Set up the baked and completely cooled tart shells to receive the filling, snip the end off your piping bag, and pipe the cream cheese filling up to the top. While it will need to be refrigerated, this filling recipe contains no eggs so it is stable enough to not need baking; it's essentially a "no-bake" cheesecake-type filling.

You can garnish these little guys with anything you like: fresh berries (like I did) or tiny slices of fruit, a small dollop of jelly (note, it may sink to the bottom; pipe slightly less filling in to accommodate the jam), coloured sanding sugar sprinkled over the top, or even pipe some melted chocolate or caramel in a zigzag pattern over the top and sprinkle crushed nuts over that. You can change up the lemon zest and juice to another citrus fruit, but this filling recipe does need a citrus "zing", so don't delete it altogether.

To keep the tart shells crisp, fill them the day you will be serving them.

Cream Cheese Filling
(Original recipe courtesy of Stephanie Jaworski of Joy of baking.com)

• 1-8.oz. pkg full fat plain cream cheese, room temp
• 1-14 oz. tin sweetened condensed milk
• Zest of one lemon
•  1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
•  1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In food processor or tabletop mixer, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth.  
2. Add all remaining ingredients and process until just smooth (do not over-mix or the filling will be too runny).
3. Transfer filling to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (minimum 6 hours). Can be made up to a week in advance.

Sweet Tart Pastry 
(Original recipe courtesy of Cooksrecipes.com) 

Makes enough pastry for one 9" round tart or 8 individual tart shells or 16-18 mini tart shells

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. 
2. Beat the butter with the paddle attachment of a tabletop mixer until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
4. Add flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Don't overwork or pastry will be tough when baked. Dough will be sticky.
5. Flatten dough into disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm (at this point, you can wrap it very well and chill for up to 3 days).
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, turning dough frequently to prevent it from sticking and to keep its round shape. Do not turn dough over. The dough should be about an inch larger than your tart pan, and about 1/8" thick.
7. Carefully roll dough around rolling pin. Center over tart pan and unroll over the top. Never pull or stretch the dough as it will shrink away from pan during baking. Lightly press dough into bottom and sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to cut off excess dough. 
8. If making mini tarts, cut circles a little larger than the tart pan cavities (for accuracy, measure the depth of the pan's cavity, and add that number to the diameter of the cavity). Try to align your cuts carefully in order to not have to re-roll your scraps more than once (remember, each re-roll means tougher pastry).
9. Gently but quickly ease each pastry circle into the pan cavities without pulling, stretching, or tearing the dough; the heat from your hands is melting the butter the longer you touch the dough. Ensure the dough circle is firmly against the bottom and walls of each cavity, and neaten up the top edge.
10. Place in freezer for a minimum of 20 minutes to chill. The tart pan can be left in the freezer for up to a day if necessary.
11. If baking unfilled (as in for this recipe), "blind-bake" tart cases first; this is done by lining tart pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, then filling with pie weights or dried beans, making sure the weights fill to the top of the pan are and evenly distributed over the entire surface. 
12. Bake crust in a 400*F (205*C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is lightly browned; remove weights a few minutes prior to the perfect golden brown, and finish baking to achieve brownness along tart bottom. Remove weights and parchment, and cool crust on wire rack before filling. 

Can be made and frozen (unfilled) for up to a month.

Tutorial and Recipe: Butter Tarts

Image courtesy of Canadian Living Magazine

Butter tarts are an iconic Canadian dessert, as Canadian as Nanaimo bars, in fact (although we'll talk about those in another post).

There are tons of recipes for butter tarts out there; the simplest and easiest call for the baker to use pre-made tart shells found in the grocery store freezer section. The more complicated recipes call for making one's own pastry dough as well as the filling, and essentially require the baker to keep very aware of temperatures and timing; it's important to understand the components of pastry dough and the best way to roll and rest your pastry so it comes out flaky and buttery, not tough and oily.

Of course, since it was my wedding and I am proud of my baking, I opted for the latter method.

Because it's not like I had anything else to do. /sarcasm

I opted for the recipe below because of its stable, "jelly-like" filling, as opposed to the ooey-gooey filling that is my personal favourite, mainly because I worried that the gooey tarts might drip too much, and I didn't want anyone to get their lovely wedding frocks all dirty!  

I have included two gooey filling recipes at the bottom if you prefer those, like I do!

Butter Tarts  

Original recipe courtesy of Stephanie Jaworski at The Joy of Baking

Makes 12 - 4" tarts or 24 - 2" tarts

Pate Brisee (Short Crust Pastry):

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1" pieces
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/8 cup water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched.  If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your lightly flour dusted work surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour (this is called "resting" the dough). You can make this in advance and keep it chilled for up to 3 days at this point.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, place on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to no ticker than 1/8" thick, and cut 12-4" rounds (or 24-2" rounds if making mini tarts). To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards). Gently place the rounds into a 12-cup muffin/24-cup mini muffin tin. Do not stretch or overwork the dough to fit; ease the pieces in and work carefully and quickly to smooth the dough along the top edges. Do this quickly to avoid heating up and melting the butter in the dough.

Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up the dough. Next, make the filling.

Butter Tart Filling (firm):

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup half-and-half cream (10% butterfat)
• 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (toasted and chopped) (optional)

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract. Stir in the cream. If using nuts and/or raisins, place a small amount (to taste) in the bottom of each tart shell and then fill the unbaked tart shells 3/4 full with the filling. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the pastry has nicely browned and the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 1 minute; run metal spatula around tarts to loosen, then carefully slide spatula under tarts and transfer to rack to let cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Butter Tart Filling (gooey)

Original recipe courtesy of Canadian Living Magazine

• 1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) corn syrup
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, softened
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vinegar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) currants or raisins or chopped pecans or shredded coconut

Whisk together brown sugar, corn syrup, egg, butter, vanilla, vinegar and salt until blended; set aside.  Divide currants etc. among shells. Spoon in filling until three-quarters full.
Bake in bottom third of 450 degree F oven until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden, about 12 minutes. Let stand on rack for 1 minute. Run metal spatula around tarts to loosen; carefully slide spatula under tarts and transfer to rack to let cool.

Maple Butter Tart Filling (gooey)

Original recipe courtesy of Canadian Living Magazine

•  3/4 cup (175 mL) packed brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) maple syrup, (No. 1 medium grade) 
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, melted 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) cider vinegar 
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt 
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped walnut halves, dried currants, golden raisins (or a mixture)

Whisk together brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, eggs, vinegar and salt. Divide walnuts, currants and raisins among pastry shells. Spoon scant 1/4 cup filling into each shell.
Bake in 350?F (180?C) oven until filling is set and pastry is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Run thin knife around edges to release tarts. Let cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool completely.