Italian Meringue Macaron

I'm a girl with no sweet tooth. Neither Tony nor Ryan are dessert person. Wondering who eats all the baked goodies? Rest assure that when I offered it to my co-worker, it will disappear in no time.

I enjoy baking. I bake, I photograph, you eat!

Seeing my family and friends enjoy and appreciate my baking is the best reward. And it's the momentum to keep me baking!

After I did French meringue mac, I wanted to try Italian meringue method. I know it's Tuesday, but I can't wait until Saturday. Once I decided of doing something, I just cannot stop.

Italian meringue method requires thermometer. As I was studying the Italian meringue steps, I know I have everything I needed. Little did I know, the thermometer I bought few months ago was for meat and fish! What's wrong with that? Apparently, the reading is only go up to 210F, anything above that just read "HI". I wasn't planned intentionally to get a meat thermometer, I want A thermometer, so, I simply pick up one from the shelf. Now, I know there is a thermometer called 'candy/sugar thermometer'.

Okay, now, we are ready to rock n roll.

Macarons (Italian Meringue Method)


150g blanched almond, whole or ground
150g icing/powdered sugar
60g egg whites, aged 2 days

60g egg whites, room temperature
150g granulated sugar

35g granulated sugar (for the meringue)
50g water

Tools:

2-3 baking sheets

Candy thermometer

Large pastry bag with #12 tips (or similar sized round tip, little under 1cm)

Steps:

1.  Combine the almonds, powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a
     good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Do the same if you’re using
     already grounded almonds. Set aside.

2.   In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the aged egg
     whites in medium speed to a foam, gradually add the 35g sugar. (Make
     sure your mixer's bowl and whisk attachment are free of any traces of oil.
     Any of these will not give you the peak that you need).

3.   In a saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water and cook over
      medium-low heat until it reaches 230F. Remember to NOT stir the syrup
      as you will end up with crystallized mass.   

4.  When your sugar syrup reaches 230°F pull it off the heat, reduce the speed
     of your mixer to low speed, and slowly pour in the syrup. You want to let
     the mixture trickle down the side of the bowl, so it doesn't splatter and
     get tossed onto the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to high and
     continue beating for 5 minutes until you get a stiff glossy meringue.

5.   Meanwhile, blend together the room temperature egg white with the
     almond-sugar mixture. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick strokes
     at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not
     take more than 30 strokes. Don't overfold the batter as every additional
     stroke will thinning the batter. You should still see a little peak after you
     pipe, but the peak should disappear or almost disappear after rest.

6.   Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round tip with the batter. If the batter is
     right, it will ooze from the tip slowly under its own weight. Pipe small
     rounds (1.5 -2 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats
     lined baking sheets.

7.   Allow the macaron to rest for 15 minutes or longer to harden their shells a
     bit. Bake at 325F for 14 minutes.

8.    Remove from the oven, let cool completely.

5.         

  

        

 

Because the macaron is color-less, I decided to play with the filling. Again, I used the ready-to-use cream: chocolate, vanilla, and I mix some violet color to the vanilla to get the purple filling.  

I never tried the Parisian macaron, but I think my macaron isn't bad at all. I actually was impressed. For the look, I truly prefer the Italian meringue method as it produces the smooth shells. For the taste, hmmm, both taste the same - super sweet! That's not true, both are delicate but the texture and taste aren't quite the same.

I considered both French meringue and Italian meringue were quite success, for a first timer. The Italian meringue method may look complicated, it's actually easy to work with compare to the French method.