Vanilla French Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling add a beautiful black & white element to your tea. Visit Easy Leaf Products online to order the PAG Paolo Angeletti Gold leaf used in this recipe.
Vanilla French Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling
2016-12-01 03:09:17
Yield: 30
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 1¼ cups toasted slivered almonds, such as Planter’s Recipe Ready Almonds*
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 recipe Dark Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
- Garnish: gold leaf†
Instructions
- Place egg whites in a medium bowl, and let stand uncovered at room temperature for exactly 3 hours. (Aging egg whites in this manner is essential to creating perfect French macarons.)
- Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw 60 (1½-inch) circles 2 inches apart on parchment paper. Turn parchment paper over. Set aside.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, combine almonds and 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, pulsing until very finely ground. (Don’t over-process or you will create a nut butter. Nut particles should stay separate and dry, not clump together.) Add remaining confectioners’ sugar, and process just until combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites at medium-high speed with a mixer until frothy. Gradually add sugar and then vanilla extract, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. (Egg whites will be thick, creamy, and shiny.) Add almond mixture to egg whites, folding gently until well combined. Batter should fall off a spatula in thick ribbons. Let batter stand for 15 minutes.
- Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (Wilton #12). Pipe batter onto drawn circles on prepared baking sheets. Slam baking sheets vigorously on countertop 5 to 7 times to release air bubbles.
- Let stand at room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes before baking to help develop the macaron’s signature crisp exterior when baked. (Macarons should feel dry to the touch and should not stick to finger.)
- Preheat oven to 275°.
- Bake until cookies are firm to the touch, 20 to 23 minutes. Let cool completely on pans.
- Place cookies in groups of 4 or 5, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in an airtight container. (This will keep cookies from getting crushed or broken.) Refrigerate until ready to fill and serve, up to 3 days.
- Place Dark Chocolate Ganache in a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (Wilton #12). Pipe ganache onto flat side of a cookie. Top with another cookie, flat sides together, to create a sandwich cookie. Push down lightly, and twist so ganache spreads to edges. Repeat with remaining cookies and ganache.
- Garnish with gold leaf, if desired.
- Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
- *A different result may occur if another brand of nuts is used. Since a cup measurement is used instead of weight, it is important to use the recommended brand.
- †We used PAG Paolo Angeletti Gold leaf.
- Kitchen Tip: Measure confectioners’ sugar by spooning into a measuring cup and leveling off with a knife, rather than packing or scooping, which will lend a different result.
- Kitchen Tip: When working with gold leaf, make sure fingers are clean and dry, or use tweezers. Carefully tear a small piece from gold leaf sheet, and place on top of macaron in a free-form fashion just before serving.
TeaTime Magazine http://teatimemagazine.com/
Dark Chocolate Ganache
2016-12-01 03:28:20
Yield: ¾ cup
Ingredients
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup dark chocolate morsels, such as Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bitter- sweet Chocolate Baking Chips
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat cream until very hot. (Bubbles should form around edge of pan.) Remove pan from heat, and add chocolate morsels. Let sit for 1 minute to melt chocolate. Stir until completely smooth. Transfer ganache to a heatproof bowl, and let cool to a piping consistency, approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (To speed up cooling process, refrigerate, if desired, checking every 10 minutes to make sure ganache is not solidifying.)
TeaTime Magazine http://teatimemagazine.com/
From TeaTime, TeaTime Holidays 2015
I can’t find the planter’s recipe ready almonds. I even checked planter’s website. Any recommendations of where to look or if you have done the recipe with other almonds?
Hi Amanda,
Diamond of California sells a recipe-ready slivered almond that looks very similar to Planters. Since the recipe is using a measurement based on volume rather than weight, a similar nut needs to be used for the recipe to turn out correctly. We would say any slivered almond similar in size to Planters or Diamond will work.