Previous Adventures- August

Here are some of the pictures from the previous macarons I've made... along with their recipes.

French Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream


Pistachio with Chocolate Ganache Filling:

Makes 35
225 gr powdered sugar
60 gr almonds
65 gr pistachios
3 egg whites (about 100gr)
green food coloring (optional) (powdered is better)
25 gr granulated sugar

In a food processor, run the nuts and powdered sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Run through a sieve if needed.Whip the egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy. Add the green food coloring if using.Slowly fold the nut/sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily.Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment lined baking sheets.Let the macarons rest for 20 minutes.Preheat the oven to 315 and when they are ready, bake them for 12-15 minutes.Let cool, remove from the paper and fill with the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache Filling:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
1 tsp. ground ginger
Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir with a whisk until smooth. Add the ground ginger. Let cool to room temperature and use as desired.


You can see that the macarons did not develop feet. Crystal (my lovely assistant) and I first soaked the pistachios to remove the remnants of their black skins and then ground them. This was a mistake because the wet nuts did not absorb into the batter as they were supposed to. I made them a second time two days later with dried ground pistachios and they were perfect!