Lim-Chodkowski - Macaron fetish: 80 fanciful shapes, flavors, and colors to take macarons to the next level

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Growing up in Malaysia, I was surrounded by cuisines from different ethnic backgrounds in my daily life. In such a multicultural country, the national cuisine is really a melting pot where many cultures and exotic flavors come to mix and blend together. After my arrival in France, I finally had a taste of French pastries and have to admit it was love at first bite. My passion for baking finally had a chance to blossom. My father-in-law is a great baker, and I am lucky to be able to learn from him. The very first macaron I ever tasted was a chocolate macaron.

A crispy shell with a yummy filling that melted in my mouthwhat else could someone with a sweet tooth ask for but a Parisian macaron? So there I was in 2009, setting off with strong determination to attempt my first macaron. After all, it couldnt be harder than baking a chiffon cake, right? Wrong! I got a full tray of flat, ugly, rough cookie look-alike macarons! Devastated, I had quickly given up the thought of ever baking them again. Thanks to the encouragement from my husband and after hours of researching many blogs and recipes, batches and batches of eggs gone into the garbage, and countless failures, my very first batch of macarons with feet was born! I was overjoyed and jumping up and down in the kitchen like a little girl who just found a box of hidden chocolates. I must admit that I have a lovehate relationship with macarons. There were days when I stuck my nose in front of the oven to look for the glorious macaron feet only to find flat or cracked cookies in the oven. I created my blog Macaron Fetish in 2010 when I joined up with other macaron fetish bloggers in MacTweet to share the joy of baking these jewels with endless imaginable colors and flavors.

In this book, I aim to share my recipes with other bakersfrom simple classic to sophisticated flavors. I have worked, experimented, and concentrated on diverse flavors and exotic ingredients, ultimately binding the taste of East and West together, just as in the diversity of Malaysian and French cuisines. I hope you will enjoy the journey to discover macarons as much as I have. Let your imagination go and have fun!

Regardless of the model or type, the most important thing is to get used to the oven you have. You may have to adjust the temperature and baking time by a few degrees and minutes, respectively. To get a smoother and finer dried mixture, a food processor is a must to mix the almond flour and powdered sugar into a fine mixture. To get a smoother and finer dried mixture, a food processor is a must to mix the almond flour and powdered sugar into a fine mixture.

A sieve helps to remove any impurities that might cause bumpy macaron shells.

A candy thermometer is useful to determine the exact temperature of the sugar syrup when making buttercream or Italian meringue. If you have a stand mixer, youll have the advantage of having free hands while beating the egg whites. If youre using a hand beater, use a circular motion and increase the speed slowly. Use a faster speed at the end until the egg whites form firm peaks. Spatulas are used for macaronage (the folding of dried ingredients into the peaked egg whites).

The silicone spatula is more flexible and thus allows the mixture to be folded and mixed thoroughly without breaking too many egg white bubbles.

For standard macarons of 1 1/2 inches (4cm), tips of 8mm10mm can be used. A smaller and finer nozzle is also useful to decorate the shells. In this book, a No. 8 tip, for example, has an 8mm opening. Use only nonstick parchment paper.

It will help you detach the macaron shells easily when theyre cooled.

Because store-bought almond flour is great and widely available in the baking section of the grocery store, theres no need to grind almonds at home. If you cant find it, buy sliced or slivered blanched almonds, and use a food processor to grind them further into powder form. Powdered sugar is used to mix with the almond flour, and superfine (or castor) sugar is used to make the meringue. Powdered food coloring is better than liquid because it doesnt add any moisture to your macaron mixture. If not available, paste or liquid food coloring can be used in small quantities.

The liquid form will result in a paler end color.

Aged egg whites form peaks and make beautiful, firm meringue. I usually prepare the egg whites a day in advance and let them sit at room temperature in an airtight container until the next day. Egg whites can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to seven days. High-grade baking chocolate from a professional store is ideal for making chocolate ganache to fill macarons. Not only is it less sweet, its also better in quality and taste.

Only heavy cream is used to make a chocolate ganache because its higher fat content (35 percent) gives it a nice consistency.

These are the key ingredients to make buttercream. Candied flowers, dried petals, grains, sugar pearls, and many decorations found in the baking section will make your macaron fetish fantasies come true. Apart from chocolate ganache, you can spice up your macaron fillings with any imaginable flavor. Just let your creativity go and have fun exploring. Trial and error is the best way to discover what works and what doesnt.

Theres no secreta successful batch of macarons depends strongly on two particular factors: macaronage and your oven settings. Start with a small quantity. My recipe uses only one egg white to minimize waste should the macarons not turn out right. To bake more macaron shells, simply multiply the quantity. When beating your egg white, add only half of the superfine sugar into the frothy egg white. Continue to beat by slowly increasing the speed to maximum for around 2 minutes.

Add the rest of the sugar and continue until stiff peaks form. The meringue should be smooth and shiny. When mixing the dry ingredients into the meringue (macaronage), the first few strokes should be done with a stronger motion to break down some bubbles in the meringue. After that, slowly fold the mixture using a lift-turn-fold-press motion. Slowly pressing the mixture at the end of each fold binds the dry ingredients to the meringue. When you get a smooth and shiny mixture, stop folding, and lift the mixture with the spatula.

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