pistacho & rose macarons

It seems I'm rarely ever baking simply because I want to eat something. I'm not just baking because I'm craving choux pastry and custard, or because I've got a spare hour in a day to make chocolate chip cookies. I've always got a new product I want to try out. A new cookie cutter, piping tip or bundt tin. Today, it was a recently purchased Jane Lamerton tea set and a simple little pot of 'Kelly Green' Wilton food gel that gave me the craving to cook.

There's nothing wrong with this. I adore baking, whatever it is or whatever it's for. It's just a shame that I tend to neglect some poor recipes once I have conquered them. I should be more loyal to ones that have treated me kind.

But, today I made macarons. Of course. Rose and pistachio: a fairly safe and tasty combination. But more importantly, I just simply cannot get over how perfectly the beautiful greens of my tea set and this food gel match! I adore this colour. Forgive me if all of my creations are from this point forward 'Kelly Green'.

I figured I would also try yet another macaron recipe for this morning's project, and adapted one used by Linda @ Bubble and Sweet, based on a recipe by Pierre Hermé.

Ingredients (makes 46! depending on size)

For macaron shells:
300 gms ground almonds
300 gms pure icing sugar
220 gms egg whites, aged at least 3 days, separated into 2 lots of 110 gms
dash green food colouring (gel or powder is preferable as less is required)
300 gms granulated sugar
75 gms water
50 gms pistachios, finely chopped

For rose buttercream:
460 gms icing sugar, sifted
225 gms unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoons cream
1 tsp rosewater, or more to taste
dash pink food coloring

Mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together and pulse a few times in food processor to make almond meal finer. Do not over process as the meal can become oily. Sieve into a large bowl. Add food colour ing and 110 gms of the egg whites to the sugar/almond mixture but don’t mix in. Set aside.

Place remaining 110 gms of egg whites in bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk.
Place granulated sugar and water into saucepan, stir to combine and cook without stirring to 118C. Once the mixture reaches 115C start mixing the egg whites on high. Once the sugar syrup reaches 118C remove from heat and immediately pour in a thin stream down the side of the mixer bowl continuing to whisk on high. The eggs whites should be at firm peaks by the time your syrup reaches this stage. Continue to whisk the meringue on high until the side of the bowl is only a little warm to touch. The meringue mixture should be beautifully glossy.

Add meringue mixture to almond mixture and using a large spatula fold the mixture together until it starts to shine and forms a ribbon that stays visible for about 30 seconds.

Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe in lines onto baking trays lined with baking paper. Tap trays on the bench a few times to eliminate any air bubbles. Sprinkle with pistachios.
Set aside for about 30 minutes or until the macarons have formed a skin that doesn't stick to your finger.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 140C . Bake the macaroons for around 13 to 15 minutes depending on size, they should not be browned. Remove the baking trays and immediately slide off the macarons and the baking paper onto the work surface and let cool completely before removing the shells.

For rose buttercream, beat butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sifted sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the cream and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the rosewater, adding a little more or a little less depending on your own taste.Add a little more cream or confectioners sugar to reach the desired consistency.

Once shells have cooled, match disks into like sizes and sandwich together using the rose butter cream. I piped the buttercream on, but it could easily be spread on if you a little less sweetness. And these are pretty sweet!

I love the result of this recipe and I really hope I remember to come back to it next time I'm messing around with flavour combinations. My shells were a bit puffy, but I think I could have mixed the mixture a little more; it's always so hard to tell. But the surface and feet of each beautiful. Now what to do with close to 50 macarons... 

Recommended baking soundtrack: Au Revoir Simone - The Bird of Music.