salted caramel macarons and excuses

In case you hadn't noticed, it's been a while. I've been busy. Everyone's been busy. Where the heck has this year gone etc. I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it?

Isn't it a comforting feeling to have a favourite recipe? A recipe you've made so many times that you measure ingredients and move through the method automatically, without really even being conscious of the steps? One that you can feel confident will turn out just as it did the last time: perfectly. It's a fail-safe, a tried and true, an old friend.

I've had a long relationship with macarons that spans a couple of years now--almost as long as this blog. With each new recipe I've tried, I've been convinced that it's "the one". And I've tried a few. But somehow, I always come back to this recipe. Sure, it takes a little longer than some recipes that don't require a sugar syrup, and maybe the processing and sifting is unnecessary, but I know what I like. And this is it. This is my old faithful.

The caramel recipe is just as wonderful. I usually make it the day before, and have it sitting in the fridge ready to go. And yes, okay, alright, it usually has traces of spoon marks through it before it makes it onto the macarons. Don't judge me. Seriously, this stuff would make a great gift on its own.

Ingredients: 

For macaron shells (makes approx 30 sandwiched shells, depending on size):

300 gms ground almonds
300 gms icing sugar
220 gms egg whites, separated into 2 lots of 110 gms
300 gms white sugar
75 gms water
dash brown food colouring

For salted caramel (makes enough to fill 30 complete macarons, with delicious lefotvers):

250 mls pouring cream

350 gms caster sugar

350 gms butter, cubed

sea salt flakes, to taste

For the salted caramel, place the sugar in a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Despite every instinct commanding you to stir, allow the sugar to caramelise before you even touch the pan. As soon as you see little patches starting to melt and caramelise, turn the pan and give it a gentle shake if necessary, and maybe a gentle stir with a wooden spoon every now and again. This part, although intimidating, can be quite forgiving. 

Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small saucepan, but remove from heat as soon as it starts to boil. 

When the sugar has reached a dark golden colour, remove it from the heat and slowly pour in the hot cream whilst mixing. Place pan back on a very low heat, and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about ten minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, while whisking. Pour the caramel into a shallow container and chill until thick.

When you're ready to use the caramel, add as much salt as you'd like, and mix it vigorously with a spatula until smooth. 

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For the macarons, mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together and in small batches, pulse a few times in food processor to ground the mixture finer. Don't go too crazy processing, as it releases the oils in the nuts and you'll end up with a paste. Sieve into a large bowl. Add colour and 110 gms of the egg whites to the sugar and almond mixture, and mix to combine. It will be quite a paste. 

Place remaining 110 gms of egg whites in bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Place white 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 medium-high until they are foamy and almost forming soft peaks. Once the sugar syrup reaches 118C remove from heat and slowly pour in a thin stream down the side of the mixer bowl continuing to whisk on high. 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 wonderful and shiny.

Add a dollop of the meringue mixture to almond mixture. This will loosen the mix up and make it easier to fold through the rest. You don't need to be gentle.  Your final mixture should be a shiny, oozy batter. I've heard it described as a similar consistency to lava before, and though never personally witnessing lava before, I would surely have to agree.

Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe small rounds onto baking trays lined with baking paper. If you need to draw circles on the reverse side of the baking paper to be consistent, then go right ahead. Tap the trays firmly on the bench a few times (for some unexplainable reason, I do it six times :/ ) to eliminate any air bubbles. Set aside for about 30 minutes or until the macarons have formed a skin that doesn't stick to your finger. This will largely vary due to temperature, especially varying levels of humidity!

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 the paper. 

Fill a piping bag fitted with a plain tip with the salted caramel. Pipe onto macaron shells and sandwich together. 

Favourite recipes are good at making you feel good. Even if you're busy, or stressed, or unwell, there's comfort in the familiarity of making something that you know will be awesome. It's an ego boost. And as lovely as macarons are, and as many flavours as I've tried to inject into them, I'm confident that this one is my favourite. This recipe is a huge ego boost ;)

Recommended baking soundtrack: Yann Tiersen - Les Retrouvailles.

maple & pear macarons

It's sad to realise that for the better part of my life, I wasn't as close to maple syrup as I would have liked, and this is despite pancakes being one of the first things I learnt how to cook. I think it's fair in assuming that up until recent years, most Australian households were consuming... maple flavoured syrup. It's runnier, sweeter and sicklier. It has a funny after-taste and is just inferior. I forget the exact moment that I tasted real, thick, pure maple syrup for the first time, most likely because I was on such a sugary high that it simply didn't matter. But, I can never go back to maple flavoured syrup, even if it is about a quarter of the price. Sometimes, and often with food, quality matters. Paying extra is worth it.

Maple syrup goes so well with most fruits, but in Autumn and Winter, I try to consume as many pears as possible. So it's only natural that eventually I realised these two flavours could only be improved upon in one way: in macaron form. I would have loved to have slices of dried pear atop these macarons, but this was just one too many steps in between me and a mapley macaron. So there's a nice improvement to this recipe, if you have the patience.

Ingredients
For macarons:
150 gms ground almonds
150 gms icing sugar
110 gms egg whites, separated into 2 lots of 55 gms
150 gms white sugar
37 gms water
dash brown food colouring


For maple buttercream:
300 gms butter, at room temperature
400 gms icing sugar, sifted (approximately)
2 tbsps pure maple syrup (not maple flavoured syrup!)

For poached pears:
2 beurre bosc pairs, peeled
4 cups water
1 1/3 cups sugar
vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

For the macarons shells, follow instructions as shown here.

While macarons are resting and baking, you can poach your pears. Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vanilla bean and seeds and your pears, covering with a cartouche to assist pears to cook evenly and to assist in reducing the liquid slightly. Simmer for about 20 minutes until just soft, and allow to cool in the sugary liquid. 

Once macarons have been baked and cooled, completely, make your maple buttercream. Mix the butter in the bowl on an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, starting on a medium speed and increasing to high, until butter is smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar and maple syrup, whipping until at your desired consistency. 

Pipe buttercream onto half of your macaron shells, and top with a small piece of diced poached pear. Sandwich with remaining macaron shells.

Another way to subtly change your flavours would be to add extra flavours and spices to your poaching liquid: star anise, citrus peel, cinnamon. The options and endless, really. You could also then add some of your poaching liquid into the maple buttercream... I wish I'd thought of that earlier.

Recommended baking soundtrack: Horse Feathers - Thistled Spring. 

passionfruit & dark chocolate macarons

I'm finding myself in a somewhat strange situation: I'm baking so frequently I just can't keep up with myself. Banana sundae cake, s'mores macarons, apple spice cupcakes, vanilla bean bundt cake... So many opportunities to bake, to give food gifts and to celebrate have left me with little time to do this part. Thankfully, the Internet is so forgiving. 

These macarons were a result of a Saturday evening dinner hosted by a very stubborn but dear friend, who would accept no help and even sent me home with the bottle of wine I brought along with me. Thankfully, she was gracious enough hold onto a box of these passionfruit macarons, and I could feel slightly better about my contribution to the evening. Because giving is all about feeling better about yourself, right?

I love macaron shells when they're sandwiched with a tart fruit ganache. When remembering eating my first batch of macarons whilst in France, I remembered how amazed I was by the pairing of passionfruit -which I really feel quite luke warm about - and chocolate. My version may not be the true French experience, but it's pretty gosh darn wonderful.

Ingredients

For macaron shells:
150 gms ground almonds
150 gms icing sugar
110 gms egg whites, separated into 2 lots of 55 gms
150 gms white sugar
37 gms water
dash yellow food colouring

For ganache:
200 gms good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped
1/2 cup cream
pulp of 3 passionfruit
1 - 2 cups icing sugar

Cocoa, to dust

For the macarons, mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together and pulse a few times in food processor to make almond meal finer, being careful not to over-process and release the oil in the almond meal. Sieve into a large bowl. Add colour and 55 gms of the egg whites to the sugar/almond mixture but do not mix in.

Place remaining 55 gms of egg whites in bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk.

Place white 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. 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. Dust with cocoa powder.
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 the ganache, place the chocolate in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place cream and passionfruit pulp in a small saucepan over medium heat until almost at boiling point. Remove immediately and pour cream through a strainer over the chocolate. Cover bowl and sit for a minute or two before stirring until smooth. Allow to cool for ten minutes. Begin adding icing sugar a little at a time, whilst beating, until at desired piping or spreading consistency. 

To finish, pipe shells with ganache. Allow to rest for 24 hours at room temperature for the passionfruit flavour to develop, if you can. It's worth it. 

Recommended baking soundtrack: Vetiver - The Errant Charm. 

turkish delight macarons

I am by no means a health nut. I like gentle exercises: pilates, yoga, swimming... does strolling count? I do fall off the pilates wagon every once in a while and can go through lengthy periods of times without "exercise", but console my inner couch-potato by reminding myself that I have a fairly physical job. But over the weekend, I felt physically unfit for the first time in as long as I can remember... whilst folding a double batch of macarons. Due to an unintentional baking hiatus, I have lost my ability to hand-whip potatoes, whisk cream and most importantly, fold macaron batter the many times it requires to become beautiful and shiny. I pride myself on this ability. I am thoroughly devastated.

Despite my now sore right arm, these are my favourite macarons of the year, largely due to a new oven. Each are sandwiched with a rose infused, whipped dark chocolate ganache, and contain a small bite of turkish delight in the centre.

Ingredients


For macaron shells:
Recipe courtesy of Bubble and Sweet (based on a Pierre Herme recipe)
150 gms ground almonds
150 gms icing sugar
110 gms egg whites, separated into 2 lots of 55 gms
150 gms white sugar
37 gms water
dash pink food colouring

For ganache:
200 gms good quality dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
1/2 cup cream
few drops rosewater
1 - 2 cups icing sugar

About 100 gms turkish delight, chopped into 1cm cubes.

For the macarons, mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together and pulse a few times in food processor to make almond meal finer, being careful not to over-process and release the oil in the almond meal. Sieve into a large bowl. Add colour and 55 gms of the egg whites to the sugar/almond mixture but do not mix in.

Place remaining 55 gms of egg whites in bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk.

Place white 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. 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.
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 ganache, finely chop chocolate and place in a the bowl of your electric mixer. Place cream and rosewater in a small saucepan, and heat until it just begins to boil. Pour hot cream over the chopped chocolate, cover with a dinner plate (or saucepan lid, or... anything) and leave for 1 minute. Stir mixture until smooth, and allow to cool for ten minutes. Add 1 cup icing sugar to ganache, and whip using paddle attachment until smooth and slightly lighter in colour. Add more icing sugar until desired consistency - the mixture should just be able to hold its shape when piped, but should also be glossy-- about 1 1/2 cups of sugar should do. 

Place whipped ganache in a piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm tip, and pipe half the macaron shells with a dollop of filling. Top with a piece of turkish delight before sandwiching with remaining halves. 

Macarons are apparently better a couple of days after being filled, and prior to this recipe, I can't say I've really had many lying around after that point to really know the difference. I made these in the evening and had my first taste the morning after and could already taste how the flavour had developed and permeated the shell. So, if you can wait that long, fill them and leave them for at least a few hours, or a day if you are really self disciplined. 

Recommended baking soundtrack: Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can. 

chouquette: a review

I don't usually do reviews. I feel somewhat uncomfortable about taking photos in restaurants - mostly due to my camera being so old, me never deleting photos, and the reload speed unbearable as a result of both! - and I also have a terribly sparse and sporadic memory, so by the time I sit down to write my experiences, the finer details are a little faded. Also, how many synonyms for "lovely" could there possibly be? 

It's been a while since I've blogged, but not baked. I seem to have many excuses, including working on and  submitting assessments coming close to 25 000 words and baking for and hosting my sister's baby shower. So today when my better half and I headed to New Farm to visit Chouquette, I figured now is as a good time to come back into orbit of the blogosphere. Ugh, I hate that word. A dear friend and coworker of mine recommended this tiny, character-riddled patisserie months back, but I've just never found the time or opportunity to visit. It took Australian Gourmet Traveller to mention in its 2011 Australian Restaurant Guide for me to make it a priority. 

We arrived around 10:30am to find this little cafe bustling, all seats taken, and very shortly a line out the door after us. We were served by friendly, efficient and patient staff, and each chose two treats, which was hard only because of the variety and quality on display. We then ducked off to New Farm park to enjoy the morning and our bounty of goods. My first course: a macaron. Of course. 

Chocolate macaron - $2.70

I should have placed this baby next a 50c piece to show its size - it was huge! More importantly, it was delicious - slightly crispy, chocolatey and chewy. Despite sharing a little, what impressed me most was my ability to eat it all. It wasn't sickly sweet like macarons can be. 

Tarte au chocolat & Tarte au citron - $6 each

After a break, a walk and a coffee, we went halves in a tarte au citron and tarte au chocolat. The pastry on each was beautiful and crispy. The lemon tart was rich and eggy, and the chocolate ganache filling was velvety smooth. Despite my boyfriend's resistance to eating aluminium foil ("It's silver leaf!", I tell him through laughter), we were both in heaven. 

I will definitely be back to Chouquette, but will plan to arrive a little during weekends. I appreciate and admire cafes and restaurants that cook a batch and simply sell out if there's high demand, rather than churning out a product en masse and have an abundance of stock in cabinets. It makes you appreciate acquiring something special. My macaroon left two lonely ones behind, and they were all out of chocolate eclairs, so if you're after something in particular best get there early. 

Chouquette

19 Barker St New Farm QLD 4005

07 3358 6336

Wednesday to Saturday - 6.30am to 5.00pm

Sunday - 6.30am to 12.30pm

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.

macaron challenge v3.0: raspberry & chocolate macarons

Is it horribly self-indulgent for people to google themselves? Yesterday, for the first time, I googled myself: "mybuttoncake". Funnily, the first result was a link to twitter. Alison Thompson's twitter! The Alison Thompson who brought us 'Macaron'. This is the best thing that has happened to me all week, and despite only being Wednesday, it's been a looong week. And pastries make such weeks much more tolerable.

I had some leftover raspberry puree from my peach melba cupcakes, so thought it a perfect opportunity to make some beautiful raspberry macarons. The puree is added to the ganache - along with some raspberry liqueur - which adds a beautiful tartness to the filling. See Alison's recipe for the correct amounts of each ingredient, or experiment as you wish. How am I going to choose just one recipe from this book as my favourite when they are all so absolutely lovely?!

After filling the macarons, I piped some whipped cream onto the top of each using a star tip, and finished with a fresh raspberry. It's a mouthful, but a delightful one. Here's to Wednesday. 

Thank you again, Alison. 

Recommended baking soundtrack: Solex - The Laughing Stock of Indie Rock. 

macaron challenge v2.0: chocolate & orange

So, I recently stated my plans to create all 35 flavours of macarons detailed in Alison Thompson's delightful 'Macaron'. I haven't yet decided if I was entirely serious, although I did promise my boyfriend I would be creating a new flavour approximately once per week. Despite not sticking to this time commitment (or any, in fact), I'm two flavours down with a mere 33 to go. It's a start, and a delicious one at that.

This round, I changed the ganache around a touch, using a higher chocolate content to get my desired consistency with less refrigeration time needed. Experiment as you wish.

Ingredients (makes 30 macarons, depending on the size)

Recipe adapted from 'Macaroon' by Alison Thompson

For macaron shells:

225 gms pure icing sugar

140 gms almond meal

110 gms eggs whites, at room temperature

2 tsp cocoa

For filling:

200 gms milk chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup pouring cream

1 tbsp orange liqueur

finely grated zest of two oranges

Line two baking trays with baking paper. 

For macaron shells, combine the icing sugar and almond meal, and sift together twice (important!), discarding anything remaining in the sieve. This ensures your mixture won't be grainy. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on a high speed until stiff peaks form. Add a small amount of orange food colouring to egg whites, and mix until colour has evenly spread through mixture. 

Fold the sifted sugar and almond meal into egg whites, continuing to fold until the mixture is glossy and moves slowly when the bowl is tilted. Remember, it's imperative that the mixture is smooth, so don't be overly concerned with loosing air through folding. We're not making sponge, here. 

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm plain piping tube. Pipe rounds 3cm in diameter onto the baking tray, spacing them 2 - 3cms apart. Sprinkle shells with cocoa. Tap the trays firmly on the bench a couple of times to knock out any air bubbles. 

The macaron shells must now sit at room temperature until a crust forms - this will take 2 - 6 hours, depending on the temperature of the room (the warmer and drier the room, the faster the drying process will be). When they are ready, you should be able to touch the tops slightly and have no mixture stick to your finger.

Preheat oven to 150C fan-forced. 

Place macaron shells into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 130C. Bake for 10 - 12 mins, until firm to the touch but not coloured. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before carefully removing from oven trays. 

For the filling, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, add the finely grated orange zest and bring to the boil. Stand for ten minutes to infuse. Strain the cream to remove the zest, reheat until hot, then pour it over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Add the orange liqueur and mix well. Refrigerate for about 30 mins or until firm enough to hold its shape. 

Spread or pipe cooled and thickened filling onto half the shells, and sandwich with remaining shells. 

These are seriously delicious. As special as my gingerbread macarons were, this flavour surpasses them for me and everyone else who was lucky enough to try both. They are surprisingly orangey, and I just think this flavour combination can't be beaten. Well, we'll see... 

gingerbread-spiced macarons

I've tried so, so many macaron recipes - mostly ending in a product that was entirely edible and delicious, but not as handsome as I expected. You can hardly be surprised with the inconsistencies with a traditional macaron recipe: Some recipes call for double sifting icing sugar and almond meal; some don't. Some say to lightly press on the piped mixture with wet fingers; some don't. Most interestingly, some insist the piped mixture rest at room temperature for at least two hours before going into the oven; and some don't. After all of my experimentation, crushed dreams, heartaches and tears, I found my go-to recipe, courtesy of Australian Gourmet Traveller's 2009 French issue. I felt like I had accomplished something in life, albeit a small (but delicious) something.

Since that issue, I've intended on being a little more adventurous with flavours, but I just didn't find the time. This changed when I got my hands on a copy of 'Macaron' by Alison Thompson. This book has me in heaven, and I intend to prolong this sense of the afterlife by trying all 35 recipes. Kind of like Julie Powell, but with less curse words, not as much ambition and with a more lazy and as yet undefined timeframe. We'll see.

First, I bring you gingerbread.

Ingredients (makes 30 macarons, depending on the size)
Recipe taken from 'Macaron' by Alison Thompson

For macaron shells:

225 gms pure icing sugar

140 gms almond meal

110 gms eggs whites, at room temperature

1/2 tsp nutmeg

For filling:

150 gms milk chocolate, chopped

150 mls pouring cream

2 strips orange zest 

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

1 clove

2 cardamom pods

pinch of nutmeg

3 tsps honey

1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

For filling, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and add the orange zest, cinnamon, star anise, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, honey, vanilla pod and seeds. 

Bring to the boil, the remove from heat and stand for 10 mins. Strain the cream, then reheat until hot. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until smooth. 

Refrigerate the filling until firm enough to hold its shape. 

Line two baking trays with baking paper. 

Combine the icing sugar and almond meal, and sift together twice, discarding anything remaining in the sieve. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on a high speed until stiff peaks form. Add a small amount of brown food colouring to egg whites, and mix until colour has evenly spread through mixture. 

Fold the sifted sugar and almond meal into egg whites, continuing to fold until the mixture is glossy and moves slowly when the bowl is tilted. It's not necessary to be too delicate with the egg whites - it's most important that the mixture is nice and smooth. 

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm plain piping tube. Pipe rounds 3cm in diameter onto the baking tray, spacing them 2 - 3cms apart. Sprinkle shells with nutmeg. Tap the trays firmly on the bench a couple of times to knock out any air bubbles. 

The macaron shells must now sit at room temperature until a crust forms - this will take 2 - 6 hours, depending on the temperature of the room (the warmer and drier the room, the faster the drying process will be). When they are ready, you should be able to touch the tops slightly and have no mixture stick to your finger. 

Preheat oven to 150C fan-forced. 

Place macaron shells into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 130C. Bake for 10 - 12 mins, until firm to the touch but not coloured. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before carefully removing from oven trays. 

Spread or pipe cooled and thickened filling onto half the shells, and sandwich with remaining shells. 

The final product sure is a delicious one. I cooled the ganache for about 4 hours, but it was still only slightly thicker than pouring consistency for me. Next time, I might increase the chocolate ratio to get a thicker and less oozy layer of ganache. 

The most important step is the resting: both this recipe and AGT's call for it - and these are by far the best recipes I've ever tried. For this reason, making macarons just can't be an impulsive decision. Follow the recipe by the letter, and I'm sure you'll be in lust with the results.  

Recommended baking soundtrack - Françoise Hardy - The Vogue Years. Of course!