macaroons, inspiration from paris

The macaroons I developed a major crush on during a recent trip to Paris intrigued me so much I thought I should make some at the earliest opportunity! So on my return I made a batch for sale at a neighbours 'open garden'. I decided to make coffee and strawberry flavours for the first attempt, not wishing to jinx myself by being too extravagant!

Basic Recipe:

Ingredients

225 grams icing sugar

125 grams ground almonds

4 egg whites, aged overnight at room temperature

30 grams granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

Method

1. Sift the ground almonds and icing sugar into a bowl, and set aside.

2. In a large clean, dry bowl whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks—the whites should be firm and shiny.

3. With a flexible spatula, gently fold the almond/icing sugar mixture into the egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and "flow like magma" :D . When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing. At this poiint, add colouring to the mixture...I divided the mix into two and added pink dye for the strawberry ones and left the other half plain.

4. Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto lined baking sheets, to make 1 inch circles about 2 inches apart (pipe larger if you want bigger macaroons). If the cookies form peaks on their tops after piping you can flatten these with a wet fingertip. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Leave dry at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours to allow skins to form...I did not have 1-2 hours and 20 minutes gave me accepatble surfaces, incase you don't wish to wait for your treats!

5. Bake in oven, at 160C, for 10 to 11 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar (don't worry, mine did not start a fire - even with the exlamations of my mother!), and rotate the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking.

6. Remove macaroons from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, remove from parchment using a metal spatula or pie slice.

7. Pair macaroons of similar size, and pipe about 1/2 tsp of the filling onto one of the macaroons. Sandwich macaroons, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving.