Recipe: French Almond Macaroons

Bored one Sunday afternoon, and wondering what to make with a bunch of leftover egg whites ( I made leche flan with the yolks), a quick google search led me to this recipe on taste.com.au. I've heard so many people say how difficult macaroons are to make - I think I did alright. Maybe it was just a fluke.


Here is my first attempt at making French Almond Macaroons, recipe from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/14336/french+almond+macaroons

Ingredients
300g icing sugar
300g ground almonds
5 eggwhites (from 59g eggs)
Pinch of cream of tartar
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
food colouring


Fillings
250g unsalted butter, softened
150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp finely grated mandarin rind
1 tsp orange blossom water
1/2 cup raspberries


Method
Using a fine sieve, sift icing sugar and almonds, pushing through with a wooden spoon. Using an electric mixer, whisk eggwhites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and whisk until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tbs at a time, and whisk until dissolved. Stir meringue into almond mixture (mixture will be stiff), then split the mixture into portions. Use the food colouring to tint the dough.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm piping nozzle. As I don't own a piping bag, I made by own makeshift piping bag using some baking paper rolled up into a cone. Pipe 1.5cm rounds on to baking paper-lined oven trays, then repeat with other mixture. Smooth over with a wet finger.

Preheat oven to 150°C and bake macaroons, 2 trays at a time, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and cool on trays. Slide a knife under each macaroon to release from paper, then store in an airtight container until ready to fill.

For fillings, using an electric mixer, beat butter until pale and fluffy, then gradually beat in icing sugar until combined. Transfer half the mixture from the bowl to another bowl and add mandarin rind and orange blossom water. Stir to combine. Add raspberries and rosewater to remaining mixture in mixing bowl and, using the electric mixer, beat until well combined. Sandwich pink macaroons with raspberry filling and orange. Bon appetit!

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