It all started with a very innocent email from my daughter-in-law. Inside a simple phrase and a single picture… The phrase: Something for you to try… The picture: a gorgeous Minnie Macaron sold at Disney. Miss G, our grand-daughter is crazy about all things Minnie. Basically, the universe conspired to make me bake a batch.
MINNIE MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)
for the shells:
198 g powdered sugar
113 g almond meal
113 g egg whites at room temperature
a pinch of cream of tartar
100 g granulated sugar
Pink Gel color from AmeriColor
2 drops vanilla extract
for the filling:
280 g strawberries, stems removed
140 g sugar
1 lemon, juiced
250 g white chocolate, chopped fine
1/3 cup heavy cream (about 80g)
1 tablespoon butter
to decorate:
pink bows (melted Candy Melts with a drop of pink gel color)
gold and pink sparkling sugar
Make the filling: Prepare fresh strawberry jam by mixing strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook for 30 minutes, mixing every once in a while. After 30 minutes cool and refrigerate. Reserve (you will not need the full amount). You can also use store-bough strawberry jam, if more convenient. Make a white chocolate ganache by mixing very hot heavy cream with the white chocolate cut into small pieces. Mix until fully dissolved. To that, add 1/4 cup of the strawberry jam prepared before, and the butter. Mix well and refrigerate until it’s time to fill the macarons. If too thick, bring to room temperature for an hour or so, whisking a few times.
Make the pink bows: Melt about 1/3 cup candy melts in the microwave. Whisk until smooth, add a tiny drop of pink gel color. Place in a silicone mold and freeze until solid. Un-mold the decorations, make another batch until you have enough. I made 14 Minnie macarons with this batch, and 16 regular round macarons that did not need the bow on top.
Make the shells: Line 2 or 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Layer the powdered sugar and almond meal in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 15 seconds. Pass through a sieve and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
Place the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure that the bowl and the whisk are impeccably clean. Starting on low-speed, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam. The whites should not appear liquid. The foam will be light and should not have any structure.
Slowly rain in the granulated sugar, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn the speed up to medium-high. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme. Add the gel color and the vanilla. Staying at medium-high speed, whip the egg whites until the mixture begins to dull and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue. Check the peak. It should be firm. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl.
Fold in the almond meal mixture in three increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl. Divide the mixture (eyeballing is fine) in two piping bags, one fitted with a 1/2 inch piping tip, the other fitted with a 1/4 inch tip. Pipe macaron rounds using the bigger tip, filling one full tray. Pipe small rounds as ears on each round using the smaller tip. Finish one full tray before starting another one.
Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter. Then fist bump each end of the sheet’s underside twice. If using sparkling sugar, sprinkle over the macarons. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull but not overly dry. Drying time depends on humidity. Ina dry climate, the macarons can dry in 15 to 20 minutes; in a humid climate, it can take 35 to 40 minutes.
While the macarons are drying, heat the oven to 300 F (170 C/gas mark 3). Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Check in 11 minutes. If the tops slide, then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes. The macarons should release without sticking. Check one or two. If they stick, put them back in the oven for 1 to 2 more minutes. Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
Assemble the macarons: find two macarons similar in size and add a good amount of filling to the bottom of one of them. Place the other on top and squeeze gently to take the filling all the way to the edge. Glue to each macaron one little pink bow using melted white chocolate.
Store in the fridge for 24 hours for perfect texture.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: The macarons sold at Disney seem quite large, I decided to make them smaller. As to the filling, I opted for strawberry and white chocolate ganache for two reasons. First, Miss G. loves strawberries, it is one of her favorite fruits. Second, a ganache probably stands shipping better than buttercream. I used a lower proportion of heavy cream to make sure the ganache would set, especially considering the added strawberry jam. I think a little bit of red food color to the filling would have been nice, but I only thought about that when I was done assembling them. Oh, well…
I got a pretty cute silicone mold at amazon.com to make the bows. You can use fondant, real chocolate, or candy melts, whatever you prefer. I have a bit of fondant-phobia, and never worked with it, so Candy melts seemed like a safer option. Worked like a charm. The only problem is having to make several batches, but each needed only 10 minutes in the freezer to un-mold properly. I made the bows the day before and kept them all frozen in a little plastic bag. I know, so organized! Who could imagine that?
I made half the batch as regular macarons (large image of the composite photo above), and half Minnie-shaped. Those who are very skilled with a piping tip might be able to get by piping the ears with the same size tip as the face. I decided to play it safe, and poured some of the batter in a piping bag fitted with a smaller tip. For the body of the macaron I used a Wilton 2A tip, for the ears, a Wilton 12. With a more complex shape, it is important that the macaronage step be performed correctly.
My tip for perfect macaronage: when I think I am almost at the right point of deflating the almond-meringue mixture, I get a teaspoon of batter and drop it on parchment paper. I lift the teaspoon, and the little blob that forms must disappear in about 20 seconds. If it does, the batter is ready, if it is still visible, I fold a few more times. Remember that you can always fold a few more times, but if you go overboard, the batter will be ruined. The macarons will spread too much, spread too thinly and it will be impossible to keep the Minnie shape as piped. Plus, they won’t form nice feet. At the very least you will need a box of Kleenex. If the situation persists, therapy might be your only option.
I cannot tell you how happy I was with this project! It was fun to plan, to get the tools for the job, to make it, and to imagine the look on Miss G’s face when she opened the box and found a bunch of Minnie cookies inside. The filling turned out just as I expected, sweet, but with the right amount of tartness given by the jam, which by the way, I made with a lot less sugar than store-bought versions.
AND FOR THAT HAPPY ENDING….
ONE YEAR AGO: Nigella Lawson in the Bewitching Kitchen
TWO YEARS AGO: Walnut-Raisin Bran Muffins
THREE YEARS AGO: Gingersnaps with White Chocolate Chips
FOUR YEARS AGO: Turkey Chili with Almond Butter
FIVE YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Leek and Cheese Tart
SIX YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club; Triple Chocolate Brownies
SEVEN YEARS AGO: Shaved Asparagus Salad
EIGHT YEARS AGO: Indonesian Ginger Chicken
Adorable!
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I loved them too!
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You made one little young lady seriously happy: ‘good’on’ya, gran’ as we would say in this country 🙂 ! I may not be a baker but these are absolutely gorgeous and I would love to pinch one too !!!
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still feeling pretty “high” about those… worth the effort! no doubt!
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AWWW how adorable!!! You are a wonderful grandmother.
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hard to be too wonderful from hundreds of miles away and rarely being around, but… if I cannot be there, my macarons can! 😉
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OMG I want one too! Yum!!! I don’t think I have that sort of patience, they look fantastic. Never dabbled at all with any of this and think I’ll leave it to you experts.
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Trust me, patience is the main virtue I lack.. if I could do them anyone can!
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These are your most beautiful macarons EVER!!! almost, but only almost, as gorgeous as the lovely Miss G 💖
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they did turn out great, I think… a few things here and there I could have improved, but overall I cannot complain.. not a single one cracked during baking! I still cannot quite believe it…
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That’s because you’re a macaron megastar!!!
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Incríveis! Confesso que pensei que vc tivesse usado forminhas com formato de Minnie. Perfeição!
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pois e’, macaron tem que ser “piped” nao da’ pra usar forminhas… challenging!
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WOWO- You have really outdone yourself! These are perfection. Adorable. The happy ending is too cute to take! 🙂
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yeah, that happy ending is the best thing! she looks soooo happy!
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Showed this to my wife and her comment is golden: Sally is obviously a talented loving Grandma and all us mortal Grandmas are in AWE! Beautiful macarons, beautiful, happy granddaughter!
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oh, that was too good! “us mortal Grandmas”… priceless!!!! Tell her I say thank you for the compliment…
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I also shared your Facebook post in a group Taste Matters and suggest you join in, it is hosted by Carol Borchardt a fellow personal chef and blogger!
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ok dokie.. will look for it and join, if they accept me!
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Wow. Just wow. As a mortal grandma, I AM in awe. The suspense would kill me!!! These are amazing. The extra step with the bows too! And they match perfectly!
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indeed, the suspense of finding out if the “minnies” would form feet, if the ears would crack, you know, all kinds of nasty outcomes could have happened…
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Stunning creations. You’re the BEST grand-mum EVER.
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well, I have strong competition… 😉
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None who could equal that. I’m an adult and I’d get little girl squee-ish over a box. 🙂
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So very adorable! Clearly, you have way more patience than me! Great job!
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These are so adorable and creative!
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Reblogged this on Bewitching Kitchen and commented:
Flash-back from the past, one of my favorite macaron projects!
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