Macaron With Cacao Butter Cream

Yeah yeah I know you all are saying again there she is with her Macarons.Truth be told If I could I would make them every day, as they are so elegant and beautiful to look at.

They do indeed taste good, even though they are sweet.
I think what makes Macarons taste special is their filling.
And I have told you in my earlier posts Hans who goes nuts when I make them, but truth be told he is turing around, he do like/Tolerate these beauties, especially if the filling is special and if it is spiked up with Boose :-)
You can see I had lot of free time yesterday as I was home alone  so wrote a elaborated post .

A macaron  is a sweet meringue-based confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring.

The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.
Although predominantly a French confection, there has been much debate about its origins. Larousse Gastronomique cites the macaron as being created in 1791 in a convent near Cormery. Some have traced its French debut back to the arrival of Catherine de' Medici's Italian pastry chefs whom she brought with her in 1533 upon marrying Henry II of France.

In the 1830s, macarons were served two-by-two with the addition of jams, liqueurs, and spices. The macaron as it is known today was called the "Gerbet" or the "Paris macaron" and is the creation of Pierre Desfontaines of the French pâtisserie Ladurée, composed of two almond meringue discs filled with a layer of buttercream, jam, or ganache filling.
Thankyou Wikipedia for all the information, what will I do without you :-)

I used to draw circle on my baking paper untill I found this link from Meeta's place for these Templates.

Which made my life easier as I just had to print and just slip it under my baking paper and I has perfect cirlces for my Macarons.
I think the macarons are better kept a day in a tupperware closed in the fridge, but I have to admit I eat them the day itself one or two and the rest I keep in the fridge.
When I use butter cream filling, till now I have kept them for 5 days in the fridge and each day for afternoon coffee I take few and bring to the table.

This is a step by step pic from another Macaron post, used this as I didn't take pic this time.

I always stick to my Ottelonghi book, which till now has not failed me.

110gm icing sugar

60gm almond flour
60gm egg whites (of 2 eggs) ( Normally you have to age the egg whites, which I suggest you do too, but these days I find myself not agening them but I don't take the freshest egg, I just take egg which is atleast a week old and then make the Macarons when ever I want as I don't like the agening part of the whites as I am a impulisive baker, but don't listen to me age you eggs )

40gm castor sugar
Few drops of any food colour

Whiz the almond flour and icing sugar in the coffee grinder and sift 2-3 times

Whisk the egg whites and castor sugar till it forms a thick aerated meringue, firm but not too dry.
Turn the nut mixture into the bowl, and fold gently to get a lava type batter.Hold the tray firmly and tap the underside firmly. This should help to spread and smooth out the macarons.
Leave out, uncovered for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 150C (the original recipe has 170C).
Bake in preheated oven for about 15 to 17 minutes. They are ready when they readily leave the paper when liften with a palette knife. Remove from oven as soon as this happens, and leave to cool completely.
I take out the macaron shells when I take them out from the oven, and I do this trick always, slpash a little bit of water unders the baking paper which allows the Macaron to lift from the baking paper easily.

Vanila Butter Cream: Source Tartlette
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 large egg whites

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Few tbsp of Cacao liqueur

Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.

The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
Add the liqueur to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated.

If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.
Sending this to this months Mactweet.