Showing posts with label Hisako Ogita's I Love Macarons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hisako Ogita's I Love Macarons. Show all posts

June 17, 2010

Let's Make Macarons

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A Trio of Macarons
rosewater puffs filled with lychee buttercream, coffee puffs filled with chestnuts buttercream, and matcha puffs filled with sweet azuki beans


As promised (comments section) here is the macaron tutorial of sorts from the book imacarons by Hisako Ogita. Making macarons is a seriously involved process but if you are willing to take the time, it's very rewarding to eat tiny puffy buttons.

Basic Vanilla Macaron Batter
adapted from i ♥ macarons
2/3 cup almond flour
1½ cups powdered sugar
3 large egg whites, room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit your baking sheet. Draw 1-inch circles ½ inch apart [use a water bottle cap as a guide]. Cut 2 more sheets of parchment paper but leave unmarked.
  • In a food processor, grind almond flour and powdered sugar together to a fine powder. Sift the mixture throuh a medium-mesh sieve twice. Set aside.
Macarons

  • In a standing mixer bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until frothy. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla and stir lightly. Beat meringue until stiff, firm, and glossy.
  • Add half of the sifted flour. Stir with a spatula while scooping it up from the bottom of the bowl. Add the rest of the flour and mix it lightly in a circular motion.
  • Macaronnage: Press and spread out the batter against the bowl's sides. Scoop the batter and turn it upside down (folding method). Repeat 15 times.
  • Macaronner: When the batter becomes nicely firm and drips slowly as you scoop it with a spatula, the mixture is done.
Macarons

  • Fill a disposable pastry bag with the batter and snip a .4-inch opening. Clip the top of the bag to prevent the batter from coming out.
  • Place the parchment with circles on the baking sheet. Place an unmarked parchment on top of the parchment. Pipe the batter using the circles as your guide. When full, carefully remove the parchment underneath. Rap the baking sheet firmly against the counter. This helps the macarons hold their rounded shape and helps the pied (little feet) to form. Repeat with the next baking sheet, parchment, and piping. You can fold and reuse the marked sheet which will save you time drawing circles. Leave the batter to dry on the kitchen counter for 15 to 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Touch the batter lightly and if they do not stick to your fingers, they are ready. Bake 1 baking sheet at a time for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove from the baking sheets. Fill with vanilla buttercream.
Macarons

Vanilla Buttercream
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
vanilla extract
  • In a small bowl, stir the butter with a spatula until creamy like mayonnaise.
  • In a small pan, boil the water and sugar to soft ball stage.
  • In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the egg lightly. Increase the speed to high and slowly pour the hot syrup. Reduce the speed to medium then to low and continue beating until the bowl has cooled down to the touch. Beat in the creamed butter in three additions. Add a drop or two of vanilla extract. Continue to beat until the mixture is thick and heavy. Pipe onto the macaron halves using a disposable pastry bag.
Coffee Macarons with Chestnut Cream Filling
coffee puffs filled with chestnuts buttercream

Matcha Macaron with Sweet Azuki Filling
Matcha Macaron
matcha puffs filled with sweet azuki beans

food friday chiclet

April 26, 2010

Ube Macarons

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they have monster "feet"

Here I go again. This is my third macaron blog post. Sorry but I can't help it, they're so freaking cute and so yummy too.

I finally got Hisako Ogita's i macarons book after reading about it again in David Lebovitz's blog. When I saw the purple yam flavored ones, I swear I heard it calling my name. Ube + macarons, oh yesss!

The very thin paperback is actually more like a manual with basic instructions on making macarons. The book is not perfect, with a few head-scratching instructions like the Italian meringue cooked in the microwave oven, but what I like about it is the different flavor and cream filling pairing suggestions. It also has an adorable packaging section with teeny tiny boxes and ribbons, read extreme cuteness a la Hello Kitty, and recipes for the egg yolks. At $9.50 it is definitely a good buy.

For the purple yam macarons she suggests to add 2 tablespoons of purple yam powder [which I presume is not ube but the Japanese purple yam, an entirely different root crop that is closer to sweet potato than the Filipino ube] into a basic 3-egg white macarons recipe.


sweet puff and cream sandwich

 
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