A bit of
history (thanks Wikipedia): The name of the cookie comes
from an Italian word meaning paste, maccarone. About the origin,
culinary historians claim that macaroons can be traced to an Italian monastery of
the 9th century. The monks came to France in 1533, joined by the pastry chefs
of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II. Later, two Benedictine nuns,
Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, came to Nancy seeking asylum
during the French Revolution. The two women paid for their housing by baking
and selling macaroon cookies, and thus became known as the "Macaroon
Sisters". Recipes for macaroons (also spelled "mackaroon,"
"maccaroon" and "mackaroom") appear in recipe books at
least as early as 1725 (Robert Smith's Court Cookery, or the Complete English
Cook).
Never tried
to make macaroons before but I am quite pleased on how they came out and this
is just an indulgent recipe with my favourite autumn treat: chestnuts.
Recipe (x6)
large
75g finely ground
almonds
100g icing
sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
powder
2 egg whites
50g caster
sugar
Filling:
200ml
whipping cream
4 tbsp
chestnut puree
2 tbsp plain
chocolate shavings
Put finely ground
almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor and process for 20
sec or until well mixed/powdery. Sift the mixture into a bowl through a large
sieve.
Whisk the
egg whites (room temperature) in a large bowl until soft peaks then add
gradually the caster sugar to make a glossy meringue.
Fold the
almond mixture into the meringue one third at a time with a spatula. Fold the
mixture until it forms a shiny batter, smooth and glossy that fall slowly from
the spatula.
Pour the
mixture into a piping bag and pipe 12 large rounds onto a prepared baking
sheet. Tap the baking sheet firmly onto a work surface to remove air bubbles.
Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 160oC.
Bake in the
preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. The macaroons are ready when they have a
crispy shell and the foot at the base does not wobble. If the base is still
soft and sticky, return the tray to the oven for few minutes.
Leave the macaroons
to cool for 10 minutes then they are ready to be filled.
Filling:
Whip the
cream and fold into the chestnut puree. Pipe the mixture onto half the
macaroon, top with the remaining macaroons shells and serve dusted with icing
sugar. Well this time I have just spread the chestnut puree and covered with
whipped cream, bliss
Enjoy
