Sunday Baking - Macarons, those delicious little enigmas. I've got some tips here to demystify their process

Macarons it turns out are not that hard! You just need to follow a few simple methodical steps to achieve a convincingly professional result. I've made this recipe at least 3 times now and always a consistent bake, so feel free to give it a go ♥

Ingredients:

3 Egg whites (always at room temp - never from the fridge)
35gms Caster sugar
Sift together: 200gms Icing sugar +
110gms Ground Almonds
Few drops of food coloring (optional)

Method:

Beat egg whites in a stand mixer until foamy then while beating, gradually add caster sugar until firm peaks form. You're pouring slowly so as to dissolve the sugar. Optional: In a food processor blend your ground almond and icing sugar to a fine powder, almond meal often has bigger chunks of almond in. If you omit this step you may have some chunks of almond.
Fold in your Sifted almond and icing sugar (and food coloring if you like) until combined, about 30 turns. The batter should fall off the spatula in blobs and hold its shape in the bowl for approximately 30 seconds before melting in.
Spoon into a piping bag and pipe out rounds onto parchment/silicone mat lined baking trays and leave out to set - I get my fan out and fan them for half an hour. This stage is important as you want the skin to form on the outside so that when you bake you get the little "foot" along the bottom.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 140 Celsius for approximately* 10-20 minutes rotating the tray halfway through. 

*time really means NOTHING to macarons, what you need is for them to lift off the parchment paper WITHOUT sticking. Depending on your oven (we have a fan forced oven) you're going to want to watch these, they shouldn't brown or color. Do not remove from the oven until they lift off their parchment.

Now to ICE/frost! The best part!

Ganache:


For The Green:
100gms White Chocolate (always eating, never cooking!*)
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
Zest of half a Lime

For the Pink:
100gms Dark chocolate (eating please)
1/2 cup heavy cream
tablespoon Raspberry Jam

Heat cream until scalding. Pour over chocolate and sit aside for a few minutes. Add flavouring and stir until smooth and shiny. Refrigerate until the consistency you desire then sandwich matched up cookies together.
*To make it stable while melting and so you don't have to temper Cooking chocolate doesn't contain ANY cocoa butter - that special fat that gives chocolate that melty, silky mouth feel without sticking to the roof of your mouth. Cooking chocolate is gross, don't go there

Have you ever made macarons?
Do you have any further tips I may have forgotten?
Happy baking everyone.

♥ Paula Shoe Fiend.