French macaron recipe
I made french macarons and filmed it, they are the tastyest little cookies ever.
INGREDIENTS
3 Egg Whites (100 g)
¼ cup white sugar (50 g)
2 cups confectioners sugar (200 g)
1 cup almond flour (120 g)
STRAWBERRY BUTTER CREAM
1/4 cup butter (60g)
3/4 cup powdered sugar (75 g)
1 cup (150 g) fresh strawberries, worked through a sieve to extract 3 tbsp of juice
METHOD: Preheat oven to 300F degrees (150°C). Beat egg whites until foamy, then add white sugar, and mix until it forms stiff peaks (eggwhites should be room temp). Then add the food coloring. Sift almond flour, and powdered sugar. Fold flour/sugar mixture into the egg white mixture. This is where all your hard work can really go wrong. Under mix and your macaroons will be lumpy and cracked when the bake with no feet, over mix and your macaroons will be flat and won't have feet, the mark of a well-made macaron. In my experience 65-75 turns of your spatula when folding is about the right amount of time. But again, it can be tricky, depends on how strong you are, Ha! So it can take a few tries to get it right. Transfer batter to a pastry bag. Pipe out rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tap the pan hard at least 2-3 times to release the air bubbles. This will prevent the tops of your macarons from cracking. Let them sit out for 1 hour. This will allow them time to dry out a bit before hitting the hot oven. They should be "tacky" to the touch, but not stick to your fingertips. This is another important step to assuring your macarons develop feet! When they dry out they can't spread out in the oven, and are forced to rise up. That's what creates the feet! Bake for 15-17 mins.
Buttercream
Whip butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Work strawberries through the sieve with a spatula, pushing them through, mashing them around until you extract their juice. You want 3 tablespoons of juice. Add juice and sugar to buttercream, and whip until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag, fitted with a small tip. Reverse cookie shells on their backs, and pipe a small mound of filling on one of them. Top with the other shell et Voila!
If not eating right away, keep refrigerated.