Still for my niece’s birthday, here are some Mickey-shaped macarons (no, no, they’re not pandas, as my other half thought ^^). Cute, aren’t they? To pipe them properly, I’d prepared a template with Mickey’s face (the head and the ears) — it’s easier that way. I did have a small problem, though, as the ears cracked during baking. I think I can explain it simply… I set aside a little batter to add the black colouring and form the ears and the nose. But I had to add a lot of colouring, so I did a lot of macaronage. I think that batter was over-macaroned compared with the white mixture, which explains the cracks…
In any case, they were delicious: vanilla and tonka bean go together wonderfully, I love it! And what do you think of these little mice? 🙂
Ingredients & preparation
3 components · Full recipe
Shells
Ingredients
- 70 g (2.5 oz) egg whites
- 140 g (4.9 oz) icing sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) ground almonds
- 20 g (0.7 oz) caster sugar
- 1/2 tonka bean
- white food colouring
- black food colouring
- a black food-safe pen
Preparation
1
Blend the icing sugar and ground almonds together. Finely grate half a tonka bean, then sift the whole mixture.
2
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, add the caster sugar in 2 additions and whisk at maximum speed to achieve the “bird’s beak” stage. Add a little white food colouring and mix again. I use powder colouring and add a knife tip’s worth.
3
Gradually fold in the almond and icing sugar mixture using a rubber spatula. The mixture should be glossy, smooth and fall in a ribbon. Once the right consistency is achieved, transfer 2/3 of the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Don’t hesitate to use a tall glass to support your piping bag — this way you can use both hands.
4
For the remaining third, add a little black powder colouring and fold together without over-mixing. Transfer this batter to a second piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
5
To pipe Mickey-shaped macarons, first pipe small white domes of about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in a staggered pattern on a sheet of parchment paper. Then take the second piping bag with the black batter and pipe very small domes at the position of the ears, and add a little batter for the nose (note: make the nose on only half the shells). For even macarons, I use a template I made myself (click here to access all the templates). Leave to form a crust for about 20 minutes. If after an hour the surface of your macarons is still not dry, there’s a good chance they won’t form a crust at all. There can be several reasons for this — in any case, there’s no point waiting any longer. Bake the macarons anyway, but be prepared for the fact that they probably won’t have a foot.
6
Bake at 120°C / 250°F for 20–22 minutes. Once out of the oven, leave to cool before removing the shells. The shells are baked when they can be removed very easily.
Step by step
Not quite comfortable with macaron shells yet? I’ve put together two full step-by-step picture guides to help you get it right every time:
Whipped Vanilla Ganache
Ingredients
- 80 g (2.8 oz) white couverture chocolate
- 50 g (1.8 oz) liquid cream
- 85 g (3 oz) very cold liquid cream
- 1 tsp neutral honey (acacia honey, for example)
- 2 vanilla pods
Preparation
1
Break the white chocolate into small pieces in a bowl.
2
Place the 50 g (1.8 oz) of cream, honey and split and scraped vanilla pods in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
3
Remove the vanilla pods, then reheat the cream.
4
Pour the cream all at once over the white chocolate. Cover the bowl and leave to melt for 2–3 minutes.
5
Mix the ganache well to make it smooth. If the white chocolate is not fully melted, place the bowl in a bain-marie.
6
Add the 85 g (3 oz) of very cold cream and mix gently.
7
Cover with cling film pressed directly onto the surface and refrigerate for several hours (ideally overnight).
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Preparation
1
Sort your macarons so that the ones you pair together are the same size.
2
On half the shells (those that have a black nose), draw the rest of Mickey’s face using a black food-safe pen.
3
Remove the ganache from the fridge and whip it like a chantilly cream. Place a small amount of whipped ganache in the centre of one macaron shell and sandwich two shells together.
4
Refrigerate and wait 24 to 48 hours before eating. The macarons should spend the first night in an unsealed container (to prevent them from becoming moist), then close the box and keep them in the fridge for a further 24 hours. They’ll only be better for it. Find all the tips and tricks in my previous article: macaron shells (step by step in pictures).
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