Here is a new macaron recipe, a must-have really: vanilla and tonka bean macarons. I had already published a recipe for vanilla macarons that I had made with a French meringue. I hesitated to publish this one because it’s very similar, but I’ve also improved a bit at photography so I’m sharing 🙂
I now make my macarons with an Italian meringue (the KitchenAid changed my life! yes really, I swear!) and I added a little grated tonka bean to the vanilla ganache, I love it! You can also grate a little tonka bean over the shells after piping them. It gives them a nice little touch too.
Ingredients & preparation
3 components · Full recipe
Shells
Ingredients
- 2 × 52 g (1.8 oz) egg whites
- 150 g (5.3 oz) icing sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) ground almonds
- 50 g (1.8 oz) water
- 150 g (5.3 oz) caster sugar
Preparation
1
Blitz the icing sugar and ground almonds together, then sift.
2
Make the syrup by placing the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil until the temperature reaches 118°C / 244°F. When the syrup reaches 110°C / 225°F, gradually whisk 52 g (1.8 oz) of egg whites to stiff peaks. Once the temperature reaches 118°C / 244°F, reduce the speed of the whisk and pour the syrup over the whipped whites. Increase the speed again to cool the meringue. Check with your finger — it should be warm but not hot.
3
Switch to the paddle attachment on your stand mixer and fold in the remaining 52 g (1.8 oz) of egg whites, then gradually add the ground almond and icing sugar mixture. Leave to run until the mixture becomes smooth, shiny and falls from the paddle in a ribbon.
4
Once the right consistency is reached, transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Don’t hesitate to use a tall glass to hold your piping bag — that way you can use both hands.
5
Pipe small domes of about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in a staggered pattern onto a sheet of baking paper. To get evenly sized macarons, I use a template downloaded from Pure Gourmandise. Tap the baking tray to get smooth, even shells.
6
Bake at 120°C / 250°F for 22 minutes. Once out of the oven, leave to cool before removing the shells. They are ready when they lift off the baking paper 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:
Vanilla and Tonka Bean Whipped 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)
- 1 vanilla pod
- ½ grated tonka bean
Preparation
1
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can melt it slightly in a bain-marie or microwave).
2
Place the 50 g (1.8 oz) of cream, honey, grated tonka bean 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
As soon as the cream starts to simmer, pour one third over the white chocolate and stir to create an emulsion. Then add a second third, then a third, until you have a smooth, homogeneous mixture.
5
Add the 85 g (3 oz) of cold cream and stir gently.
6
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
Whip the ganache like a chantilly, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain 8–10 mm nozzle.
3
Fill half of the shells with the vanilla and tonka bean whipped ganache, then sandwich with the remaining shells.
4
Refrigerate and wait 24 hours before eating. The macarons should spend the first night in an uncovered container (to prevent them becoming damp), then close the box to keep them for longer.
Gallery
