now it's time for the crowning jewel of
the sandwich cookie family French
macaron this is the ultimate sandwich
cookie the ingredients are simple a
French macaron is a meringue with ground
almonds but it's all about the technique
that gives up that lovely delicate
consistency I start by measuring
three-quarters of a cup of ground
almonds but it comes in different grinds
I actually want to sift my ground
almonds to get the finest grind possible
after I sift then I'll measure my 3/4 of
a cup here we go
and now to grind it again with some
icing sugar so now I'll measure my 3/4
of a cup into this I'll add a full cup
of icing sugar
there we go now that I have finally
ground almonds I can start on the
whipped egg whites I have three egg
whites at room temperature and to this
I'm going to add a tablespoon of
meringue powder while I whip these two
soft peak I'll slowly add three
tablespoons of sugar
they're nice flexible soft peek
it's just what I'm after now what I'll
do is fold in half of the icing sugar
almond mixture I'm still gonna sift it
one more time and I start folding gently
now before I add the second half of the
icing sugar ground almond mixture I want
to add a little coloring but also this
is a perfect time to add a little flavor
I'm just going to add a few drops of
orange oil this will add a fragrant
orange flavor without diluting the
batter and I do find paste coloring
works best it's concentrated and again
won't dilute the batter with a toothpick
just add a little perfect and now I'll
fold in the rest of the almonds and
icing sugar and then once again beat up
the batter a little bit I've got a
plastic disposable piping bag without
even a tip in it and to make it easier
to fill just place it over a cup and
spoon that batter in and now it's time
to pipe once you start piping you want
to work rather quickly so this is where
it can sometimes take a little practice
you want to pipe dots about an inch and
a half across the speed is crucial now
cuz this is soft you got to be able to
go quite fast so I've got 30 on each
tray this is the most important step you
actually have to let the macaron set and
air dry this can take 10 to 30 minutes
and what you're looking for is a satiny
surface
skin to actually form on top of the Mac
at all because when these hit the heat
of the oven that skin stays in place but
the cookie bakes and pushes it up a
little bit and out comes a little almond
ruffle at the bottom of each Mac at all
and I have some that have already rested
so the test is just gently touch the top
and the side of the cookie and if your
finger doesn't stick to it then you know
you've got that beautiful skin on the
surface of your Mac at all these are
ready for the oven it barely takes any
time to cook only 10 minutes in a slow
oven 300 degrees
whoa look at those all got their little
ruffles I have a tray already baked and
cooled it's actually an advantage to
fill-in sandwich the French macaron
because they are so delicate it makes
them stronger and you want a filling to
match the flavor a nice orange marmalade
just gives you that extra punch of
orange a little right in the center and
then you have the two bottoms neat let
these set for a little bit and you have
the ultimate French soon
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