Homemade macaroon recipe. Homemade filled macarons. Recipe for making Italian meringue

Greetings to our invaluable readers! If you love sweet treats and want to learn how to make unusual sweets, we are happy to help with this task. We present to you a recipe for macarons at home. Making this dish is not difficult, all you need is basic culinary skills.

Overall, this dish originated from the European continent. It is difficult to say for sure in what century macarons began to be prepared. Only one thing is clear - then the choice of flavors was much smaller than now. Since the recipe changes depending on the geographical location, we will present you with the most optimal option for preparing today's treat, which is perfect for tea drinking or treating friends. Of course, how and with what to eat the dish is your choice, we will only help you prepare it. Prepare the necessary products by going to the nearest store, and we will start cooking.

Ingredients:

1. Almond flour – 110 g

2. Powdered sugar – 110 g

French meringue:

2. Sugar – 90 g

3. Citric acid

Chocolate ganache:

1. Nutella – 30 g

2. Chocolate – 35 g

3. Cream – 55 ml

Blueberry cream:

1. Butter – 65 g

2. Powder – 100 g

3. Blueberries

Cooking method:

As you may have guessed, we will prepare two different types of dessert. In addition, we strongly recommend using a kitchen scale to ensure that all proportions and quantities of ingredients are accurately observed.

1. First of all, you need to sift almond flour and powdered sugar with a fine sieve and place everything in one container. We don't need large fragments in today's dish. Then mix both ingredients and sift again.

2. Let's prepare the meringue. For this we need seventy grams of egg whites - about two large products. But for better accuracy, use a scale. Try to use the ingredient not straight from the refrigerator, but slightly cooled. Carefully separate the whites and place them in a dry container.

3. We begin to beat the product with a blender at low speed. After a couple of minutes, add a small pinch of citric acid there. Then we increase the speed of the electrical appliance to medium.

4. When you get “soft peaks,” add sugar in portions, continuing to beat. We continue this process until the product thickens. Also add dry food coloring at this stage - we used pink.

5. Now, put the resulting meringue into a container with flour and powder. Mix everything until you get a homogeneous mass. It is most convenient to use a silicone spatula.

6. Take a pastry bag and put our base into it. Wrap it up and start molding.

7. Place a layer of parchment paper on a baking sheet and begin to squeeze the future dish onto it using a round nozzle. Approximate dimensions: two centimeters in diameter. Leave in a dry place for an hour until the surface of the macarons is dry.

8. During this time, you can prepare both types of filling. For the first type, take a saucepan and pour fifty milliliters of cream into it. Send it to the fire.

9. Grind the dark chocolate and place it in a small container. Add two tablespoons of Nutella there. When the cream is warm, pour in the prepared ingredients. Stir until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

Filling No. 2

10. For the second filling you will need about a quarter cup of blueberries. Defrost it first and remove excess liquid using a sieve.

12. Place sixty grams of warm butter in a bowl and add powdered sugar - you need a little less than half a measuring cup. Whisk these ingredients together, adding a pinch of salt.

13. When a thick mass begins to form, add the berry puree and continue whisking until it is completely incorporated.

14. Take two pastry bags (easily replaced with plastic bags) and put both of our fillings into them. Twist and leave in the refrigerator.

15. When the filling has hardened, take it out. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees and send our base, prepared a little earlier, there. You need to hold it until the so-called. skirt at the base. The readiness itself is determined by the top - if it does not move out, you can safely take it out.

16. Wait until it cools down and squeeze out the filling. Of course, we squeeze it onto the bottom part, and cover it with the “dry” part on top. Repeat the same with blueberry filling. Leave in the refrigerator overnight and you can treat your loved ones and friends. An excellent tandem is obtained from tea or coffee along with macarons, while enjoying a pleasant conversation or watching a movie. Bon appetit!

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

The popular dessert macaroon today comes from France. Today, macaroon cakes can be found in pastry shops, coffee shops and restaurants all over the world. Even inexperienced housewives can master the recipe for making a French dessert at home.

How to make macarons at home

The recipe for making your own macarons is based on several steps:

1. Preparation of components.
2. Creating the filling.
3. Cooking meringue.
4. Kneading the dough.
5. Baking.
6. Assembling the dessert.

Filling for macarons

According to the recipe, a whole multi-colored cake consists of two halves, which must be connected with a tasty filling. Fillings for macarons can be different:

• white or dark chocolate ganache;
• any cream;
• jam;
• fruit jelly;
• Kurd;
• confiture.

Homemade macaron recipe

Delicious French cakes have gained popularity all over the world. The macaron recipe requires careful adherence to all proportions. In the process you will need a kitchen thermometer and scales. Not everyone succeeds in making a complex multi-colored dessert the first time, since success is influenced by many factors: the correct measurements of the components, the design of the oven, and the skill of the housewife.

Classic macarons

Number of servings: 16 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 233 kcal

Cuisine: French

Ingredients:

• water – 60 ml;
• almond flour – 150 g;
• sugar – 210 g;
• egg whites – 2 pcs.;
• food coloring (raspberry) – 3 g;
• powdered sugar – 150 g.

Cooking method:

1. A day in advance, prepare the filling – chocolate ganache.
2. Start making Italian meringues according to the recipe. Combine powdered sugar and almond flour. The bulk mass must be sifted and slightly heated at a temperature of 120 degrees. This should be done for 3 minutes.
3. Add 1 egg white and coloring to give the brownies a nice color. The classic macaron recipe calls for using whites at room temperature.
4. The next step in the recipe with photos is making the syrup step by step. Dissolve sugar in water and place the sweet solution over medium heat. Heat the liquid to a temperature of 110-114 degrees.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the second egg white until it becomes foamy. Gradually add the finished syrup, continuing the process. It will take about 10 minutes to beat. The mixture should cool to 35 degrees.
6. Add the protein mass in parts to the mixed contents of the container with almond flour. Mix clockwise, turning the container in the opposite direction. You will need to stop the process when the mass becomes homogeneous and flows like a ribbon.
7. Use a piping bag fitted with a flat round tip. Place the cream inside the device, squeeze out delicious cookies onto the parchment.
8. The oven needs to be preheated to 145-150 degrees, place a baking sheet with macaroons there. Bake the cakes for 12-14 minutes.
9. Fill a pastry cone with chocolate ganache prepared according to the recipe with heavy cream, squeeze a little onto 1 half of the cookie. Press down the filling with the second part of the dessert.

How to make macarons at home without almond flour

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Number of servings: 10 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 170 kcal

Purpose: dessert, breakfast

Cuisine: French

Difficulty of preparation: difficult

Ingredients:

• egg whites – 115 g;
• peanut flour – 165 g;
• powdered sugar – 165 g;
• granulated sugar – 150 g.

Cooking method:

1. After combining flour and powder, sift the ingredients.
2. Start beating the egg whites, gradually adding sugar and coloring as desired. Continue beating until foam forms.
3. Mix flour and foam mixture. Make sure that the dough does not become too liquid.
4. Using a piping bag, form macarons without almonds on parchment paper. Leave gaps of at least 3 cm between them.
5. Leave the liver to breathe for about 20 minutes.
6. Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to 160 degrees for 15 minutes.

French macarons

Cooking time: 4 hours

Number of servings: 4-6 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 233 kcal

Purpose: for dessert, holiday table

Cuisine: French

Difficulty of preparation: difficult

Ingredients:

• granulated sugar – 150 g;
• water – 50 g;
• food coloring;
• powdered sugar – 150 g;
• egg whites – 100 g.

Cooking method:

1. Sift almond flour and powder through a fine sieve and stir.
2. Separating the whites from the yolks, take exactly 100 g of the first.
3. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and water, add coloring. Cook the syrup until it reaches a temperature of 110 degrees.
4. Beat half of the whites until you get a stiff consistency. Gradually pour in the hot syrup while continuing to beat the egg whites. Leave the mixture to cool to 45 degrees, pour in the second part of the whites.
5. Place the flour mixture in the same container. Combine the ingredients until smooth with a silicone spatula. The substance should acquire a liquid consistency and flow smoothly down the spatula.
6. Place the resulting dough inside a pastry bag. Start forming French macarons on the parchment paper. Leave them on the table for half an hour. Bring the oven to 140 degrees. Place the baking tray with cakes on the middle level of the oven, bake for 12-15 minutes.
7. The finished halves should be cooled. To combine them, prepare ganache; you can use jam, jam or ready-made cream.

Macarons from Lisa Glinskaya

Cooking time: 120 minutes

Number of servings: 5-6 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 233 kcal

Cuisine: French

Difficulty of preparation: difficult

Ingredients:

• powdered sugar – 300 g;
• water – 37 g;
• proteins – 110 g;
• almond flour – 150 g.

Cooking method:

1. Mix 150 g of powder, dye and water. Put on fire, cook the syrup to 118 degrees.
2. Separate 55 g of protein, beat. Carefully add the hot syrup in a thin stream and beat for another 10 minutes.
3. Mix the flour and the rest of the powdered sugar, pour the second half of the protein into the mixture. Then, add the meringue. Mix the ingredients clockwise, turning the bowl the other way. The finished mass should flow off the spatula like a ribbon.
4. Using a piping bag with a round hole, pipe the macaroons onto baking paper. Leave the formed cakes in a dry place for 1 hour.
5. The delicious dessert should be baked in the oven preheated to 160 degrees for 12 minutes.
6. The macaron recipe from Lisa Glinskaya requires moving the finished products from a baking sheet to a cold surface.
7. When the halves have cooled a little, combine them with any filling.

Lemon macarons

Preparation time: 2 days

Number of servings: 6-8 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 265 kcal

Purpose: festive table

Cuisine: French

Difficulty of preparation: difficult

Ingredients:

• almond flour – 150 g;
• powdered sugar – 300 g;
• proteins – 110 g;
• yellow dye;
• water – 37 g;
• granulated sugar – 140 g;
• yolks – 4 pcs.;
• lemon zest;
• lemon juice – 70 ml;
• gelatin – 2 g;
• butter – 70 g.

Cooking method:

1. The long cooking time for lemon macarons involves creating the filling, which needs to set properly.
2. First, start creating the filler. Mix lemon juice and gelatin, leave to swell.
3. Mix the grated lemon zest with the sugar until the sweet sand is moist. Leave to stand for 15-20 minutes.
4. Combine the yolks, zest and lemon juice in a saucepan. Place the mixture in a water bath. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
5. Then, remove the dishes from the stove, add cubes of butter, stir until the dairy product dissolves. Pour gelatin into a container and stir.
6. The finished curd needs to be cooled by placing the saucepan in cold water. Then pour the contents into a bowl, cover with cling film, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
7. The dough for lemon macarons must be made according to the technology of the previous step-by-step recipe.
8. Combine the finished airy cookies with filling and place in the refrigerator.

Mint Macarons

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Number of servings: 4-5 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 250 kcal

Purpose: for the holiday table

Cuisine: French

Difficulty of preparation: difficult

Ingredients:

• sugar – 325 g;
• almond flour – 85 g;
• powdered sugar – 160 g;
• protein – 90 g;
• green dye;
• butter – 50 g;
• water – 50 ml;
• fresh mint – 1 bunch.

Cooking method:

1. Sift flour and powder, add half of the whites. The components must be kneaded until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.
2. Beat the rest of the protein and 125 g of sugar in a water bath for 10 minutes. Continue the process in the mixer until a stiff white substance is created. Mix in the dye.
3. Combine the resulting mass with flour, mix with upward movements until smooth.
4. Cover a baking sheet with paper, place macaroons using a pastry bag, leave for 15 minutes. Bake at 150 degrees for 10 minutes.
5. Make mint cream. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
6. Grind the mint in a blender. Place over caramel and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the resulting syrup for mint macarons and cool.
7. Beat the butter until white, add 4-5 tbsp. l. syrup, continue the process.
8. Place the cream between the fluffy cookie halves.

How to bake macarons - cooking secrets

The technology for making airy macaroon cookies cannot be called a simple recipe. It is very important to follow some recommendations to get a delicious dessert:

• The macaron recipe requires laying out the blanks on parchment in a checkerboard pattern. This way, smooth pieces bake better.
• You can achieve the same size of halves by drawing circles on parchment according to the template.
• Flour and powdered sugar must be sifted to give the dish lightness.
• You can easily create multi-colored macarons by adding colored dye to the recipe.

Video: macarons at home

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Macarons, the recipe for which is described below, are miniature cakes or multi-layer cookies. Initially, it may seem that there is nothing complicated in preparing this pastry. Just think, you just need to beat the whites with powder, mix with prepared almond flour, place small circles on a baking sheet, and that’s it - the delicacy is ready. However, everything is not so simple.

How to make almond flour for macarons

Almond flour - the main component of cakes - should be dry and very fine. It is its quality that determines what the finished macarons will taste like. Even a beginner probably knows the recipe for making almond flour. But flour at home does not always turn out as desired. However, even a simple macaron recipe requires quality ingredients, otherwise the French cookies will turn into an unattractive cake. To ensure that the flour is of the required quality, peeled almonds are placed in small portions in a coffee grinder and ground for 4-5 seconds. Basically, that's all. But if you don't prepare the almonds in advance, the flour will be soggy. To achieve the desired quality, it is first placed in the freezer for half an hour, and during the grinding process it is combined with powdered sugar. This will draw out excess moisture from the almonds and prevent the flour from turning into a paste.

What should be the right macarons?

• it should be round, smooth, appetizing;
• the surface must be flawless, without cracks and filling residues;
• when pressed, the macarons should not stick to your fingers;
• real French cookies have a delicate crispy crust;
• diameter of classic macarons - no more than 5 cm;
• their pride is the flirty le croûtage skirt, without it it could be any pastry, but not French macarons;
• the filling should be equal to the thickness of the pastry and slightly extend beyond the le croûtage.

Chocolate macarons

If you want to pamper your loved ones with something tasty and unusual, pay attention to chocolate macarons. This homemade recipe will take some time, but the results are worth it.

Ingredients:

• cocoa - 35 g;
• almond powder - 165 g;
• powdered sugar - 340 g;
• egg white - 180 g;
• granulated sugar - 75 g.

Making chocolate macarons

So, let's prepare chocolate macarons. The recipe requires attentiveness from the housewife, so it is advisable to prepare and weigh all the components in advance. Almond flour, cocoa and powdered sugar are thoroughly mixed. Beat the whites at low speed until foam appears, and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until a dense and thick mass is obtained, as confectioners say, to stable peaks. Next, mix the egg and dry mixtures with smooth movements. The resulting mass is placed in a pastry bag and placed on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Leave it on the counter for about an hour to dry until a crust forms. If this is not done, then cracks will form on the surface, and this is unacceptable. The dried cookies are baked in an oven preheated to 150°C for 15-20 minutes. The baked macarons are removed from the baking sheet and left to cool on paper. Do not attempt to remove hot cookies; they must cool completely.

Making chocolate ganache

Chocolate macarons, the recipe for which is described above, are best combined with chocolate ganache. It can be made from either white or dark chocolate. Take 100 g of chocolate and break it into small pieces, then pour in 100 ml of preheated heavy cream. Next, using a spatula, knead the mixture until a homogeneous smooth mass is obtained. The finished ganache is covered with cling film and allowed to stand in a cold place for at least 10 hours.

Macarons with rose water and raspberry ganache

French confectioners have incredible imagination and can make incredibly delicious macarons. The recipe at home should be repeated very precisely, then your cookies will not differ at all from those made by the French.

Ingredients:

• egg white - 60 g;
• almond flour - 80 g;
• powdered sugar - 160 g;
• granulated sugar - 20 g;
• rose water - 10 ml;
• raspberry liqueur - 1 tsp;
• red dye.

Almond flour is mixed with powdered sugar. Beat the whites into a strong foam, gradually adding granulated sugar. Liqueur, rose water and dye are added to the finished proteins. Mix all the ingredients very carefully so that the whites do not fall. Next, combine the whites with the dry mass and mix again. The resulting mixture is placed in a pastry bag with a suitable nozzle and pancakes with a diameter of about 5 cm are placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let them dry and bake for 15 minutes at 150°C.

Ingredients for raspberry ganache:

• raspberries - 150 g;
• raspberry leker - 10-20 ml;
• granulated sugar - 25 g;
• water - 10 ml;
• starch - 25 g;
• egg - 1 pc.

Preparing the ganache

Grind the raspberries until a puree-like mass is obtained. Starch is diluted with water. In a saucepan, mix raspberry puree, diluted starch, egg and sugar. Cook the mixture over low heat until thickened (5-7 minutes). At the end of cooking, add liqueur.

Forming cookies. The halves of the finished macaroons are glued together with cooled raspberry ganache. Before serving, allow to sit for at least 12 hours in a cool place.

Macarons: recipe from Lisa Glinskaya

Lisa Glinskaya learned the macaron recipe directly from French masters. She honed her ability to cook them for many months and is now a true professional. She shares her knowledge in the program “Everything will be delicious.” The macarons, recipe kindly provided by Lisa, will be raspberry with lemon confit.

Ingredients for macarons:

• ground almonds - 150 g;
• egg whites - 50 g;
• powdered sugar - 150 g.

Ingredients for meringue:

• powdered sugar - 145 g;
• water - 40 ml;
• egg whites - 55 g;
• food coloring.

Ingredients for confit:

• lemons - 1 kg;
• granulated sugar - 200 g;
• fresh raspberries - 35 pcs.;
• starch - 25 g.

Making macarons from Lisa Glinskaya

So, let's prepare macarons. The recipe is step-by-step, so there are unlikely to be any difficulties.

1. Prepared ground almonds (you can buy them ready-made, or you can make them yourself, as described above) are dried in the oven at a temperature of about 100-120 C.
2. Mix flour and powdered sugar, pour in the whites and, without stirring, set aside temporarily.
3. Powdered sugar for meringue is dissolved with water and an arbitrary amount of food coloring is added. Place the saucepan with meringue on the fire and boil for 3-4 minutes. After which they immediately remove it.
4. Beat the egg whites thoroughly and at the same time pour in the finished syrup in a thin stream. First, beat the whites at high speeds, and then gradually reduce them to a minimum. Beat until the mixture is at room temperature.
5. Cover the cutting board with parchment. The protein mass, whipped into a strong foam, is combined with the flour mixture. It is not recommended to stir for a long time, since the mass may become liquid and spread when deposited on parchment.
6. Fill a pastry bag with the finished mixture and place small circles on dry parchment in a checkerboard pattern. To release the air from the dough and make the surface of the macarons smooth, just tap the board on the table. The correct cookies should look like convex tablets. They are left to dry for about an hour.
7. Bake macarons at 170°C for about 11 minutes. After the first 6 minutes, open the oven door slightly to allow any accumulated moisture to escape. Ready macarons are immediately removed from the baking sheet.

Preparing the confit and assembling the macarons

Lemons are washed thoroughly (you can pour boiling water over them) and the peel is cut off. Cut the zest into thin strips and boil in water 4 times, constantly changing the water. This procedure will get rid of the bitterness characteristic of lemon zest. Carefully remove the white membranes from the lemon pulp. The juice is squeezed out of the leftovers. Next, combine the zest, lemon juice, sugar and the remaining pulp and boil over low heat until grains of sugar are no longer noticeable. If the specified amount of sugar seems not enough, you can add it during the cooking process. The main thing is that it has time to completely dissolve. Starch is dissolved with water and added to syrup. Cook until thickened. The finished confit is placed in a cool place and cooled for several hours.

Once everything is prepared, you can start assembling the macarons. Take one part of the cookie and apply confit along the edge. Place fresh raspberries in the middle and cover with the other half of the cookies. Next, press lightly so that the halves stick together well. Place the finished macarons with raspberries and lemon confit on a beautiful serving dish and serve with tea. Bon appetit!

French variations on the theme of macaroons quickly won the hearts of Russians. So much so that they started looking for ways to make their own macarons. The recipe (by the way, it is not so easy to prepare them at home) seemed difficult to many at first. However, as it turned out, these cookies (quite expensive, between us) can easily be made in your own kitchen. Of course, this is more difficult than, for example, making a primitive charlotte, but not to such an extent that you give up your intention. And some actions can be avoided if you are not confident in your culinary talents.

The key to successful cookies

In order for you to get real French and delicious macarons, the recipe at home must be followed very precisely. Take the time to look in your closet and check how the scales work.

It is better to make these delicate cakes on a dry day or keep the window and the kitchen door tightly closed throughout the entire process. To form a crust (while maintaining internal softness), you can also leave the heated oven ajar.

Even if you have several baking sheets, place only one in the oven, on the middle level.

Be sure to line the oven sheet with parchment. No lubrication - you will ruin the results of your work.

Macarons: not as difficult as it seems

The only thing you'll have to worry about is searching. However, believe me, you can get it! Too lazy to run to supermarkets - order online and wait for the courier. After delivery, you can begin to master the simplest macaron recipe. For beginners, some techniques are eliminated, some are simplified. However, those who used it claim that they did not notice the consequences of “adaptation”. The taste is like the most natural macarons. The recipe (with photo) looks like this step by step:

1. The whites are separated from five eggs and beaten with six heaped tablespoons of sugar.
2. The mass is placed in a water bath, heated to 60 (maximum 63) degrees and whipped until dense.
3. Using a sieve, combine five tablespoons of sugar and the same amount of almond flour. The mixture is combined with the protein mixture and kneaded. As a result, the mass should be quite liquid and shiny.
4. It is laid out with a syringe on a sheet of paper, the stove is heated to 200 degrees, and macarons are placed in it. The recipe at home allows for baking at this temperature for five minutes, after which the gas is turned up to 170, and the process continues for another three minutes.

After cooling, the resulting convex cakes are coated with jam or confiture and glued together in pairs.

Chocolate cakes

Chocolate macarons are even more popular. The recipe, in principle, is not too different in composition from that described above. However, for those cooks who are not looking for easy ways, we will not omit the “inconvenient” steps in cooking. After all, since they were introduced by the author, they guarantee a tastier result. We will prepare chocolate macarons according to all the rules. The recipe is step-by-step, so it's easy to follow.

1. Mix 110 grams of almond flour, 225 grams of powdered sugar and 25 grams of cocoa powder. For even distribution, it is better to use a combine.
2. The mixture is scattered on parchment on a sheet, dried for five minutes in the oven and sifted.
3. Beat the whites of four eggs with the gradual introduction of 50 grams of sugar; After obtaining a tight foam, they are combined with the bulk mixture and kneaded smoothly.
4. The resulting dough is distributed through a syringe onto a baking sheet and left on the table for half an hour to obtain a crust (so that the macarons do not crack during baking).
5. The dried circles are placed in the oven for 12 minutes.
6. After removing from the oven, the baking sheet is sprayed with water - this makes the macarons easier to remove.
7. A filling called ganache is made and the halves are glued together.

What to make ganache from is a separate story, since there are countless variations of it.

Possible variations

The bright colors are what attracts many people to macarons. The recipe (by the way, there’s no harm in coloring them at home either) suggests simply adding coloring (food coloring, of course) instead of cocoa. It turns out colorful and elegant.

If you are attracted not so much by brightness as by taste variety, you can replace cocoa or coloring with citrus juice - you will get delicate lemon juice or Cinnamon and vanilla will add their own subtle notes - the main thing is not to overdo it with them. In general, any spices suitable for baking are suitable for changing the taste.

The main flavor variety in macaroons comes from ganache fillings. We will pay special attention to them.

Chocolate ganache

You can make it from dark dark chocolate, or from white chocolate. The principle is the same, only take 80 grams of bitter for 50 milliliters of heavy cream, and 100 grams of white. In both cases, the bar is finely broken (the smaller, the faster the chocolate will dissolve), the cream is heated, crumbs are poured into it and mixed until thick and homogeneous. It is better to do this in a water bath so that the cream does not boil and the chocolate does not change color to whitish.

It is especially beautiful and appetizing when both ganaches are combined in one macaroon: a layer of white and a layer of black.

Berry ganache

You can use any berries or fruits as the base. If they have seeds, they should be removed. Three hundred grams of berry mass are whipped into puree with a blender, half a spoonful of starch and half a glass of sugar are poured into it, an egg is beaten in and a couple of spoons of lemon juice are poured in. The mass is cooked until it becomes like a thick jelly.

If you want the color of the filling to match the tone of the cakes, add the same coloring to it. And for an even better taste, you can also put berries between the halves on the ganache.

First, a barely audible crunch, then a sugar explosion, fragments of which settle in the corners of the lips, while the sweet taste of the filling is already spreading in the mouth...
Macaroons, a piece of heavenly delight that fits between your index finger and thumb, are the most modern of French pastry classics.

Small round cakes with cream filling, colorful confetti with original flavors have become a favorite delicacy all over the world - from the banks of the Seine to the Hudson and Tokyo Bay. (c) Pascale Bernard

Everything you need to know about macarons: composition, rules for choosing ingredients, what the “correct” macarons are, how to serve and how to give as a gift. And also: two basic recipes - in French and Italian meringue and 9 delicious fillings - ganache, curds, creams. And one more thing: about macaron fashion, facts and legends, and even a little linguistics...

The main thing about macarons

Macarons - a small cake (or complex cookie) made from chopped almonds and meringue - are firmly gaining a position on our table, becoming an increasingly desirable dessert during the holidays.

At first glance, it seems that preparing macarons is very simple: beat the egg whites with powdered sugar, mix with almond flour, place them in circles on a baking sheet - and you’re done. However, this is not the case. Macaroons with a characteristic “skirt” are a very delicate thing, although not oriental, and they will turn out only if you strictly follow all the instructions and strictly follow the recipe.

Almond flour should be fine and dry. The success of the cookies depends on its quality. If it is impossible to buy the mentioned component in your area, there is no reason to despair and close the page - you can prepare flour yourself, you only need almonds. Of course, this greatly complicates the already difficult process of baking macarons, but the result is worth it, believe me!

The whites for macaroons must be aged. Ganache and cream – aged. Ingredients are measured to the nearest gram, and the temperature of the oven is monitored strictly and closely. Baking cookies is a lot of work that requires concentration, physical effort and a huge investment of mental strength. If you violate at least one point of the requirements, the macarons will not turn out - this has been checked more than once!

So, the “correct” macarons should:

- be smooth, strictly round and appetizingly neat;
- be the owner of a flawless surface without “tails” and, of course, cracks;
- be glossy, gently shiny and not stick to the skin when pressed with a finger;
- have a crispy crust; if there is no such crust, you have anything in front of you, but not macarons;
- have 4-4.5 cm in diameter (nowadays there are still fashionable mini-macarons, which do not exceed 3 cm in diameter, and maxi-macarons, more like almond cakes);
- hide a delicate texture, sweet and moist, under a crispy crust;
- demonstrate a flirty “skirt” (La collerette), the thickness of which should be approximately equal to the thickness of the top part of the cookie;
- show off the delicate filling, the thickness of which is again equal to the thickness of the cookies;
- have a filling that extends just a little, just a little beyond the “skirt”, teasing the eyes and mouth.

How to serve macaroons?

A special form of art is the ability to present macarons beautifully. Designers come up with special stands, confectioners compete in unusual ideas, and numerous coffee shops “play” with dishes and napkins. Once I had the opportunity to eat macarons on a stick - seemingly completely incompatible things, however, someone came up with such an indulgence!

At home, for macarons, it is better to choose unusually shaped plates - carefully laying out the cakes on the dish, try to give the row of cookies a fancy bend, a non-standard line, experiment with “towers” ​​and “floors”.

Packaging macarons is a separate matter. Try ordering these cakes to take away from any pastry shop in Paris - I guarantee you will get incredible pleasure admiring the box, untying the numerous ribbons and bows, touching the textured paper, rustling the napkins. If you are baking macarons to take with you on a visit or to give to a good friend in the hospital, think about the packaging - this is important, it is an integral part of the cakes, this is the general essence of the grandiose show called “Macarons!”

2 basic macaron recipes and a scattering of macaron fillings

Today, the legendary almond cakes are baked using two basic recipes. Or rather, there are, of course, hundreds of recipes, but they can all be roughly reduced to two types: macarons based on regular French meringue and macarons based on custard Italian meringue.

Everything else is variations on a given theme and games with additives. French meringue has simpler preparation instructions, but is very unstable - without experience, the chance of ruining macarons is quite high. Italian meringue is, of course, a little more difficult to prepare, and there are a lot of pitfalls in it, but the dough mixed with it is much easier to work with. The choice is yours, and I suggest starting with a simpler, but at the same time more capricious option.

Macarons with French meringue

Ingredients:

• 165 g white almond flour;
• 165 g powdered sugar;
• 150 g sugar;
• 115 g proteins.

French macaron recipe

1. Mix powder and almond flour, sift through a sieve several times. Twice 165 g is the yield of a ready-made product, so I recommend initially taking a little more powder and flour, and sifting it onto the scale so that you clearly know when to stop.2. Beat the whites first at slow speed, then increase the speed and continue until soft peaks - at this stage add sugar a little at a time, in a thin stream and, if necessary, a couple of drops (no more!) of gel dye (a pinch of dry). Beat until the sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form.

3. Use a spatula and very carefully mix the meringue with the almond-sugar mixture– this stage is called “maccaronage”. It is important to find the right moment to stop: the mixture should already be homogeneous, but not become liquid, the whites should already combine with the almond flour, but still retain a sufficient number of air bubbles. Different sources indicate a different number of movements with the spatula - from 10 to 50. I think it is obvious that you should not focus on this moment, it is better to intuitively understand when to stop: the dough should flow from the spatula in a continuous ribbon.

4. Transfer the finished dough into a pastry bag and place them on a sheet of parchment paper in circles with a diameter of 2-3 cm. There should be a distance of about 2 cm between them; you need to place them strictly vertically, “cutting” the dough with a sharp movement to the side. With a properly mixed mass, the “tail” will disperse in a few seconds.

5. After this, you need to lift the baking sheet several times and tap it well on the table surface - this way the future macarons will take a more regular shape, the extra dough bubbles will come out of the cookies, and the last memories of the “tails” will become history.

6. Leave the baking sheet with cookies on the table - the dough should air so that the resulting crust does not allow air to escape during the baking process. After 15-20 minutes, gently touch the surface of the macaroon with your finger - if your finger remains clean, you can put the cookies in the oven. If the dough sticks, leave for another 10-15 minutes.

7. Bake at 150 degrees for 14 minutes. Depending on the features of your oven, the time may be a little longer or a little shorter.

Transfer the finished macarons to a wire rack directly with the paper, leave until completely cool, and then remove from the parchment.

Macarons with Italian meringue

Ingredients:

• 300 g powdered sugar;
• 300 g almond flour;
• 110 g protein;
• 110 g protein;
• 50 g sugar;
• 250 g sugar;
• 75 g water.

Italian macaron recipe

1. Sift powdered sugar with flour(again, strictly ensure that the output is 600 g), add the protein (the first 110 g) and mix. Without any subtleties or tricks - we just monitor the weight, remembering that when baking macarons, correctly measured ingredients are half the success.

If necessary, add powder or gel dye.

2. Make syrup from sugar (250 g) and water up to 120 degrees. If you don't have a cooking thermometer, use a string of syrup as a guide - it should stretch well between two fingers, not tear (undercooked) or break (overcooked).

3. At the same time, the whites are whipped with sugar (50 g) - until soft peaks. Pour the finished syrup, hot and scalding, into the protein mass in a thin stream, without turning off the mixer. The mass will greatly increase in volume and then become shiny and smooth.

4. We combine the two masses and make a macronage(in this version - not particularly almond-like, the meringue is stable and strong, so knead intensively, the mass should be glossy and fall from the spatula like a ribbon), after which we transfer the finished dough into a pastry bag and place it on a baking sheet in the form of circles with a diameter of 2-3 cm Cut off the “tail” with a sharp movement to the side, leaving a distance of 2 cm between the cookies.

Holding the two edges of the baking sheet, knock them several times on the edge of the table.

5. Leave for 15-30 minutes for airing, after which bake at 150 degrees about 14 minutes (look at the oven features).

6. When the macaron blanks are baked, you can combine the cookies in pairs. The filling is transferred into a pastry bag, squeezed onto half of the baked cookies, and then covered with the other half. By the way, for this it is convenient to immediately lay out two rows of blanks on a baking sheet - half “head” down, the other half - vice versa. This makes it easier to place the cream on the first part of the cookie and quickly cover the second.

Recipes for almond cake fillings

Well, let's dwell a little on the fillings. Jams, curds, ganaches, creams, chocolate spreads - there are a lot of options, and new ones are constantly being invented, unusual and original ones are being created. Try, create, experiment - and you will definitely find your ideal combination.

Classic chocolate ganache

Ingredients: 100 g dark chocolate, 100 ml heavy cream.

Break the chocolate into pieces and pour in warmed cream. Knead with a spatula until a homogeneous, smooth mass, cover with cling film and leave in the refrigerator for at least 10 hours.

Coffee ganache

Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 100 ml heavy cream, 30 g coffee beans.

Mix the cream with coffee beans, bring to a boil, and leave to brew. Melt the chocolate in a water bath, strain the cooled cream into it. Stir until smooth, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 10 hours.

White chocolate ganache

Ingredients: 200g good quality white chocolate, 150ml heavy cream.

Break the chocolate into pieces, put it in a bowl, pour in the cream brought to a boil, and knead into a smooth, homogeneous mass. Cover with cling film and put in the refrigerator for 10 hours.

Raspberry ganache

Ingredients: 50 ml heavy cream, 200 g white chocolate, 100 g raspberry puree.

Mix the cream with the puree, bring to a boil, add the chocolate broken into pieces and stir well. The mass should be smooth and glossy.
Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least 10 hours.

Lemon curd

Ingredients: 115 g egg mixture, 120 g sugar, 80 ml lemon juice, zest of 1 lemon, 125 g butter.

Mix freshly squeezed juice with sugar, add zest, stir in eggs and place the mixture in a water bath. Stirring constantly, cook until noticeable thickening (15-30 minutes). Cool, then add room temperature butter and beat. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Raspberry cream

Ingredients: 300 g mashed raspberry puree, 100 g sugar, 1 tbsp. l. with a “hill” of starch, 1 tsp. gelatin.

Pour gelatin with a small amount of water and leave to swell.
Mix raspberry puree with starch and sugar, bring to a boil, but do not boil. Stirring, cook until thickened. Add gelatin, cover with film and put in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Green tea ganache

Ingredients: 100 ml heavy cream, 200 g white chocolate, 1 tsp. green tea.

Mix the cream with tea, bring to a boil and let it brew. Strain and pour through a sieve onto the chocolate melted in a water bath. Stir and let sit under cling film for at least 12 hours.

Pistachio ganache

Ingredients: 200 g milk chocolate, 100 ml heavy cream, 15 g pistachio paste.

Bring the cream to a boil, pour it over the broken chocolate, stir until smooth, then add the pistachio paste and stir. Cover with cling film and keep in the refrigerator for at least 10 hours.

Mint ganache

Ingredients: 100 g good quality white chocolate, 40 ml heavy cream, 2 tsp. mint liqueur, green coloring if desired.

Pour the chocolate broken into pieces with the cream brought to a boil, stir until smooth, add liqueur and coloring, mix again and, covered with cling film, put in the refrigerator for 10 hours.

Saffron and orange, licorice, rose, pralines and chestnuts, nuts and coconut flakes, champagne and liqueurs, all kinds of berries and fruits, vanilla and cinnamon, lilies of the valley and violets - there are many additives to creams and ganaches, try and create! By the way, depending on the filling, macaroons are also colored - traditionally, cookies with lemon curd are prepared in yellow, and raspberry jam “asks” for the addition of red coloring to the almond mass.

Baking macarons at home is not easy, however, if you at least once try to create this magic with your own hands, conjure up something amazingly tender and unusual for yourself, you will not be able to just forget about macarons. Difficult, labor-intensive, not fast, but worth it!

Macarons: facts, legends, investigations

Once born, macarons quickly became popular - so much so that several regions of the Mediterranean began to dispute the right to be called the birthplace of cookies. It is clear that everyone tried to come up with something special, trying to stake their claim on the right to be a parent, however, to this day it is impossible to reliably assert that France is the region where the popular delicacy took its roots.

According to one legend, macaroons were invented by the Carmelite sisters in one of the monasteries of the Nancy district - trying to diversify the meager food, they were guided by the instructions of Teresa of Avila: “Girls who do not eat meat benefit from almonds.” The recipe was born within the walls of the monastery, and during the French Revolution, nuns, hiding from the indignant people in the house of the local doctor Gormand, baked cookies for sale, earning their living - and it was then that macarons became incredibly popular. In Nancy there is a street named after the Carmelite sisters, and in addition, the house-café Maison des Soeurs Macarons still exists - the owners consider themselves the bearers of the original recipe according to which its creator baked macarons.

However, there are other versions of the origin of macarons - many believe that macaroons were brought by Italian cooks, whom Catherine de Medici took with her when she married Henry II and moved to France.

How macarons became a global celebrity. "Macaron" fashion

Whatever the truth may be, the fact remains: macaroons, once born, quickly became popular. First, the macarons were glued together with hot steam to create a double-sided almond cake. Tasty, crumbly, crispy, but still slightly dry. But at the beginning of the 20th century, pastry chef Pierre Defontaine, owner of the famous confectionery house Laduree, while traveling around Europe, tried a delicate chocolate cream in some cafe - and it was he who came up with the idea of ​​gluing macarons with a magnificent filling. Absolutely incredible, but until 1930 no one thought that dry macaroons could be enriched with cream. Hurray for Pierre Desfontaines!

And from this moment the real flourishing and rapid rise of macarons begins. Experiments with fillings, games with additives, fantasies with flavors and, of course, all kinds of dyes - this is the path the development of macaroons followed. Paris officially becomes the capital of macarons and the trendsetter of macaron fashion. Today, Pierre Defontaine's Laduree pastry shops sell at least 15,000 macarons every day, and for some reason I am sure that this is far from the limit. And if you estimate how many cafes and coffee shops there are in the world in general and in Paris in particular, which prepare and serve almond delicacies, the number turns out to be mind-boggling.

Every self-respecting confectionery house is simply obliged to have a dozen or two of its own, signature recipes for making almond desserts. Moreover, once a year, Paris celebrates Macaron Day, created by Pierre Hermé, a French master pastry chef. This is a special holiday for which it is customary to prepare... with a new collection of macarons! The most famous confectionery houses in France, famous culinary specialists from Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, the USA, and Japan strive to take part in the annual event, and by this day, every culinary name is simply obliged to come up with and demonstrate something completely new, unusual, and non-standard.

The latest fashion is unsweetened macarons with flavors of olives and cheese, chili and gherkins, capers and foie gras, white truffles and basil. Of course, this is a special type of cooking, which is more associated with art than a family tea party with homemade cakes, but even at home, in an ordinary 12-meter kitchen with a standard set of dishes, you can dream and learn, grow and strive for something new, unknown, interesting.

By the way, in France, macarons are even sold at McDonald's - and, in my opinion, this is another undoubted proof of the popularity of this dessert.

And one more thing: macaroons, pasta and cooking for philologists

What is the correct way to say – “pasta”, “macaroons”, “macarons”, “macaroons” or something else? Let's dig into history.

Of course, now you can hardly prove what came first - the chicken or the egg, however, the facts exist: in one form or another, cookies based on whipped egg whites and almond flour exist in many cuisines of the world. That luxury to which we are accustomed, which is found on the beautiful covers of glossy culinary magazines, which decorates the windows of confectionery shops, comes from France.

In the original language, the name sounds like “macaron” (French macaron), although a simple transliteration gives “macaron”. Both words appear so often that if it were up to me, I would have said long ago: say as you want! Alas, this is not in my power, so I will quietly whisper: pronounce it as you feel comfortable, the main thing is to confidently and authoritatively!

“Macarons” and “macaroons” may sound beautiful, but they are definitely not correct: the ending “s” in the original language speaks of the plural, which is formed completely differently in Russian.

In addition to the French gourmet friend, there is also a popular American: the same whipped egg whites, powdered sugar and coconut flakes. In English, cakes are called macaroons, and here there are no two ways about it - they are pronounced exactly like “macaroon”. Or rather, “macarons,” but we’ve already decided that we won’t say that, right?

Apparently, in order not to confuse similar names (and the cookies are somewhat similar, you must agree!), two pronunciation options were popularized - macaroon and macaroon.

The “macaron” option is closer to me - after all, the word “macaron” is associated with pasta, and I don’t want to mix God’s gift and scrambled eggs into one cutlet. Although... according to one version of the origin of the name of the cakes, they are not so far from pasta. They say that there used to be a dessert soup in Italy - pieces of dough mixed with almond flour floated in it. Over time, almonds went their own way, pasta went its own, but the common name (pasta) stuck to each dish.