Mmmmacaroons....

"The Week of CurlyPops" day 3.


Since my trip to France has been locked in and all booked (yippee!!!!!) I have been dreaming of all the yummy Frenchy things I will be consuming while there. Macaroons would have to be high on that list right? I admit, I had never actually eaten a macaroon, but if the ones I made yesterday are even half as good as the real ones in France, then I will be in for some gastronomic delights!

And in honour of CurlyPops, they had to be pink!

French macaroons

3 egg whites
2 tablespoons caster sugar
few drops Queen rose pink food colouring
few drops Queen almond essence, optional1¼ cups (200g) icing sugar mixture
1 cup (120g) almond meal (ground almonds)
2 tablespoons icing sugar mixture, extra

White chocolate ganache
150g premium white cooking chocolate, chopped
¼ cup (60ml) thickened cream
few drops Queen rose pink food colouring

Note: makes 16 macaroons.

METHOD

Preheat the oven to slow (150°C/130°C fan-forced). Grease two oven trays; line with baking paper.

Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar and food colouring, beat until sugar dissolves. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Fold in essence, sifted icing sugar and almond meal in two batches.

Spoon mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm plain tube. Pipe 4cm rounds, 2cm apart, onto prepared trays. Tap trays on bench to allow macaroons to spread slightly. Flatten peaks lightly with a damp finger. Dust with extra sifted icing sugar. Stand for 15 minutes.
Bake macaroons in a slow oven for about 20 minutes or until dry to touch. Stand macaroons on trays for 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the white chocolate ganache, combine chocolate and cream in a small heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until the chocolate is melted. Tint with a few drops of food colouring. Cover. Refrigerate until mixture is a spreadable consistency.

Sandwich macaroons together with white chocolate ganache.

recipe from here.

And what to do with all the left over gooey pink ganache? Well, feed it to the dog!

(please don't get cranky at me! we don't normally feed the dog ganache, and white chocolate is not actually chocolate, so no dogs were harmed in the making of the macaroons)