Powdered-Sugar-Free Flavored Macarons
- 2 (70 g) Egg whites
- 140 g Granulated sugar (2 times the weight of egg whites)
- 63 g Almond flour (0.9 times the weight of the egg whites)
- 7 g your choice of flavorings such as cocoa powder, matcha tea powder, strawberry powder, instant coffee, black tea leaves, skim milk powder, or freeze-dried strawberries (0.1 times the weight of the egg whites)
- 40 grams Chocolate (the same amount if you're using strawberry-flavored or white chocolate)
- 20 grams Vegetable-based (non-dairy) whipped cream
- 6 grams Your desired flavors, such as matcha tea powder; dried strawberry powder; or instant coffee
- Mix the powders with the almond flour.
- Finely grind up the freeze dried strawberries or black tea leaves (using a food processor or a mortar and pestle).
- Sift the almond flour.
- (It's easier to sift if you put it in the freezer about 15 minutes before sifting, and sift just before using it.)
- Put the egg whites and sugar in a bowl, and beat over a hot water bath that's about 70 C. When the hot water is about 70C, it should just have fine bubbles around the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Beat the egg whites and sugar very well, until it's stiff enough that it clings to the bowl when inverted.
- The meringue should be snowy white, very finely textured, shiny, and a little sticky.
- (It will also be warm.)
- Take the bowl of meringue off the hot water bath.
- Sift the almond powder from Step 1 again as you add it to the meringue.
- (The almond powder should be sifted 2 times in total.)
- Mix the ingredient(s) of your choice into the bowl.
- Fold the meringue and almond flour together, then mix well until the batter forms a thick, heavy ribbon when dropped from the spatula.
- If you want to dry the macarons out, go to Step 10.
- If you want to skip the drying step, see"Macarons with no drying needed".
- Put the batter from Step 8 into a piping bag, and pipe it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper in 2-3 cm circles (leave 2-3 cm between each one).
- To test-bake the batter, it's a good idea to cut small pieces of parchment paper to bake on.
- (Use to test how much to dry the batter and to adjust the oven temperature.)
- Leave the piped out batter it has completely dried on the surface.
- (It should not stick to your fingers when you touch them, and they should feel rubbery.)
- On a warm day with low humidity, the macarons will dry out in about 30 minutes.
- They will take some time on a cold day.
- It's most difficult to dry them out on humid days.
- Preheat the oven to 160C, and bake the dried batter from Step 12.
- Lower the oven temperature to 130C, and bake for 15 to 16 minutes.
- (Adjust the time and temperature depending on your oven.)
- Try doing a test-bake of the dried macaron batter using the small pieces of paper from Step 11.
- If the test macarons turn out, you can bake the rest.
- Let the baked macarons cool down completely before peeling them off the parchment paper.
- If it's hard to peel them off, put them in the freezer on the paper for a few minutes, and they should come off easily.
- They are baked just right when they stick to the paper and can't be peeled off easily.
- If they come off easily, it is likely that they are a bit overbaked, and may be hollow in the middle.
- Sandwich two macarons with a cream filling of your choice in between, and the macarons are done.
- They are tastiest from the following day onwards after they have become moist.
- Macarons that are baked just right do not have hollow centers, and give a moist and airy sensation.
- (The one in the photo is a black tea flavored macaron filled with berry paste.)
- Store the macarons in the refrigerator, and consume them within a week.
- You can also wrap them individually and freeze them.
- (Defrost them in the refrigerator.)
- For details on the reasons why things can go wrong, see"Helpful Hints for Foolproof Macarons".
- To make chocolate ganache, put chocolate and whipped cream in a piping bag, and suspend it over 60C warm water to melt the chocolate.
- Squeeze the bag to mix.
- To make matcha tea- or coffee-flavored ganache, use white chocolate and melt it before adding the powder.
- Squeeze the piping bag well to mix.
- When it has been chilled and has stiffened to the right consistency, the ganache is done.
- If you add instant coffee to the (brown) chocolate, you'll have a cafe-mocha flavored ganache.
- From left to right: matcha, black tea, coffee, mlik, cocoa, and strawberry (I crushed some freeze dried strawberries into a powder and mixed it in).
- I have another recipe for more flavored macaron varieties like kabocha squash , azuki beans, purple sweet potatoes, almonds, kinako, pistachios.
- Try using strawberry powder for pretty pink macarons, cherry blossom shaped macarons).
- I decorated these macarons with chocolate (dark, white, matcha tea flavored, coffee flavored).
- Macarons sandwiched with homemade guimauves like French marshmallowsare elegant, too.
- For easy marbled macarons: Prepare the plain macaron batter up to the step before the macaronage.
- Divide the batter in half inside the bowl.
- Mix flavorings into one half of the plain macaron batter.
- Fold the two batters together, and it will easily turn into a marbled pattern.
- Freeze the leftover egg yolks with 5 g of sugar mixed in per yolk.
- This way, the texture of the yolk will not deteriorate when frozen.
- Defrost the yolks in the refrigerator before use.
egg whites, sugar, almond flour, your choice, chocolate, vegetablebased, strawberry powder
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/158400-powdered-sugar-free-flavored-macarons (may not work)