They are fun to make and whipping them up is even better when you get the kids in the house to lend a hand….
Fun for all the family!
Staples of chic French patisseries, macarons are perfect bite-size merengue confections sandwiched together with a delicious sweet or savoury filling. They’re made with egg white, ground almonds, icing sugar and sugar. Their versatility and visual appeal make them a popular choice with pastry chefs the world over, but there’s no reason why you can’t have a go at home. You can choose from a rainbow of food colourings, but our suggestion is to kick off with chocolate macarons! Let’s get started!
Here’s what you’ll need
For the macarons
- whites of six large eggs
- 400g icing sugar
- 180g ground almonds
- 30g bitter cocoa powder
For the filling
- 250g dark chocolate
- 70g butter
- 200 ml liquid cream
Here’s how
Divide the preparation over two days as one part needs to rest overnight and share the steps between you… teamwork makes the dream work!
Day 1
- Kids: Chop the chocolate.
- Mum: Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
- Dad: Heat the cream in another pan over low heat. Add the butter and stir well until you have a silky smooth liquid. Leave to cool.
- Kids: Stir the mixture well.
- Mum: Put the mixture in a bowl, cover it with cling film and store in the fridge until tomorrow.
Day 2
- Mum: Choose a wide, deep bowl.
- Kids (with help): Sift the icing sugar, ground almonds and cocoa through a large, clean, dry sieve. Mix well.
- Dad: Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add them to the dry ingredients.
- Kids: Stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Mum: Put the mixture into a piping bag.
- Dad: Prepare a baking tray covered with baking paper and preheat the oven to 150º C.
- Kids (with help): With the piping bag, squeeze out small balls of the same size and at the same distance from each other. About forty is fine.
- Mum: Place the tray in the oven. After about twelve minutes, remove and allow them to cool.
- All together: Take them two at a time, spread the chocolate cream mixture you prepared yesterday onto the flat side of each macaron and sandwich them together.
- Mum: Store any leftovers in an airtight container… if there are any left, that is!
