Macarons - runda 1 (Macarons- first round)

Scroll down for English recipe

What does Brindusa do when she has some leftover egg whites in the fridge? Well, nothing else but she starts a battle with the famous MACARONS. These are some meringue - biscuits with almond powder, popular in France where you'll find at any street corner. The biscuits are round and filled with ganache like a sandwich. They must be small as a bite-size. I tasted them when I was in Paris and I liked. I started looking for information about them and it seems it isn't easy to produce some decent macarons. For this you must have a good recipe and perfected your technique.


Ce face Brindusa cand are niste albusuri ramase in frigider?  Pai alta treaba nu are si incepe batalia cu vestitele MACARONS. Acestea sunt niste bezele - biscuit  cu pudra de migdale, foarte raspandite in Franta unde le gasesti la orice colt de strada. Biscuitii sunt rotunzi si se lipesc 2 cate 2 cu ganache. Marimea trebuie sa fie cat sa bagi in gura, pentru ca daca musti din ei se crapa bezeaua si faci numai firimituri. Am gustat si eu cand am fost la Paris si mi-au placut. Am inceput sa caut informatii despre ele si se pare ca nu sunt chiar asa de usor de facut. Adica trebuie sa ai o reteta buna si sa-ti desavarsesti tehnica.



Asta a fost prima mea batalie cu macarons-urile si se vede treaba ca am pierdut {Dar n-are nimic, razboiul nu s-a sfarsit :)}.

Am folosit reteta gasita in LA Times, numai ca eu am dublat cantitatile (pentru ca aveam mai multe albusuri). Din pacate coca rezultata a fost mult prea lichida si pusa in tava nu-si pastra forma {se cam labarta :D}. Asa ca, dupa ce am facut o tava cu biscuiti rotunzi restul de coca l-am pus intr-o forma de tort si am facut un blat. Pe care l-am uns cu ceva crema cu mascarpone. Deh, pe criza asta nimic nu se arunca! Va scriu reteta gasita in LA Times, asa cum e ea, poate cuiva o sa-i foloseasca. Voi pune si cantitatile in masuri americane (cups) cat si in masuri romanesti (grame)

• 1 1/3 cups (140 g) pudra fina de migdale
• 2 cups plus 2 Tbs (238 g) zahar pudra
• 1/4 cups (45 g) cacao Olandeza neagra
• 1/2 cup (3 - 4 oua mari) albus, la temperatura camerei

1. Ca sa faci pudra de migdale mixeaza bine migdale fara coaja intr-un robot de bucatarie. Pudra rezultata trebuie sa fie foarte fina.
2. Adauga in robot zaharul si cacaoa si mixeaza, ca pudra rezultata sa fie fina.
3. Pregateste doua tavi cu hartie pergament pe ele.
4. Bate albusurile mai intai la viteza medie, pana ce se fac ca o spuma usoara ce-si pastreaza putin forma. Continua sa bati la viteza mare, pana ce spuma se inareste, devine lucioasa si-si pastreaza bine forma.
5. Incepe sa incorporezi pudra de migdale, amestecand cu o paleta de jos in sus. In timpul asta invarteste castronul. In felul acesta albusurile nu pierd din aerul din ele. Incearca sa nu amesteci de mai mult de 50 de ori.
6. Pune amestecul intr-o punga de ornat si fa pe fartia de pergament (din tavi) cercuri nu mai mari de 3 cm in diametru (cat sa bagi in gura).
7. Lasa tavile sa stea 30 minute in loc uscat si racoros (ca sa se usuce putin bezeaua)
8. In timpul asta incalzeste cuptorul la 220 C (temperatura foarte mare)
9. Dupa 30 min. pune una dintre tavi in cuptor , la mijloc si imediat redu focul la 180 C. Pune in usa, ca sa nu se inchida total, o lingura de lemn. Coace asa timp de 10 - 12 minute, pana ce macaron- urile sunt moi dar ferme la atingere.
10. Scoate-le din cuptor si mareste flacara la 210 C. Repeta pasii anteriori pentru a2a tava.
11. Ca sa scoti biscuitii din tava, dupa ce i-ai scos din cuptor  lasa 2 minute la racit si apoi toarna putina apa fierbinte in tava, sub hartia de pergament. Inclina tava ca sa ajunga apa peste tot. Lasa 15 secunde si  scoate usor macaron-urile. Pune-le pe un gratar sa se raceasca.

Macaron-ul gigant (pe care l-am transformat in tort) a stat putin mai mult in cuptor, cam 25 minute. Daca il lasati mai mult, devine prea tare.

Crema de deasupra este facuta din

• 250 g mascarpone (1 cutie)
• sucul de la 2 portocale
• 3 linguri de zahar pudra
• sucul de la 1/2 lamaie
• coaja de la 1 portocala

Le-am amestecat bine pe toate si am pus crema peste blat. Am pus la frigider cam 3 ore.

Urmeaza runda a2a. Stati pe aproape.



English version

This was my first battle with macarons and it seems that I lost {But never mind, war is not over:)}.

I used the recipe in the LA Times, I only doubled the quantities (because I had more egg whites). Unfortunately, the resulting dough was too liquid and didn't keep their shape. So, after I made a tray of biscuits, from remaining dough I made a cake. Over which I spread some cream with mascarpone. Well, the crisis makes me to throw nothing away! I will write the recipe here, maybe  it is useful for somebody

1 1/3 cups (5 ounces) blanched almond meal or flour
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (8.5 ounces) powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup (3 to 4 large) egg whites, at room temperature

1. Push the almond meal or flour, along with the powdered sugar and cocoa, through a strainer into a large bowl and whisk to blend.
2. Beat the egg whites in a mixer with a whisk attachment over low to medium speed until foamy, then increase the speed and continue just until they hold glossy, medium-firm peaks. Gently fold in the dry ingredients in 3 or 4 additions. When the dry ingredients are all incorporated, the mixture will be runny and look like cake batter.
3. Spoon half the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a half-inch round tip and, keeping the bag vertical and 1 to 2 inches above the sheet, pipe rounds about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Rap the pan against the counter (or don't), refill the bag and pipe macarons onto the second sheet. Set the rounds aside in a cool, dry place for 30 minutes to rest.
5. Meanwhile, center a rack in the oven and heat it to 425 degrees.
6. Work with one baking sheet at a time. Dust the tops of the macarons lightly with cocoa and put the baking sheet on top of a spare sheet. Slide the set-up into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Prop the door open slightly using a wooden spoon (to reduce the heat as the macarons continue to rise and dry). The heat of every oven will vary; if the oven cools too quickly, do not prop open the door and instead quickly open and close the oven door every few minutes to gently release excess heat.



The giant macaron (which I turned into a cake) stayed a little longer in the oven, about 25 minutes. If you leave more, is will be too hard. 
Cream that I spread on top is made of

    * 1 1/2 cup mascarpone
    * Juice of 2 oranges
    * 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
    * Juice of half lemon
    * 1 orange peel 
Thoroughly mix them all and spread over crust. Put in the refrigerator about 3 hours.Follows second round. Stay close.