Is it OK to say “Happy Easter”? I do believe so. To be “happy” also means to be relaxed and baking definitely relaxes me. Baking is my way of dealing with the crisis, it is a wonderful method to beat depression and sadness. Yes, I also know people who got fired or are now working part-time. But regardless, I do see Easter as the feast of hope despite all the horrible things currently happening. And for that reason I decided to make macarons according to the Italian method. I already have a few macarons recipes on my blog, my very first try, strawberry macarons with no food coloring as well as coffee macarons with dulce de leche filling. But all of the listed recipes follow the French method. This is the very first recipe according to the Italian method. I will explain below what this entails.
The French method basically means that you beat the egg whites as is, you know for regular meringue. For the Italian method you first heat up the egg whites with the sugar and then you beat it in order for it to cool off. It is only afterwards that you fold in the almond and icing-sugar mix. Until now I was always to lazy to first heat up the egg whites. What for, I mean, if I can do without, why should I bother? However, over time I realized that many people said that the Italian method yields more consistant results, somehow the meringue created is more stable and thus the likelihood of perfect macarons increases. Since macarons can be finicky and I have experienced some disasters myself, I decided to give this method ago. And alas, it did yield perfect results the first time around.
For that reason you get this recipe for Easter. No, you don’t have to make the oval shaped, you can also make them the regular shape. You are also free to go with any filling you like. I listed a few options below, but it is up to you to decide. It may also come as a surprise that I actually used food coloring as I like to avoid any artifical additives. About two years ago I invited to a blog event, which actually asked for for dishes that were only dyed with natural food coloring. However, for Easter I decided to color my Easter eggs pink, I mean, it is Easter after all. And even I can go all pink.
Credit: la crema patisserie (in German)
These macarons are prepared with the Italian method, which means heating the egg whites with the sugar first before beating cold again. Weigh the almonds, icing sugar and freeze-dried fruits (if using) and put them through a food processor. Sieve and put in a large mixing bowl. Place the egg whites and sugar in a pot usable for a waterbath and heat on medium in a second pot filled with water until the sugar dissolves. The temperature should reach 65 degrees Celsius. If you don't have a thermometer, you should not feel any sugar crystals if you rub a little bit of the mixture between your fingers. Be sure to stir and don't let the egg whites cook. Once it has reached the right temperature, transfer to a mixing bowl and mix while still warm on medium high. It may take 5-10 minutes for it to become a stiff meringue. Add food coloring towards the end if desired. If turning the bowl upside down, the meringue shouldn't fall out (see also picture). Add the almond and sugar mix and start folding by using a spatula. Most important part, the creation of the batter (macronage) This is really important, read carefully! If you undermix the batter, you will not have proper macarons at the end, but this holds also true if you overmix. Finding the right constistency is key for the macarons to turn out beautifully. The first important thing to keep in mind is to only fold the whole mix. First it will look like the almonds and the meringue don't like each other. This is normal. Simply continue folding slowly. Continue doing so until the batter starts moving back slowly if you take out the spatula. Your final batter should have the constistency of honey or you should be able to write an eight with the batter. It is liquid, yes, but it will move very slowly. If you have pancake batter, you went too far. The best vido for knowing the right constistency is this one in my opinion. Once you are happy with your macronage, prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. I simple printed the oval shape on two sheets of paper and slipped them below the parchment paper for me to see. Pipe on oval shapes. You should be able to fill both baking sheets with macarons. Once you are done, rap and bang the baking sheets to get out any air bubbles. If the macronage has the right consistency, for example any "swirls" will move back into place. Heat oven to 125 degrees Celsius and bake the first baking sheet. You don't need to wait for the macarons to dry, you can start baking immediately. While the first one bakes, it is OK for the second baking sheet to sit at room temperature. Repeat with the second batch. Let cool completely before filling with desired filling. No idea what to do with the leftover egg yolks? Check out see this blog post including how to freeze them properly. Prepared macarons are kept best in an airtight container in the fridge. They will get soft after about 2 days.
Macarons also freeze beautifully. I like to freeze the macaron shells. Take them out 20 minutes before serving.Easter Egg Macarons with the Italian Method
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
If you are interested in further macarons recipes (all according to the French method):
Coffee macarons with dulce de leche filling
Heart-shaped macarons (with printables)
No Comments