Raspberry Macaron Disaster

Ok guys – this week’s batch of macarons were an absolute disaster. But I guess that is what I get for going all rogue.

I decided to try to make this raspberry filling and color the macarons “naturally” using the raspberry juice.

To break down the raspberries, I threw 12 oz fresh raspberries, 1 tablespoon sugar, and about ¾ cup of water into a small saucepan. I started cooking on medium low heat to break them down, then turned it up to a boil and reduced to simmer, which I’m now convinced was completely pointless. After straining the juice I put half back into the saucepan, added 2 tbs cornstarch, and cooked on low heat until thickened. I should have added more sugar at this point because holy moly was that stuff tart! bleck, not pleasant at all.

Laduree Macarons!

Alright people – this week I’m bringing out the big guns. What’s the first place you think of when someone says “macarons”? Ok. I guess it could be Pierre Herme…but pour moi c’est laduree! or for you non-franglish speaking folks, I tried out a recipe from THE Laduree. I did tweak it a little because to be honest I’m getting sick of the plain macaron cookie with buttercream filling. This time, I decided to create a dry mix that was part almond meal, part confectioner’s sugar, and part ground pistachios. Next to the rose macarons from Laduree the pistachio ones are probably my next fav..or maybe the salted caramel… or maybe the raspberry..

Anyways! I’m starting to get down the french meringue method which requires whipping the egg whites until foamy, gradually adding sugar, and then continuing to whip until stiff, glossy peaks form (here’s bon appetit’s version of a simple french meringue). So I thought.. “hey, being a little adventurous this time couldn’t hurt… right?” Well.. I was semi-right about that.

YumSugar Macarons

 

I recently moved from Chicago to South Bend, IN and started commuting 3 times a week to work (that’s right people, 2 hours each way). When i’m not spending time on a train, i’m usually spending time cooking dinner, cleaning up the house, or watching marathons of “the walking dead” (i’m a sucker for zombies)

but it’s about time for another blog post – i can’t believe it’s been nearly 2 weeks.

   

This time i tried a recipe from yumsugar.com. Again I used eggs straight out of the fridge. Again because i was too lazy to take them out beforehand.

Martha’s Macarons

First up on the macaron list is Martha Stewart’s. Based on the reviews on her website it sounded like I had a 50/50 chance of producing a good batch. And!… the Odds did not work in my favor.

crash. and. burn. A lot of burning.

The end product was more burnt, sad, home-made ‘nilla wafer than pretty parisian macaron. Granted I did commit a lot of macaron faux-pas. For one i didn’t let the egg whites sit until they were room temperature, I just used them right out of the fridge due to a time crunch/forgetful mind. The piping job was beyond sad. I decided to do a swirl motion instead of one big blob, which resulted in a lot of flat and burnt macarons. Also the recipe strangely instructed leaving the oven door partially open. I found out from this “lovely” experience that my oven door doesn’t stay partially open. It either needs to be wide open or shut. So wide open it was! Boy, oh boy, was that a bad idea.