Passion Fruit Macarons

I love macarons. Not only do they taste great but they look so pretty, too. Being gluten-intolerant it is also a delight to be able to go into a patisserie and be able to buy something!

When it comes to making them, I get a little nervous as they can be so tricky. Having recently been given an aqua Kitchen Aid for Christmas/Birthday by my adorable parents, I really wanted to give macarons another go.

There are many great sites giving advice on how to make them so they turn out great and one of the tips that is often recommended is heating the sugar first. So, this time around I melted the sugar and used my Kitchen Aid to whisk the mix. Definitely the best so far!

Having recently been sent some Hotel Chocolat white chocolate drops to use in my recipes. I went for an indulgent fresh Passion Fruit zingy white chocolate ganache for the centres. I love how quick and easy it is to use the chocolate drops and the taste! ah!

Vanilla Macarons (makes 12)

Ingredients
125g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
125g ground almonds
90g egg whites separated the night before (important!)
110g Caster sugar (superfine sugar)
2 tbsp water
Food colouring, if required
Edible purple dust


Cooking instructions

1. Mix almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until you have a smooth fine powder.
2. In a small bowl mix 40g egg whites, ground almonds and icing sugar into a paste.
3. Put water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently to melt the sugar, turn up the heat and boil until the mixture has a thick syrupy consistency.
4. Whisk the remaning egg whites until they form medium peaks.
5. Slowly add hot sugar syrup and food colouring to the egg whites, all the while whisking, until you have a stiff shiny meringue mixture.(If you are going to add color to the macaron shells, this is the time to do so.)
6. Slowly add the meringue mixture to the almond paste with a wooden spoon until you have a shiny mass.
7. Using a parchment bag with about a 1cm opening at the tip, squeeze the macarons mixture onto parchment paper lined baking trays.
8. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles.
9. Sprinkle edible food dust on top.
10. Let them dry for 30 mins so they form a shiny hard crust.
11. Cook them for about 10-12 minutes in the oven at 160 deg C, turning them around after 5 mins. Also, leave the oven door slightly ajar and make sure to keep an eye on them.
12. Carefully remove them from the oven and transfer parchment paper onto a cooling rack.
13. When cool, slide them off the parchment paper using a metal spatula.

White chocolate & Passion Fruit ganache

Ingredients
125g double cream (heavy cream)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
35g passion fruit, blended
100g Hotel Chocolat white chocolate drops


Cooking instructions

1. Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan.
2. Remove from heat immediately and stir in chocolate until melted.
3. Stir in passion fruit and vanilla essence until glossy.
4. Refrigerate for about 45 mins.
5. Spoon a teaspoon of ganache onto half of the macarons and place the other halves on top to form the ganache sandwich.
6. Let the macarons chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours before eating.

Macarons will keep for 2 days refrigerated in an airtight container.

A few tips

• Always sift and double sift your ground almonds and icing sugar so there are no lumps.
• Use egg whites that have been left out at least over night, otherwise you can be left with flat macarons.
• If piping the macarons leaves a peak on top, be sure to smooth the top over with a wet finger.
• Use a double layer of baking parchment to prevent burning.

Have a sweet day!