MacAttack 27: Salted Peanut Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Inspiration, I found it for these macarons, in a very special treat we used to have back home as kids, chikki. Its made out of jaggery & peanuts sometimes with cashews, puffed rice, sesame seeds, poppy seeds... the list is pretty much endless. I particularly love the peanut and sesame ones to bits. I remember buying a big chunk for 25 paisa ( a paisa equals 1 ⁄ 100 of an Indian Rupee) during our school lunch breaks and devilishly biting into the hard candy. Mum used to make it for karthigai . She used to make it without any fancy candy thermometer, by simply boiling jaggery & little water to the candy consistency, add the peanuts/puffed rice and sometimes with cardamom. She used to then roll it into a ball while the mixture was still hot (asbestos hands must say) and we would happily snack on them.

Anyway,  the other day I was visiting a friend and she offered me some chikki with coffee and I just couldn't stop eating them. She was polite enough to say that she would box some for me to relish later(and boxed it away instead :-(!!!). That triggered childhood memories.
So when MacSweethearts wanted MacTweeters to create something truly extraordinary, worthy of a special fete, for Macaron Day, with a totally new creation, big or small, savory or sweet, something ready for a party  I instantly knew this flavor combo of peanuts and bitter chocolate ganache would be perfect. Feel free to use milk chocolate if you feel the dark chocolate is too much. I have used salted peanuts for the recipe.

Salted Peanut Macarons with Chocolate Ganache 

Ingredients

Italian Meringue

150g caster sugar

55g egg whites (I used only 50g and it still turned out well)

1g egg white powder

38g water

Macaron

75g ground peanuts

75g ground almonds

150g icicing sugar

55g egg whites

Method:Pulse the almonds,peanuts and icing sugar in a processor until fine. Sieve twice. Mix one part of the egg whites to this. Meanwhile whisk whites till frothy. Bring the sugar and water to boil and let it reach 115-118 C in a candy thermometer. Add this to the whites and whisking all the while on high as you pour till it form glossy peaks. Mix a part of the whites to the almond mixture gently folding it. Mix in the remaining whites till you get a smooth mixture that forms ribbons when lifted. Do not over-mix as the mixture will turn liquidy and difficult to pipe. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a baking sheet with silpat/ non-stick sheet. Leave the macarons to form a skin for 30 minutes. When you touch them they should not stick to your hand at this point, if they do leave them for some more time. Preheat oven to 140C and bake the macarons for 15-18 min depending on size. They should come off the sheet once cooked. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Pipe desired filling and sandwich the macarons. 
Chocolate Ganache
Dark Chocolate chopped – 100 gms
Heavy Cream – ¼ cup
Method:

Heat the cream and whisk in the chocolate and butter until smooth and glossy. 

Assembly:

Using a piping bag, pipe a tiny amount of ganache on the flat side of the macaron, and sandwich with another of the same size. Sandwich them, squeezing gently. Leave to set in fridge for at leasts 24 hours for flavours to work together.

Strawberry Macarons for Mactweets #20

MacSweethearts Jamie & deeba challenged us to create something sensational, sweet or savory, with a fruit using Dried, powdered, fresh, any form, any flavor! I made strawberry macarons (tried piping them to look like real ones) with cream cheese filling & fresh strawberries. Try not to use a template so that you get natural un-even sized macarons which look like real ones!

Strawberry Macarons
Ingredients

27g egg whites
75g caster sugar
20g water
75g ground almonds
75g powdered sugar
1tbp freeze dried strawberry powder 
27g egg whites
Edible food colours in Pink & Green
Method:
Pulse the almonds,strawberry powder, and icing sugar in a processor until fine. Sieve twice. Mix one part of the egg whites to this. Meanwhile whisk whites till frothy. Bring the sugar and water to boil and let it reach 115-118 C in a candy thermometer. Add this to the whites and whisking all the while on high as you pour till it form glossy peaks. Mix a part of the whites to the almond mixture gently folding it. Mix in the remaining whites till you get a smooth mixture that forms ribbons when lifted. Do not over-mix as the mixture will turn liquidy and difficult to pipe. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a baking sheet with silpat/ non-stick sheet. For the strawberry macarons, I did not use any template and just piped them free-hand. Leave it to form a skin for 30 minutes. When you touch them they should not stick to your hand at this point, if they do leave them for some more time. Preheat oven to 140C and bake these babies for 12-15 min depending on size. They should come off the sheet once cooked. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Pipe desired filling and sandwich the macarons.

For the filling I used Cream cheese icing with bits of fresh strawberries.

Chocolate Excess Macarons for Mactweets #18

Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world's perfect food (Michael Levine). I mean dark chocolate, in moderation, can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Research, still ongoing, has pointed out that chocolate in moderation can help prevent cancers and heart disease. I do sure need chocolate to keep me going on Mondays...I need them when I am unhappy/moody...I need them when I am happy...I crave them after a good meal...I need them on my face as a pack when my skin is unhappy...(I even had an emergency chocolate boyfriend replacement kit for a really long time!!!) Yes, Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don't need an appointment (Catherine Aitken). All you need is a good quality chocolate that just melts in your mouth...smooth... releasing some magic that instantly lifts you up. I just dont get it when people tell me they are not mad about chocolates...Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.(John Q. Tullius).How can someone just resist the smell of chocolate? Chocolate is my favourite cake/ice-cream flavour till date; after coffee of course!

My love affair with coffee started way before. My dad used to always buy a bar of "cadbury fruit & nut" the only chocolate I knew of and ate all my childhood. When I met "S", he used to always make me the most amazing hot chocolate for me (I should have know by then that this is the man I am going to marry...silly me!). He introduced me to what became my next favourite; Ferrero Rocher and then fell in love with Nutella. My tastes have changed quite a lot with time & travel and now all I prefer is dark chocolate...Lindt being my favourite at the moment. I still make steaming mugs of Hot Chocolate but with real dark chocolate and a splash of liquor in it...reminiscing our jolly days.

Mac Attack #18 ... EVERYTHING IS COMING UP CHOCOLATE!

MacSweethearts Jamie & deeba have chosen CHOCOLAT as Aprils theme, asking us to create something sensational, surprising, unique, something beautiful, delectable, tantalizing, something worthy of a Mac Attack using chocolate. They challenged us to use chocolate in some form, some way, whether in the shells or the filling or even both, but blend it, mix it, shake it up with another flavor or two, a spice or a fruit, something sweet or spicy or tart, anything with an alcoholic kick, a novel ingredient which will add texture or flavor or color, something, anything which will accentuate, complement the chocolate flavor and make for one spectacular mac!

I made these Chocolate-Coffee Macaron shells topped with a sprinkle of raw cacao with a White Chocolate Centre & a crunchy Chocolate coated Coffee Bean centre....now that's why I call them Chocolate Excess Macarons. Somehow for me chocolate & coffee are a match made in heaven and I absolutely loved dark chocolate, coffee & white chocolate all together creating a flavour explosion in every bite.

At this point I have to tell you about HealthySupplies who sent the Raw Cocoa a few weeks back, that I have used in the macarons. They have a very good collection of harder-to-find ingredients like the freeze dried fruit powders I use in my macarons. I also love the gluten free stuff they sell like the coconut flour for instance. Do head over to their site and check out the products.

Chocolate Excess Macarons
Ingredients
For the macarons
75 g ground almond
75 g icing sugar
30 g egg whites
10g cocoa powder
4g ground coffee
75 g caster sugar
20 g water
30 g egg whites
raw cocoa nibs
100g melted white chocolate
50g chopped chocolate coated coffee beans
Method:
Pulse the almonds,cocoa, coffee powder and icing sugar in a processor until fine. Sieve twice. Mix one part of the egg whites to this. Meanwhile whisk whites till frothy. Bring the sugar and water to boil and let it reach 115-118 C in a candy thermometer. Add this to the whites and whisking all the while on high as you pour till it form glossy peaks. Mix a part of the whites to the almond mixture gently folding it. Mix in the remaining whites till you get a smooth mixture that forms ribbons when lifted. Do not over-mix as the mixture will turn liquidy and difficult to pipe. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a baking sheet with silpat/ non-stick sheet. Sprinkle the raw cocoa nibs on top. Leave the macarons to form a skin for 30 minutes. When you touch them they should not stick to your hand at this point, if they do leave them for some more time. Preheat oven to 140C and bake the macarons for 12-15 min depending on size. They should come off the sheet once cooked. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Pipe desired filling and sandwich the macarons.
For the filling I used melted white chocolate and sprinkled some chopped chocolate coated coffee beans.

Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream and Strawberry HolyBasil Macarons

My friend’s 3 year old, quite naturally, goes on and on and on about pink all the time and the other day ‘S’ suddenly came up with this weird question…”Are girls crazy about pink from the day they are born or are they taught to like pink or is it just butterfly (as he fondly calls her)?”. Probably true or maybe not! Nonetheless the fact is, toddler or an adult, girls always go crazy over pink and I am no exception. I adore everything pink… pink roses, pink dress, pink shoes, pink pen and even the pink limo that goes past our street every now and then. Every girl definately owns at the least one t-shirt in either a (or all...no surprises here) baby pink, cherry blossom pink, carnation pink, shocking pink... One of the many advantages of owning anything pink is, none of the boys will ever think of stealing borrowing them because pink is officially a girl's color!This month Sarah of Maison Cupcake is hosting the Monthly Mingle and the theme is Think Pink. I made this luscious Pink strawberry cheesecake icecream and some Pink strawberry & holy basil macarons to go with it.  Yes, you read it right, Strawberry and Basil, very unusual and it so totally works!
I am also sending these Strawberry Basil macarons to MacTweets Jamie and Deeba.

Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream (adapted from not quite nigella)

Ingredients

600ml heavy cream

150g icing sugar, sifted

250g mascarpone

250g strawberries hulled and halved

3 tbsp icing sugar 

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tbsp Creme de Fraise
Method:
Whiz the washed and hulled strawberries in a processor along with balsamic vinegar, strawberry liquer and 3 tablespoons of icing sugar. Whip cream and icing sugar until soft peaks form (watch to ensure that the firm peak stage is not reached). Add the mascarpone and beat until incorporated. Mix this with the strawberry liquid and then freeze in your ice cream maker according the manufacturer's instructions. 

Strawberry Basil Macarons

Ingredients

30g almond meal
58g powdered sugar
36g aged egg whites
18g caster sugar
pinch salt
pinch egg white powder
5g strawberry powder
3-4 fresh basil leaves
Method:
Preheat oven to 140C.
Line two baking sheets with silicone sheet. Pulse the Icing sugar with the almond powder, food colour, strawberry powder& basil leaves in a processor. Sieve this & set aside. Beat the egg whites until foamy and add the granulated sugar, whites powder. Beat until very stiff and firm. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding. The mixture should be thick and fall in ribbons when lifted. Fill a piping bag with this and pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced apart. Tap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest to form a skin for about an hour. Bake them for 12-15 minutes depending on size. Once done, transfer them to a cooling rack.

I have used leftover vanilla buttercream recipe from here for sandwiching the macarons.

MacAttack #17 Blackberry Cardamom Macarons

Its Mactweets time of the month and this time MacSweethearts Jamie & Deeba asked us to create macarons incorporating both fruit & spice. 

Sugar & Spice everything fruity....perfect for spring!

I have made blackberry macarons with a hint of cardamom..my favourite spice after saffron. I made the macarons using the Italian Meringue method as I find them the best. I find feet consistently now.
Coming back to Cardamom, its a very unique spice native to India and grown especially in and around the places I grew up in, South India. Its used in most of our everyday cooking, especially Indian sweets, and also added as an important ingredient in Ayurveda. Our early morning Masala Tea is always enriched with Cardamom and Ginger. Although, with the black berries, its very unusual, its a combination that cannot go wrong. 

Blacberry Cardamom Macarons 

Ingredients

27g egg whites
75g caster sugar
20g water
1tsp cardamom powder
75g ground almonds
75g powdered sugar
1tbp freeze dried blackberry powder
27g egg whites

Method:

Pulse the almonds,blackberrypowder, cardamon powder and icing sugar in a processor until fine. Sieve twice. Mix one part of the egg whites to this. Meanwhile whisk whites till frothy. Bring the sugar and water to boil and let it reach 115-118 C in a candy thermometer. Add this to the whites and whisking all the while on high as you pour till it form glossy peaks. Mix a part of the whites to the almond mixture gently folding it. Mix in the remaining whites till you get a smooth mixture that forms ribbons when lifted. Do not over-mix as the mixture will turn liquidy and difficult to pipe. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a baking sheet with silpat/ non-stick sheet. Leave it to form a skin for 30 minutes. When you touch them they should not stick to your hand at this point, if they do leave them for some more time. Preheat oven to 140C and bake these babies for 12-15 min depending on size. They should come off the sheet once cooked. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Pipe desired filling and sandwich the macarons.

For the filling I used buttercream with a drop of violet colour.

SoulCurry celebrated its 1 year bloganniversary and I am giving away a fantastic cookbook "Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the Macaron Cafe" by Cecile Cannone to celebrate this grand day. A winner will be picked at random by entering the names in random.org. If you would like to win it , please leave a comment in this post before the 30th of March 12 midnight GMT and and I will announce the winner in the following post.

MACS ARE IN THE AIR

I ♥ you because of your simplicity.

I ♥ you because you are temperamental.

I ♥ your gorgeous deliciousness. 

I ♥ your perfection. 

I ♥ you even if you have failed me many a times. 

I ♥ you because you inspire me. 

I ♥ you more everyday. 

I ♥the pitter patter of your tiny feet...

Hang on! Before you jump to any naughty conclusions I was actually talking about my ♥ for macarons... my new found love.

For February’s Mac Attack Jamie and Deeba have asked MacSweethearts to create something for Valentine’s Day. 

Valentines Day is the Dday celebrating love and affection. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by gifting flowers, chocolates or exchanging cards. There is just no choice, no escaping it! Every little shop in town is filled with deep red roses,the colour of love and innumerable confectioneries, fancy greeting cards and gifts.

I chose strawberry, rose and chocolate the eternal combination to express love in my macarons. I find the Italian Meringue method the best to make macarons and will stick to them. The shells have a pale pink from the (have not used any colour) powdered strawberries. I have filled them with a rose-strawberry buttercream and also have a secret  dark chocolate centre to convey the bittersweet and secretive nature of mine ;-). Even 'S', a macaron fiend, loved them. I let my wildly romantic side take over and made them heart shaped (although they seem to have lost their shape while baking) and also painted hearts using melted chocolate. Nothing says I Love You like a sweet little something, the size of a kiss, the flavor of your wildest desire, the macaron. This is for you 'S' to say in my own special way how much I ♥ you!

For the Strawberry Rose Macarons
Ingredients
27g egg whites
75g caster sugar
20g water
1tsp rose water
75g ground almonds
75g powdered sugar
1tsp strawberry powder
27g egg whites
Method:
Pulse the almonds,strawberry powder and icing sugar in a processor until fine. Sieve twice. Mix one part of the egg whites to this. Meanwhile whisk whites till frothy. Bring the sugar and water to boil and let it reach 115-118 C in a candy thermometer. Add this to the whites and whisking all the while on high as you pour till it form glossy peaks. Add the rose water. Mix a part of the whites to the almond mixture gently folding it. Mix in the remaining whites till you get a smooth mixture that forms ribbons when lifted. Do not over-mix as the mixture will turn liquidy and difficult to pipe. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a baking sheet with silpat/ non-stick sheet. Leave it to form a skin for 30 minutes. When you touch them they should not stick to your hand at this point, if they do leave them for some more time. Preheat oven to 140C and bake these babies for 12-15 min depending on size. They should come off the sheet once cooked. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Pipe desired filling and sandwich the macarons.
For the Filling
Strawberry Rose Buttercream and Chocolate centre
I have used the recipe from here and have added powdered strawberries and few drops of rose water instead of lemoncurd.
50g of dark chocolate melted
Assembly
Once the macarons are cool fill a pastry bag with the buttercream and pipe small starts using a small nozzle all over the sides and fill melted chocolate in the centre. Top with another matching macaron.

My MacInspirational Brown Sugar Cake - Balsamic Roasted Fig Macarons

I was so inspired to make something more for this months Mactweets Challenge, after finding firm 'feet' with my Green Tea Macarons. I had to try some new flavour so I roasted some fresh figs (that I bought for 4 quid) with some good balsamic vinegar, pulsed them with the almonds,Icing sugar and Voila..it worked like magic. I then sandwiched the cakes with a luscious mascarone frosting & roasted figs. It was so lovely with a drizzle of balsamic-honey reduction I made.

The MacQueens asked us to combine or integrate macarons into any dessert, making it a new part of an old favorite, or turn them into a favourite dessert; inspired in flavor, texture, colour.

I have to share this beautiful sunset scene that I captured the other day making these Raspberry Macs (pictured above). How can one not find inspiration in such beautiful surroundings? I have to try making macs in each of those colours!! At least I got the pink right.

Brown Sugar Cake - Balsamic Roasted Fig Macarons
For the Brown Sugar Cake (makes two 8" cake)
Ingredients
175g self raising flour
175g unsalted butter
175g muscaovado sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2tbsp sour cream
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line 2 8" pans. Sift all the dry ingredients twice. Beat the butter and sugar till light. Add eggs one by one and beat well after each addition. Stir in the sour cream & vanilla. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture in two additions. Pour into the prepared tins and bake for about 25-35 min or until skewer inserted to the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.
For the Roasted Balsamic Fig Macarons
Ingredients 1 cup fresh figs sliced
1 heaped tbsp good balsamic vinegar
Method:
Preheat oven to 125C. Place the figs on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Oven dry it for about 45-60min. Reserve about 1/2 cup.
For the Macarons
Ingredients 1 aged egg white (aged for 2-5days)
10g caster sugar
65g powdered sugar
35g ground almonds
1/4 cup of roasted figs
1/2 tsp egg whites powder

pinch cream of tartar
1/4 tsp Organic beetroot powder for colour
Method:

Preheat oven to 160C.
Line a baking sheet with silpat. Pulse the powdered sugar with the almond powder, colour and roasted figs in a processor. Sift them twice.
Beat the egg whites until foamy and add the granulated sugar, whites powder, cream of tartar. Beat until very stiff and firm. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding. The mixture should be thick and fall in ribbons when lifted. Fill a piping bag with this and pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced apart. Tap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest to form a skin for about an hour. Bake them for 12-15 minutes depending on size. Once done, transfer them to a cooling rack.

For the Mascarone icing
Ingredients 1 tub of mascarpone
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
Method:
Whisk the mascarpone, icing sugar and cream till you get soft peaks. Chill if not using immediately.
Assembly:

Place one layer of the brown sugar cake and spread a generous portion of the icing. Lay some roasted figs on top and sandwich with the other layer of cake. Cover the cake completely with the mascarpone icing, using an offset spatula.
Decorate with the fig macarons as desired.
Note
You could just make the macarons, use just half the icing. Pipe the icing onto the shells, place some roasted figs and sandwich them.

Head over to Mactweets and see what everyone else has been up to this month!

Matcha Madness # 1 MacTweets #15 MacInspirational

After indulging in a season of high calorie desserts over the holidays, contributing to the ever increasing waistline and weighing scale, the only thing that comes to my mind is health food. So for the past week I have been trying hard to eat sensibly, with Green tea being one such favourite. Green Tea, rich in antioxidants, taken regularly boosts metabolism and reduces cholesterol levels  (Source). 

Jamie and Deeba challenged the Mactweeters to create a macaron inspired by a favourite dessert. My creation has my all time favourites, green tea and chocolate, perfect simple treats you want when you are tired of all the fancy desserts. So here I present to you the healthy & hearty Matcha Macarons.

Matcha Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Egg Whites – 2 (aged for 5 days)

Icing Sugar – 100 gms

Ground Almonds – 60 gms

Caster Sugar – 4 gms

Matcha – 1 tbsp (You could cut this down to 1-2 tsp depending on taste)

Egg Whites Powder – ½ tsp

Cream of Tartar – ½ tsp

Green food color – few drops or a pinch if using powder

Preheat oven to 160C.

Line two baking sheets with silicone sheet.

Pulse the Icing sugar with the almond powder, food colour and Matcha in a processor.

Beat the egg whites until foamy and add the granulated sugar, whites powder, cream of tartar. Beat until very stiff and firm. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding. The mixture should be thick and fall in ribbons when lifted. Fill a piping bag with this and pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1″ circles evenly spaced apart. Tap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, then rest to form a skin for about an hour. Bake them for 12-15 minutes depending on size. Once done, transfer them to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Ganache

Dark Chocolate chopped – 90 gms

Heavy Cream – ¼ cup

Butter – 1 tbsp

Heat the cream and whisk in the chocolate and butter until smooth and glossy.

Assembly

Using a piping bag, pipe a tiny amount of ganache on the flat side of the macaron, and sandwich with another of the same size. Sandwich them, squeezing gently. Leave to set in fridge for at leasts 24 hours for flavours to work together.

Coffee Macarons

I got on my "Feet" again!I Whipped up these babies in 10 minutes flat...Whisked the aged whites with cream of tartar and (egg) whites powder. Blended the almonds ,icing sugar and ground coffee together. Folded them in whites and piped onto baking sheet (without a template). Once baked and cooled piped some chocolate ganache and sandwiched them. Perfect to be served with coffee after dinner.

Mac Attack 14: Savory Sweet - White Chocolate Pink Peppercorn Macrons with Passion fruit Lemon-curd Buttercream

 SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE!!

THAT'S WHAT THE HOLIDAYS ARE MADE OF!!

I love the holiday season…Just few more days of work and then it’s time to mingle. All that's left to do is stay cozy with a cuppa hot chocolate, delicious nibbles and sweet treats with occasional visits to/from friends & family. The gifts are all done and packed; some with a mailman finding their way overseas, some standing proud on the kitchen top, some eaten & digested as soon as they arrive. The decorations have come-up around the house..some silver-white ones resembling the snowflakes outside, brown pine cones dusted silver-white just like the skeletal tree with a skin of snow, embellished with some reds, pinks and gold to add to the festive sprit. House is filled with the aroma of the season; cinnamon in one sniff, mulled wine and baking boozy bread/cake in the other. The weather outside maybe dull and grey but with streets  lit up in colors, brimming with overcrowded markets and stalls. Who doesn’t like these holidays? I have been busy donning the chefs cap and dared to go all new and avant-garde this season!

So for this month’s Mac Attack Challenge, Mac Partners Jamie and Deeba have asked us to create a macaron that blends the Savory Sweet! A macaron to be served on a silver tray as an apératif or hors d’oeuvres with a glass of champagne, as a special snack or part of a festive buffet. I usually stick to the tried and tested Mac recipes but not this time..I made this White Chocolate-Pink Peppercorn Macs using the Italian Meringe method and boy-o-boy I am glad I did it! These are the perfect Macs I’ve ever made...perfect texture, perfect bite, perfectly chewy and, of course, perfect feet... the list is pretty much endless and flavours are to die for! I sandwiched them together with a Passion fruit-LemonCurd Buttercream that gave these Macs the perfect tang with the sweet and savory. 

 
 

White Chocolate Pink Peppercorn Macarons

Ingredients

Egg White - 55 gms (1) (aged for 2-3 days on kitchen-top or in the fridge for a week)

Icing Sugar - 150 gms

Ground Almonds - 60 gms

White Chocolate - 60 gms melted and cooled

Caster Sugar - 150 gms

Egg whites - 55 gms

Water - 1/4 cup

Egg Whites Powder - 1/2 tsp

Cream of Tartar - Pinch

Pink Peppercorns - a few

Method:

Pulse the almonds and icing  sugar in a processor until fine. Sieve twice. Mix one part of the egg whites and white chocolate to this. The mixture should look like a paste. Meanwhile whisk whites till frothy along with the whites powder and cream of tartar. Bring the sugar and water to boil and let it reach 115-118 C in a candy thermometer. Add this to the whites and whisk on high as you pour till it form glossy peaks. Mix a part of the whites to the almond mixture gently folding it. Mix in the remaining whites till you get a smooth mixture that forms ribbons when lifted. Do not over-mix as the mixture will turn liquidy and difficult to pipe. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a baking sheet with silpat/ non-stick sheet. Sprinkle some peppercorns on top and leave it to form a skin for 1 hour. When you touch them they should not stick to your hand at this point, if they do leave them for some more time. Preheat oven to 160C and bake these babies for 10-12 min depending on size. They should come off the sheet once cooked. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Pipe desired filling and sandwich the macarons.

Passionfruit-LemonCurd Icing (Makes a Jar)

Ingredients

1 Recipe Lemon Curd from here or here

4 Passion fruits scooped out

Few tbsp of Heavy Cream

Method:

Mix the passion fruit along with the ingredients for the lemon curd except butter and cook over double boiler as the recipe calls for. Mix in the butter once off heat. Transfer to sterilized jars. Use about 2 tbsp of the filling. Meanwhile whip the cream till stiff peaks and blend in the passion fruit-lemon curd. Fill a piping bag with this and pipe onto cooled shells and sandwich.