Fruit Tingle Macarons - Trip to Wonka Land!!!

Several posts ago I put up a photo of my first attempt at making macarons.  I did mean to blog about them, but then as time went by, I kind didn't feel about them the way that I did when I first made them - you see this is the bad thing about blogging - you just gotta do it straight away or you never get back to it!!!  A loyal follower has requested I post about the adventure - so here goes.....

As it was my first attempt I think I did OK.  Saying that though - they were not up to Zumbo standards.  I think in hindsight I probably should have attempted to make "virgin" macarons first before attempting anything more fancy.  I spent hours "researching" various recipes on the internet - visited many blog sites for advice, and in the end I combined a couple of recipes.  I did want to make them in the Thermomix - so I headed over to firstly to the Thermomix Forum the recipe there was submitted by Trissalicious - she has many versions of macarons to try - and she uses a Thermomix for one of her recipes.

So as a basic starting point here is the macaron recipe I used, utilising the Thermomix.

Macarons - French Style
From Trissalicious

125g ground almonds
150g icing sugar (not icing mixture)
100g caster sugar
100g egg whites (at room temperature) approx 3 eggs
colouring (I used blue)

Grind the almonds and the icing sugar on speed 10 for 10 seconds.  * TIP 1

Clean the TM bowl ** (TIP 2) and add the butterfly attachment.  Place the egg whites into the bowl and whip on speed 4 for 4 minutes.  Add the caster sugar after 2 minutes.  Whip the whites until they form stiff peaks.

Add the almond/icing sugar mixture into the TM bowl with the egg whites.  Add the mixture on reverse and soft speed for 10 seconds.  Add any colouring at this time. *** TIP 3

Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper. **** TIP 4

Dry the macarons for approximately 30 - 40 minutes - or until they have formed a hard shell, and your finger doesn't stick to the mixture when lightly touched.

Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 150 degrees (fan forced) for 10-13 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before filling.


TIPS


* TIP 1  - Several of the recipes I read said that you should sift this almond and icing sugar mixture 3 times, discarding any solids that are left over.  This is very time consuming - but I think worth it in the end!

** TIP 2 - Clean out the TM bowl - I have had a failure with eggs whites in the Thermomix before - so now when I want to whip up egg whites I put some water (about 1/2 a bowl full) into the TM bowl and a good splash of white vinegar.  Cook on varoma temperature for 5 minutes - this cleans the bowl out really well - but just make sure you let it cool down before you whip the egg whites.

*** TIP 3 - I used liquid colouring - others had used gel - I think the gel is the way to go - adding the liquid makes your macaron mixture a little too runny - I ended up with macarons that ran together and looked a little like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland!!!

**** TIP 4 Another tip I learnt along the way was to secure your baking paper to the tray by placing four tiny dollops of the macaron mixture onto the tray and then securing the paper to these (they then act as "glue").



For my cream filling I wanted to make a "Fruit Tingle White Chocolate Ganache".  I got the basis for the ganache from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook - I then added 4 packets of fruit tingles that had been ground to a powder.

Fruit Tingle White Chocolate Ganache
Adapted from Thermomix EDC Cookbook

4 packets of fruit tingles
100g white chocolate, broken into pieces
80g cream
1/2 cap pink food colouring

Pulverise the fruit tingles by processing on speed 9 for 10 seconds.  Set aside.

Place the chocolate into the TM bowl and grate for 30 seconds on speed 8.

Add the cream and cook for 2 minutes at 50 degrees on speed 5.

Add the crushed fruit tingles and the food colouring, and mix on speed 5 for 5 seconds.

Place ganache into a piping bag.  Pipe onto the macaron, top with the second macaron.

Macarons will keep quite well in the fridge for up to a week (if they last that long!!!)

So while I was not entirely happy with my first attempt at macarons - they were not a complete failure.  The Fruit Tingle White Chocolate Ganache was a success - really tingly on the tongue - this of course got less as time went on - after a couple of days - not so tingly!!!

Just as a side note - using the tip about cleaning the TM bowl with vinegar before whipping egg whites - (thanks Andrea) worked a treat, and my second attempt at Raspberry Bliss Cake (my birthday cake) was a success!!!

So Dear Readers what is the strangest flavour mixture that you have ever concocted?  Do tell.