偶寐卡美記 • Hermit 2008

Hermit's new challenges: French macarons!

try to keep record of my experiments, from what I studied online, every batch can be different. My goal is consistent and delicious like Ladurée or Pierre Hermé from my home kitchen!

7/1/2011
Trace of almond meal in the mixing bowl, egg white fail to increase any volume  :(

7/5/2011
All by weight - Egg white: sugar: almond=1: 1.35 (67gm : 100 gm)
Sift powder sugar and almond twice
Syrup: 1.35 sugar + 1/3 x 1.35 water cooked to 230 F and it is cracking and dry while pouring into egg white
Final batter: runny, spread quickly on pan

1 drop of red food color
Rest 1 hour, no tapping
280 F for 10 minutes, sticky on bottom, 320 F for 10 more minutes
taste: good chewy and softness, can be less sweet, very small or no feet, very light pale pink
cream cheese + jam filling
 
7/10/11
All by weight - Egg white: powder sugar: almond=100: 135 (-20gm in powder sugar) :135
Sift powder sugar and almond once
Syrup: 111g sugar (135 -20gm) + 37g water cooked to ?F till bubbled, then simmer for 2 minutes, only 150 ? F on thermometer

Final batter: sticky, does not run at all, stable on pan and the piping tip do not merge.
Rest 1 hour, no tapping

320 F for 20 minutes
taste: too hard, crispy, thin hard skin, good feet, can be sweeter
filling: ½ C heavy cream + 8 oz bitter chocolate

After 3 days in refrig, it softens and taste bit better, but still too dense.

Notes: to reduce oven temperature, add back sugar 10gm, syrup in 1.35 ratio. seal the piping nozzle, sit the piping bag in a heavy glass cylinder before filling in batter.  Ganache filling: too hard, need more cream.

7/15/11
All by weight gram - Egg white: powder sugar: almond=120: 110 (150 - 40gm) :150
Sift powder sugar and almond once
Syrup: 150g sugar + 54g water (120:120 x 1.35 /3) cooked till bubbled, then simmer for 2 minutes, only 200 F on thermometer

Final batter: sticky,  run very little (better than last time), stable on pan and the piping tip do not merge.
one batch without rest, the other rest half hour, no tapping

*this quantity fills up a 30 cm piping bag totally, makes 90 shells at about 1.5 inch.

280 F for 20 minutes, came out pretty pale white.
The other batch 280 F for 15 minutes, 320F for 5 minutes, bit yellow tone than the first batch, pale too.

taste: very soft, airy, bit chewy, hollow skin, no feet at all, good sweetness.
filling: ½ C heavy cream + 4 oz bitter chocolate, just the right ratio for texture.

Notes: more distance between each piping so they don't stick to each other. like the taste, need to figure out the look. Now I know why its nicknamed "maiden's bosom"...

* pretty proud of myself, making this delicacy with only a hand mixer.  If they can make it back then without the stand mixer or food processor in the 18th century, why can't I?  :)