The step-by-step tutorial has now English subtitles:
Script:
What you always have to keep in mind is that Parisian macaroons are in fact a very simple recipe. Its magic consists precisely in its simplicity of preparation, which renders the most charming dessert-low in sugar, colorful, appealing, classy and suitable for any occasion.
The aim of this script is to provide you with an accurate and simple understanding of the essential requirements for cooking the Inratable macaroons-that is forming a good eye and develop the technique of “macaroonage”.
Before we begin, pay attention to this 2 key requirements:
Be very precise in weighting the quantities mentioned.
Avoid by all means humidity during the process of crusting and baking.
As you can also notice in the video, there are 4 stages of preparation: the foaming of the whites, their infusion, the “macaroonage” itself and finally the crust and the baking.
1st Stage: The whites foam
For preparing our Inratable macaroons, you need to weight exactly 140g of egg whites at room temperature (use a kitchen scale).
Next weight 180g of powder sugar and divide it in two cups.
Begin the process of foaming the whites using an electric mixer at a low speed and in a vertical position. This way you avoid the incorporation of air into the whites, essential for obtaining a thick and compact foam.
At this stage there are 3 crucial timings (for details watch also the video):
When the whites are no longer liquid and form a sort of furrows-hurry to add the first half of the powder sugar. Always keep the speed constant.
When the withes form a bird nest (stop the mixer and pull it out. If in its place remains a shape of a birds nest, then you have it!)- add the remaining half of the sugar.
Continue mixing until the sugar is completely dissolved. Simply taste with the tip of your finger-if you don’t feel the particles of sugar it means the foam is ready. Should take approximately 2 min.
2nd Stage: The almond powder and extra fine sugar
If high quality almond powder-weight exactly 168g.
If usual almond powder from the supermarket-weight exactly 184g.
Weight also 171g of extra fine sugar. Place the two quantities in separate cups.
3rd Stage: The famous ”macaroonage”
Always add the almond powder and sugar into the whites foam, never the other way around. Add in the powder also a pinch of colorant it you wish.
Incorporating slowly the powder and the sugar in the whites foam, the aim is to obtain a homogenous paste. Once done, boost the whites foam by scratching into its surface-now the surface becomes shinny. Next, liquefy a bit the composition by repeating the gesture. You stop the mixer when the composition remains still viscous on the paddle but flows a bit. A practical exercise to form your eye with this is taking from time to time little spoons of the composition and pouring them on the baking plate-if it is too viscous and doesn’t flow easily from the spoon it means you need to mix a bit more. If it flows instantly it means you have mixed too much. However, this is a matter of precision. The most basic requirement is to obtain in a first place a shinning surface-this way the success of the recipe is already half secured.
4th Stage: The crust and the baking
Place the macaroons on the baking plate and leave them for an hour to form a crust that by touching with the finger doesn’t stick inside. If after one hour the crust doesn’t get to this density, continue anyway with the baking process as you still have good chances of success-you will do better next time!
Place the plate in the oven preheated at 150 C degrees for 12-14 min. Attention: never place the plates one above the other-the one below will maintain humidity which is definitely not good.
To check if the macaroons are ready-meaning that the shells affix the bezel forming a sole unit-after the first 12 min of baking open the oven every 30 sec. After the first 12 min every moment is precious in order to assure that the macaroons maintain a mild core and are therefore taken out just before the bezel if well affixed to its shell. This again is a matter of forming a good eye, which can be done only through practice.
Finally you only need to fill the shells with either a chocolate ganache or a butter/nuts/pistachio cream. We have already shown how to make a Coffee Feve de Tonga cream and a Lemon cream.
This is therefore the Inratable strategy: short, simple and guaranteeing best results. Once you master these essential steps there is no other need for improvements-the macaroons that result make up for any other complex methods of combining or adding unnecessary ingredients which you might find advised on the internet. If practice doesn’t seem to take you to a 10 min preparation time or the macaroons you obtain don’t match your vision of them, write to us about your troubles to cook-o.com and participate in a live presentation of making macaroons.
