How To Make French Macarons Like a Pro

After making Macarons more than 10 times with lots of note taking, They aren't super easy, It takes practice and time, effort and lot of love. This recipe for chocolate macarons is my all-time favourite. Tonight and my husband said they are the best macarons he's ever had. You can do whatever shape or pattern you like and I believe it will quickly become your favourite too, by far the tastiest, not too sweet, rich, chocolatey, soft and chewy. Great for a Birthday/Christmas gifts or You can match virtually any cake or party decor to make your celebration special.

Makes 25-30

Ingredients

(A)
96g powdered sugar, (make your own or purchase on store)
80g ground almonds, (extra fine)
12g cocoa powder,  (sieved)

(B)
74g aged egg whites
50g granulated sugar

(C)
A drop of almond extract

(D)
Filling
• 100ml fresh double/whipping cream
• 100g dark chocolate chips

Method:
1) Place the granulated sugar in a food processor and process on high until powder forms, and continue place the ground almonds, blend them very fine.

2) Add the powdered sugar, extra fine ground almonds and sieved  cocoa powder into a bowl, and mix well.

3) Whisk the aging egg whites and add sugar a little bit at a time, until stiff peak, about 3 minutes. then sift the (1) dry ingredients into the whites and fold in using a spatula, lifting and turning gently. Do not over mixed the batter.

4) Fill an piping bag with batter and snip off the corner. Pipe onto the sheet/mat making small blobs around an inch big. Leaving a little space between each. llightly tap your baking mat/sheet after piping your macarons to release the air bubbles and then pop them with a metal skewer/toothpick then leave for 2 hours to dry out or until a skin develops.

5) Baked at 120C for 23 minutes. Let them cool completely before you peel or grab them off of the mat/sheet and store in a airtight container and it keeps fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. of course you can pipe the filling in the same day. When macarons are freshly baked, the shell is crispy outside, chewy inside and they are actually not ready to eat. It taste perfectly when "ripened" in the fridge for 24-48 hours.

6) To make the filling, In a small saucepan, Cook the double cream over middle low heat, add dark chocolate chips, and whip until smooth. Leave to thicken for at least 30 minutes. Pipe filling between two shells.

Helpful Tips:
1) Aging egg whites basically means separating your egg whites and yolks, and storing your egg whites in an airtight container in a fridge for overnight.
2) Allow the shells to stand at fan oven to speed up the drying process about 1 hour, until a skin forms on the surface. The batter should not stick to your fingers. This will prevent them from cracking in the oven.
3) It's best to bake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time and avoid them crack and no feet.
4) If your ground almonds not finely enough or you skip the steps of lightly tap your baking mat/sheet after piping your macarons. This makes for macaron shells not smooth and shiny.
5) Use the kitchen scale to measure by weight for baking instead of using measuring tsp, tbsp and cups. This will give you a better measure of ingredients.

Recipe Source: JosephineRecipes.Com