Tiramisu macarons

Who doesn’t love macarons? I mean really though WHO doesn’t? They are perfect little mouthfuls of cookie/biscuit chewy deliciousness. Think of the luxurious windows of Parisian pastry shops like Pierre Herme and Laduree. It just feels like such a scrumptious little bite, coming in all those pastel colours and flavours varying from the classic pistachio and chocolate to more adventurous like balsamic vinegar and olive oil (the last two are from Pierre Marcolini, that you can find in his shop in Knightsbridge and he is very experimental with flavours and also let’s be honest I am Greek I don’t need too much convincing when it comes to olive oil!) But let’s get real here. Everyone, absolutely everyone is terrified of making them at home. They are at times tricky but are you really going to let a glorified cookie win? Having been in professional pastry kitchen for the last 8 years I can honestly tell you that I have been defeated enough times to now being confident in my macaron skills. For the filling I will be using a scrumptious tiramisu ganache which is made with mascarpone cheese, coffee and of course chocolate! I have used a lot of different meringue methods including Italian, French and Swiss. Let’s talk about each one of them and explain why the Swiss ended up being the winner.

French- One of my first ever headchefs was French and I absolutely adored him. He taught me the foundation of French Patiserrie that I still use to this day. As a result Hamza (obviously) taught me the French method. French meringue is basically a result of a simple way of whisking egg white and caster sugar and then continuing with the normal method! That saying the fact there is no heat involved made the finished result quite soft and definitely not suitable for freezing! Sorry Hamza I love all French Patisserie but maybe we can give this one a miss?!

Italian- Later on when experimenting my way through macarons, I tried the Italian method. No, no there is no pizza or pasta involved! Italian meringue is essentially a meringue using the pate a bombe technique. Pate a bombe is syrup that is taken to ideally 121C and then that gets poured on top of the whisking egg whites.  As much as this technique does work it is definitely not my favourite. Reason for that is sometimes induction hobs don’t actually have the same temperature all the way around resulting in different parts of the syrup having different temperatures. So in an ideal and probably professional environment this recipe does work but to be frank who has a perfect kitchen especially at home? I know I don’t!

Swiss- I know what you are thinking! Aren’t these guys best known for Rolexes and creamy chocolates?! Well apparently Swiss meringue can be added to the list! This method is definitely a winner! Not only it works great in professional but it is also very successful at home. Swiss meringue consists of a bain marie (definitely said that in French accent!) which is essentially a pot filled half way with water and then a bowl with the caster sugar and egg whites placed on top. Also this method doesn’t involve any icing sugar so no need for sieving which means no icing sugar no mess(well less mess).

Ingredients for the tiramisu macarons

• Egg whites: Let’s talk egg whites! Recipes like macarons really need to be as precise as possible and for that reason I mention the exact weight. Two large eggs should give you around 90g of egg whites. Make sure that your egg whites are at room temperature.
• Caster sugar: We will use caster sugar for our macarons as we don’t want big grains of sugar that will change the desired texture.
• Almond powder: Ground almonds are what will give the structure and body to our macarons. Also what makes these delicious treats gluten free!
• Whole milk: Most ganaches contain cream instead of milk but due to the high fat content from the milk and white chocolate, whole milk balances the richness of the ganache.
• Milk chocolate: Since ganache has only few ingredients, be sure to use the highest quality chocolate for the best flavour.
• White chocolate: Similar to the milk chocolate make sure you are using a good quality white chocolate.
• Mascarpone: A pretty unusual ingredient for a ganache recipe but the texture of the mascarpone really enhances the creaminess of the ganache. It also really helps the ganache to taste like an actual tiramisu!
• Glucose: I know what you are thinking! Do I have to?! Yes you do! Glucose is very cheap, found in most big supermarkets and it is a pantry essential if you want to learn how to bake like a pro! Glucose when added to ganache helps to reduce available water by chemically bonding with the water making for a more stable and shiny ganache.
• Instant coffee: We add instant coffee instead of a shot of espresso to reduce the water content in our ganache.
• Coffee liqueur: You don’t have to add any alcohol to your ganache but let’s be honest can you have a good tiramisu without coffee liqueur?!
• Unsalted butter: Butter will add richness and also make your ganache shinier.

For the tiramisu ganache

• 120g whole milk
• 150g milk chocolate
• 150g white chocolate
• 150g mascarpone
• 30g glucose
• 10g instant coffee
• 25g room temperature unsalted butter
• 10g coffee liqueur

For the macarons (makes 40-44 shells/20-22 macarons)

• 125g almond powder
• 90g egg whites
• 200g caster sugar
• Big pinch of cocoa powder for dusting

How to make the tiramisu ganache

1. Coarsely chop the white and milk chocolate with a sharp knife then transfer to a heatproof bowl.
2. Place the milk and instant coffee to a medium pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Don’t allow the milk to boil over! You can also heat the milk and coffee in the microwave.
3. Pour milk over the chopped chocolate and stir gently until all the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth and glossy.
4. Next place the now emulsified ganache in a blender or ideally use a hand blender.*
5. Add the glucose and blend until fully incorporated.
6. Next add the mascarpone cheese and blend until smooth.
7. Lastly, add the room temperature butter and the coffee liqueur (if you are using any) and blend until the butter is fully incorporated.
8. Place the ganache in a container with a piece of cling film pressed against the surface to prevent any crust from forming.
9. Place in the fridge for 6-8 hours or until set enough to be able to pipe.

How to make the macaron shells

1. Preheat oven to 150C fan. Spay two baking trays with non stick spray and line with parchment paper.
2. Place sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl over a double boiler. Using a plastic spatula mix gradually until sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 55C-58C.*
3. When the mix reaches the desired temperature, pour the mix in a standing mixer using the whisk attachment making sure no water gets into the bowl*. Whisk first on medium and then on full power.
4. When you meringue is cold and fluffy add your almonds to the mix keeping the whisk attached, no need to change to a paddle.
5. It is important not to over-mix the batter – it should fall in a thick ribbon from the whisk. The ribbon should also fade back into the batter within about 30 seconds – if it does not, whip slowly for a few more seconds.
6. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle number 11. Hold the bag vertically to the tray, with the nozzle about 1cm from it. Pipe rounds about 2.5cm in diameter onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure you leave about 3 cm gap between the macarons as they will slightly spread.
7. Tap the baking tray on a flat surface 5-8 times to make as flat as possible and release any air bubbles.
8. Leave to rest for 30 minutes, or until the macarons have developed a skin.
9. Place in the oven, baking one tray at a time*.Bake the macarons for 12-14 minutes (this needs to be precise, so you could test a macaron first). Immediately slide the parchment onto the work surface and cool for a few minutes before gently peeling the macarons off the paper.
10. Using a small sieve sprinkle some cocoa powder to the still warm macarons to resemble the ‘tiramisu’ top.

How to assemble the macarons

1. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag fitted with the same nozzle used to pipe the macarons.
2. Pipe a dollop of ganache to one macaron shell. Top it with another macaron shell to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining macaron shells and ganache.
3. Consume immediately or store in an airtight container and place in a dark and cool area for up to two days.
4. You can also freeze the macaron sandwiches for up to one month.
5. Enjoy 🙂

Notes

• The temperature for the macarons needs to be as precise as possible to achieve the desired structure and consistency. If you don’t have a digital thermometer I would advise you to invest in one as it will be useful for any of your future bakes!
• Any water content that gets into your meringue will prevent you meringue from stiffening. Make sure all your equipment is clean and dry before you start your macarons.
• The source of heat in a conventional oven is stationary and tends to rise up from the bottom meaning that if you attempt to place two trays at the same time the macarons on the bottom will rise more and probably lose their shape. If you are using this recipe for a convection oven you can place both trays in at the same time as the heat is more even throughout.
• Using a hand blender will ensure that you do not incorporate too much air in your ganache. A type of nutri blender is also ideal and what I personally use.

Meringue kisses,
Athina  xx