“Voila. Macarons. These ones I made yesterday for a party tonight, so they should be delicious.” He is right, of course; they are perfect. The first one I taste is dark chocolate with a center that is firmer than I had expected but that melts on my tongue in seconds. The second one is raspberry, the ganache retaining the roughness and texture of the fruit. The almond paste is stronger in this one, nuttier; blended together with the raspberry, it tastes of autumn. The last macaron is passion fruit. I know the shells are unflavored, but it tastes as though the entire sweet- the shells, the ganache, the scent- is alive with the zest of passion fruit before it even enters my mouth. Then, acidic on the tongue and rounding off a heavy sweetness. The perfume of the passion fruit macaron is like a bunch of lilies, assaulting and exotic. I close my eyes for a second, savouring each one.”
― Hannah Tunnicliffe, The Color of Tea
Recipe by Thulisa Martins
Raspberry, rose and vanilla giant macaron
Ingredients
MACARON
- 170g granulated white sugar
- 125ml (½ cup) water
- 3 egg whites
- 160g ground almonds
- 170g icing sugar
- 6 drops rose water
- 15ml (1 tbsp) red food colouring
FILLING
- 100g butter
- 200g icing sugar
- 100g raspberries, pulped
- 10ml (2 tsp) rose water
- rose petals, to decorate
- handful fresh raspberries, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160°C. For the macaroon, dissolve the granulated sugar and the water together in a saucepan over medium heat. Once dissolved, bring the syrup to a boil and, using a sugar thermometer, bring the syrup to 118°C.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks in a clean bowl. Once the syrup temperature has been reached, slowly pour into the stiff egg whites and continue whisking until completely cool. Set aside.
Sift the ground almonds and icing sugar together and discard the remains that do not pass through the sieve.
Mix together the rose water and food colouring until combined. Fold the almonds and rose water mixture into the meringue until smooth.
Pipe the mixture on a silicone baking mat in two 25cm diameter rounds and leave uncovered to form a skin, 30 minutes.
Once the skin has formed, place in the preheated oven and bake, 20 – 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the silicone mat.
For the filling, cream the butter and icing sugar together, then fold in the raspberry pulp and rose water. Place in a piping bag with a star nozzle for assembling.
Pipe the filling into the centre of one of the macaroon halves. Arrange the fresh raspberries around the filling and top with the other macaroon half. Decorate with rose petals and fresh raspberries before serving.
