Until today when I reached for something else in the cupboard and there was my old friend, like a bear waking up from a winter sleep. I knew it was a macaron day, but as I mentioned before cracked shells and feet less mac's were haunting me. My friend Jill Colonna, the legendary author of Mad About Macarons once left me a comment telling me not to sweat it when making macarons and to take it easy.
Maybe this advice is right. Today I just dived right in and didn't care too much about whether my egg whites were old enough or if I had stirred fifty times or fifty and three quarters, or if the humidity in my kitchen was 5% less than it should have been. I'm not saying these aren't important factors and I'm not trying to pee off the professionals like Pierre Herme who might read this post (Yeah.. Pierre goes on Blogger, not much) maybe I just got lucky, but I'll take it!
For me the fun part is filling the shell. I had a bag of kumquats which I've never cooked with before but after some research it seems like everyone makes some kind of marmalade. I threw them in a pan with sugar, water, a sprig of rosemary and vanilla and boiled them until it was a sticky syrup. After cooling, I chucked all of the pan mix into a blender and gave it a buzz. The jelly was a little on the strong side to eat on it's own so I mixed it into some butter cream I had on hand and it became an awesome citrus cream.
Macarons, It's time to pipe, fill and eat you....watch your back.
For the macaron recipe click here. The butter cream recipe is below, courtesy of The Savory Sweet Life. I always use this recipe for butter cream and It's never let me down.
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened
3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.
These macarons are absolutely gorgeous. And that kumquat marmalade sounds heavenly.
ReplyDeleteNow I've always been a bit intimidated with macaron-making but I think it's time I challenge myself and give this a try :)
Try it and remember your Zen...
DeleteOh yes...these have some perfect feet. The filling sounds as perfect as the cookies. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYou've just inspired me to give these babies another go..my last batch was a complete and total fail. Yours look positively perfect, and that buttercream sounds divine!
ReplyDeletegerry...these turned out gorgeous...the color is amazing too! simply beautiful
ReplyDeleteGerry this are beautiful! Congratulations on complete success :) The butter cream does look fantastic. I've been thinking about tying again - so I shall!
ReplyDeleteNice job, Gerry...these look irresistible! I just told Jill I need to make my second batch of macarons...the hard part is picking out a flavor!
ReplyDeleteLizzy I'm working on another flavor right now...stay tuned!
DeleteQue relleno más estupendo son irresistible lucen muy hermoso,abrazos hugs,hugs.
ReplyDeleteRosita, Muchos Gracias!!
DeleteThey look pretty perfect to me! And the kumquat filling .... it's killing me that I can't get it here at the moment. Hmm ... maybe a marmalade will do it. I haven't made any macs for awhile either. Our humidity here isn't too mac-friendly. But like you said ... who cares, just dive into it!
ReplyDeleteWow, another wonderful macaron recipe! You are becoming quite the expert!
ReplyDeleteI find that I'm way more likely to screw something up if I'm already freaked out about it then when I just say whatever, what's the worst that can happen! The look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Gerry, these look delicious!
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious and sound divine. I love the Kumquots with rosemary and vanilla.....can I come over?
ReplyDeleteGerry I love macarons and these look amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteKumquat and rosemary are such an interesting combination. These macarons are awesome!
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious! I am not sure I have ever eaten kumquat. But your macaroons are beautiful and inviting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful flavor combination! Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting Lisa!
DeleteGerry, I can't believe I missed this post - I checked my Google Reader Subscriptions and for some reason your feed is not delivering to my "new" blogs (this post and your next post don't even show up). Anyway, these macarons look awfully pretty darn perfect ;)
ReplyDeleteThis look so delicious!
ReplyDeleteLooks so delicious and perfectly done
ReplyDeleteDang Gerry! Your a macaron machine. The idea of citrus cream filling sounds pretty irresistable!
ReplyDeleteGerry! These are great and SO glad you went for it! And not just any old flavour to start, either, with kumquat and rosemary - what a combo! Yep - no courage needed. Just relax and have fun. Too many other more important stuff to stress about in life. Although next time do stick more to the instructions - these little gems will appreciate you helping them get their feet. Gerry is now on the macs and no stopping now!
ReplyDeleteI love all your macaroons. This is something that I have never made but I am so wanting too!! Thanks for all the great ideas. Cheers, Tara
ReplyDelete