Mac Fever

I have my fair share of failures at just about any stage! This is one tough cookie albeit frustrating.
Now, give me ta FEET, not cracks or oozed out like an erupted volcano!!! You name it, i had it all.
I think that the perfect macaroon is a challenging feat but they can be fun to make albeit the failures. I am a bit Mac Mad.

Chocolate Macaroons

Recipe adapted from: Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme

Reference: Yochana's Cake Delight

 Ingredients:

140g  finely ground almond
250g  icing sugar
25g  cocoa powder
100g egg white (room temperature)

Method:

1. Blend ground almond, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a food processor till fine. Give it a few pulse.
2. Whisk egg white until foamy and slowly increase speed to high to whip until firm. It should look glossy at this stage. Try lifting up the whisk, the whites should form a peak that droops just a little. Use a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients gently into the whites in three or four additions.  When all the dry ingredients are incorporated with the whites, the mixture will look very much like cake batter, if you lift with your finger, it should form a gentle, quickly falling peak.
3. Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Pipe into small rounds about 1" in diameter onto parchment paper, leaving about an inch between each round. Rest macaroons for about 20 mins.
4. Bake at 180C for about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Remove macaroons from the parchment and place them on a cooling rack.
6. Sandwich them with chocolate ganache or your favourite butter cream.

Finally, sit back and enjoy with a cuppa or tea.
Now, should i get into the castella mood flying around in the blogospere lately? hm...