It was time to give macarons a shot. They didn't turn out perfectly, but they they weren't a complete failure either. Just as the Kouign Amann & I had to get to know each other over a series of experiments, so it will be with macarons.
Not all of them were baked through & I lost some of the insides when I pulled them off the silpat.
For the next test, I'll either pipe them smaller & stick with the 12 minutes baking time or if I do them larger, increase the baking time to 14 minutes. And because my oven has its issues like everyone else's, I will take the time to bake the macarons 1 sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven, so that each sheet gets the right amount of hot air circulating around it.
I was mostly worried that they wouldn't get "feet" (David Lebovitz explains about the "feet" here). But they did!
Recipe and techniques by Desserts Magazine.
I scented the batter with some Five-Spice powder (maybe 1/2 tsp?) & filled them Pineapple & Five-Spice Meringue Buttercream.
Pineapple & Five Spice Swiss Meringue Buttercream
5 egg whites
8 oz granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
8 oz unsalted butter at cool room temperature, cut into chunks
1 tsp vanilla
Heat egg whites and sugar at medium low, stirring constantly, just until you start to see steam rising from the surface of the mixture. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip at high speed until a meringue forms and bowl is cool to the touch.
Whip in the butter a bit at a time. The mixture will separate & look curdled at some point, but keep whipping. It will come back together again. Whip in the vanilla. Whip in 1/4 cup Pineapple Five Spice Puree.
YIELD: 3 cups
Pineapple & Five-Spice Puree
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp Five-Spice powder, or to taste
Combine pineapple and sugar in a small saucepan. Cover and cook on medium-low until pineapples soften up.
Remove lid and cook until the juices are reduced to about 1 Tbsp.
Remove from heat, stir in Five-Spice powder. Cool. Puree.
Yield: about 1/4 cup puree
