How to make macarons - Macaron Mogador 如何親手製作法式小圓餅 - 마카롱 만드는법

"The Mollomar-shaped cookie must have a 'foot', a crackly ringlet that surrounds the flat side. The outer shell is thinner than an eggshell but has an eggshell-like quality. Poking through the shell gives way to soft, almost-meringue texture. The macaron is just a tiny little thing made of only sugar, egg white, and almonds, yet it has bunches of texture and flavor that you can play with ad infinitum".

I used to think that macarons are really difficult to make, especially when I came through a comment made by an instructor "People usually take around 5 times to master the making of macarons". However, this thought changed when I decided to challenge myself for once.

我常想，製作法式小圓餅應該很考工夫，尤其當我聽到評論員的意見時，我更是嚇了一跳。他這樣說︰「一般人大約需要試做5次，才能掌握製作這種小圓餅的秘訣。」然而，當我抱着挑戰一下自己的心態試做一次後，我對這個想法徹底改觀。

One day, I was looking for some good macaron recipe and came across this recipe in Pierre Herme's macaron book. Knowing that this recipe belonged to the world-famous patisserie - Pierre Herme, I immediately picked this without any hesitation.

我先從尋找合適的法式小圓餅製作食譜入手，終於找到Pierre Herme編寫的食譜。看到Pierre Herme 這個舉世知名的糕點師傅，我二話不說馬上把它奉為聖經。

The main feature of macaron Mogador is the ganache - which is made with the two ingredients - milk chocolate and passionfruit juice. As expected from Pierre Herme, the pairing of chocolate and passionfruit is indeed breath-taking. It is definitely a bite of HEAVEN. To be honest, I don't really like macarons out there due to its immense sweetness...But this, macaron Mogador, is the exception. The sweetness of chocolate is well complimented by the tanginess of passionfruit. SO this is by far the best macaron combination I've ever eaten! So why not have a try?;)


Macaron Mogador 最主要的成份莫過於 Ganache。Ganache 是由牛奶巧克力及百香果汁兩種材料糅合而成。Pierre Herme 說得一點也沒錯，巧克力及百香果配合起來真的天衣無縫，這簡直是上天賜給凡間的恩物。說實話，我真的不太喜歡 Macaron 那種滋膩的甜味，唯獨 Macaron Mogador是個例外。巧克力的甜味與百香果濃郁的氣味混然天成。這可以說是至今為止我吃過的法式小圓餅中的極品！您也不妨一試﹗)

Preparation
- Prepare the egg whites a few days before making this
Shortcut: Microwave the egg whites for 10-20 seconds on medium-high speed
- Leave the egg whites at room temperature (before beating)

Macaron shell - Ingredients 
Makes 72 macarons
 Ground almond         300g
 Icing sugar                300g
 Aged egg whites       110g
 Yellow food coloring    5g
 Red food coloring      0.5g

Italian Meringue
 Sugar                        300g
 Water                          75g
 Aged egg whites       110g

Macaron - Instructions
1) Sift icing sugar and ground almond (this will take awhile).
Note: If you want your macarons to look smooth and shiny, DON'T GIVE UP. 
2) Mix the 110g egg whites with food coloring. Pour this into the sugar-almond mixture (don't need to mix yet).
3) Boil water and sugar to 118 degrees celsius.
4) Once the syrup reaches 110 degrees celsius, begin to whip the other portion of egg whites until soft peaks are formed.
5) When the syrup reaches 118 degrees celsius, slowly pour it into the whipped egg whites little by little at a time while mixing the mixture with an electric batter. Stop when the mixture goes down to 50 degrees celsius (shiny, stiff peaks should be formed)
6) Fold the italian meringue into the sugar-almond mixture until the right consistency is achieved.
Note: 'Fold' by using a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl and bring it back to the top in a circular motion. The right consistency is achieved when a thick ribbon is formed and slightly flattens when it is spooned (but with a sturdy consistency). 
7) Fill the batter into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.
8) Pipe out round batters of 3.5cm (2cm apart) on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Note: You can use a template to make sure that the macarons are equally sized. A template can be printed off from here: http://www.puregourmandise.com/astuces/Gabarit%20macarons%2035%20mm.pdf
9) Rap the baking tray on the kitchen table to get rid of air bubbles.
10) Dry the macarons with a hair dryer until a skin is formed.
TEST: Touch the macaron batter and see if it sticks to your hand. If it doesn't stick, it is ready!
Note: DO NOT skip this step. This is crucial to prevent the outcome of cracked shells. 
11) Place it into a 180 degrees celsius preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
12) Remove shells from tray when they are COOLED.
Note: Be patient! Otherwise you will break the shells. 

Ganache - Ingredients 
Unsalted butter    100g
Chocolate(40%)  550g
Passionfruit juice 250g (I used canned passionfruit syrup instead - can be found in Wellcome, HK)

Ganache- Instructions
1) Cut the butter into small cubes.
2) Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Put this into a steel bowl.
3) Bring the passionfruit juice to a boil.
4) Partially melt the chocolate in a steel bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Then pour in the juice. Mix until it's well blended.
5) Add in the butter. Mix until the ganache is smooth.
6) Refrigerate the mixture for it to thicken.
7) Fill the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a round nozzle.
8) Pipe out a right amount of ganache on one shell. Cover with another shell by slowly pressing it down and twisting it slightly. Top the rest with the same method.
9) Leave the macarons in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Bring out the macarons 2 hours before serving.
Note: I know it's hard to resist eating them. But trust me, it tastes much better when it is matured!