According to some writings, the macaroon recipe appeared in the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon ..) in the 15Th century under the name "Louzieh"Derived from " Luz "which means almond.
Since the 12Th century, when Venice was the only Italian City to trade with the Levant, it allowed foreign merchant among them the Levantines and the Jews to reside near but not in the city and open warehouses and offices.
In the Middle Ages in Europe, The cookies made the first appearance in Venice, Italy. That's when the traffic is at its peak. Gradually, we discover foreign cuisine reported by browsers among which a small cake tender and crunchy which was called "maccheroni"Meaning" fine paste . It will "macaroon"In French.
The arrival of macaroons to France dated to the Renaissance (16Th & 17Th centuries) . Some
claims that the Italian Monastery joined by the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici , wife of King Ate co II . Later, two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, came to Nancy seeking asylum during the French Revolution. The two women paid for their housing by baking and selling macaroon cookies, and thus became known as the "Macaroon Sisters." Recipes for macaroons (also spelled "mackaroon," "maccaroon" and "mackaroom") appear in recipe books at least as early as 1725 (Robert Smith's Court Cookery, or the Complete English Cook).
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Unfortunately the recipe did not work with me, I tried it three times, I will leave you with the photos... I am not giving up... this is the spirit of the challenge is to keep trying and not giving up. At the moment I am testing some recipes for my coming Craft Shows.
Recipe :
Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.
Equipment required:• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment•
Rubber spatula• Baking sheets• Parchment paper or nonstick liners• Pastry bag (can be disposable)• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip• Sifter or sieve• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off• Oven• Cooling rack• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)
Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.7. Cool on a rack before filling.
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.7. Cool on a rack before filling.
First Batch
Second Batch
second batch
the third
what is saved from the first batch, the taste is very good but I am not proud of the results.
My first Macaroon recipe was from Tartellet's Happy Macaroon's Day... Thanks Amy.
3 comments:
Hi Arlette
I have been told that macarons are very difficult by a friend Anne-Marie who trained in pastry arts in Paris, with Gerard Mulot, a famous macaron maker. I have always to afraid to try to make them! I liked your intro, very interesting!
whatever happened to the Walima challenge this month? iis it on or off
Arlette, first off, your flavors are absolutely mouth watering!! Secondly, is the last photo Tartelette's recipe? If so, you mastered them, they look beautiful! Awesome job all around, as always, considering your mad skills *hugs*
Great work on the macarons. They sure are tricky. I struggled with the DB recipe, too!
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