Over-indulge; don't resist the temptation of Salted Caramel Macarons. One taste will always lead to more and more. They are an amazing combination of flavor that will ignite your taste buds.
You will need to make a Chocolate batter macaron, with a Swiss Meringue butter cream filling with caramel and a pinch of fleur de sel.
To add chocolate flavored macarons you will need to follow the basic macaron recipe. In the beginning when you are mixing your almond and powder sugar you will want to add in Dutch-processed cocoa powder. The amounts used are as follows;
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
½ cup almond powder
1 cup powdered sugar
I use just a plain Swiss Meringue butter cream filling and store bought caramel. I know “store bought” but I am too afraid of burning it to make homemade caramel. I promise it is on my to-do list but I am just going to use store bought for a while. You can see the Swiss Meringue butter cream post to see how to make it.
Fleur de Sel is an amazing French sea salt and for a French pastry you have to use French sea salt.
When making Macarons I find myself with a large collection of egg yolks. Now I have tried to make Crème Brule with the yolks and its richness seemed to take away from the Macarons. I have also tried to make Bavarian Cream with the yolks but gelatin just freaks me out. I just wanted something simple to make with my left over egg yolks... maybe even something that would freeze well. Finally my very good friend Samantha posted her recipe for Thumbprints on her blog. Score! I found a simple cookie that is amazing even after it has been in the freezer for a while.
Check it out:
The Art of Procrastinating
Since everyone has a unique finger print I thought I needed to make these thumbprints just as unique.
For my thumbprints I used Strawberry Jam and almonds. I also added a little spice by adding ¼ teaspoon (ground) of the following spices to the almonds; Cloves, Allspice, Cardamom, and Cinnamon.
You need:
6 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds soften unsalted butter
To make:
In an heat proof mixer bowl, set over simmering water, place your egg whites and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches a temperature of 160º. Remove from heat and mix on a high speed until it forms a meringue (perks start to form). Beat in the vanilla extract and the butter ( 2 tablespoons at a time) on a low speed. Beat until smooth.
It is like silk and makes a generous amount. I always keep it refrigerated unless I am using it to decorate, it is easier to pipe while at room temperature.
