MACARON -FRAMBOISES
RASBERRY FILLED MACAROONS WITH ANISE FLAVOURED PASTRY CREAM
Macaroon
300 g powdered sugar
180 g ground almonds
150 g egg whites
30 g sugar
Bake at 160°C
Pastry cream
250 ml milk
3 egg yolks
60 g sugar
12 g flour
12 g cornstarch
Light anise cream
250 g pastry cream
3 gelatin leaves
15 ml Pastis (aniseed flavoured drink)
250 ml whipping cream
Rasberry coulis
500 g raspberry purée
75 g powdered sugar
lemon juice
Finish
fresh raspberries
Prep bag with medium tip and magnets.
Tami ground almonds then weigh and add to large bowl. Sift powdered sugar then add, whisk to uniform then turn to papered plaque. Mount whites, add sugar and seal. Add red food colouring to pale raspberry pink and whisk uniform. Have partner fold paper lengthwise then gradually add almonds and powdered sugar to whites while folding well with spatula. Have partner turn paper over and magnet corners. Seal and work to fluid and shiny. Scraper sides down then over. Pipe from top, about 3 cm, sealing point to side, staggered rows. Bake about 15 minutes. Remove plaque from oven and pour some cold water under paper, rest several minutes then metal scraper off carefully, cleaning scraper often, to papered grill, face down. Set aside to dry.
Pastry cream. Soak gelatin leaves. Just boil milk with half of sugar. Blanche yolks with remaining half of sugar, then add flour and cornstarch. Add some boiling milk to yolks and whisk well, then whisk all back to pot and cook. Turn out to clean bowl.
Light anise cream. Measure out warm pastry cream then add squeezed gel leaves and whisk smooth. Add pastis, whisk smooth and set aside. Whip cream, whisk in then set aside.
Coulis. Add some purée to small pot, add sugar and heat to melt sugar. Add all back to remaining purée in bowl, add lemon juice to taste, whisk smooth then chill.
Plate. Pair macaron top and bottom. Pipe some cream to plate, stick bottom, pipe center spiral, no cream showing from side. Place best raspberries around at edge, then fill center. Place macaroon top. Deco plate with coulis.
In French patisserie praline is a smooth paste made with sugar, water and either hazelnuts and almonds, almonds only or hazelnuts only. It's medium caramel brown, thick, smooth, shiny and tastes a bit like a very sweet peanut butter on its own. It's a staple item that's almost always purchased premade. It's used as a flavouring for everything from chocolate fillings to pastry creams.
We've never made it but a chef did in demo - mostly to show us how even an experienced pastry chef cannot achieve the same perfectly smooth consistency.
Here's are two recipes.
PRALINE 50%
500 g sugar
200 ml water
EITHER 250 g skinned hazelnuts and 250 g blanched almonds OR 500 g almonds
PRALINE 30%
500 g sugar
100 ml water
300 g hazelnuts
Cook sugar and water to 110C. Add nuts. Crystallize then stir until caramel forms and nuts are coloured. Spread immediately to well oiled plaque and cool. Add food processor and grind well.