Spiced Macarons
Borrowed from The Foodhall Cookbook, these melt-in-the-mouth meringues are light and airy, with a cinnamon and ginger flavoured ganache filling!
Ingredients
For The Macarons
- 6½ tbsp / 100gm powdered sugar
- 6½ tbsp / 100gm almond powder from Traditions by Foodhall
- 5 tbsp / 75ml egg whites
- ¼ cup / 60gm caster sugar
- 1 tsp / 5ml liquid food colouring
For The Spiced Ganache:
- 6½ tbsp / 100ml cream
- 1 tsp / 5gm Arqa cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp / 2 ½ gm ginger, ground
- ½ tsp / 2 ½ gm Arqa cardamom powder
- 1¼ cups / 300gm white chocolate, chopped
Instructions
For the macarons
- Sift together the powdered sugar and almond powder so that there are no lumps.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they start to froth.
- Then add the caster sugar and whisk until stiff peaks are formed.
- Mix the stiff egg white meringue with the powdered sugar and almond milk.
- Add the food colouring. Use a spatula to mix till the batter flows freely.
- Pipe this batter over a baking tray lined with parchment paper, in circles around 1-inch wide, evenly spaced 1–inch apart.
- Set the tray aside for 30 minutes.
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes at 165°C / 330°F. Allow to cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.
For the spiced ganache
- Heat the cream in a pan over medium heat; add the cinnamon powder, ground ginger and cardamom powder and bring to the boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat immediately and let the spices infuse with the cream for 10 minutes or so.
- In the meantime, place the chopped chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl.
- After 10 minutes, return the infused cream to the stove and simmer over medium heat. As soon as the cream is heated, strain it into the bowl of chocolate. Let it stand for 5 minutes then stir with a whisk until smooth. Allow to cool and then refrigerate.
To assemble
- Pair similar-sized macaron shells together.
- Pipe the ganache onto one shell from each pair.
- Do not over fill or else it will ooze out once sandwiched.
- Gently press the shells together and serve.
For variation
- One can replace the spices with any other essence or flavour as per taste.
Notes
Chef’s Tip: The trick to make perfect macarons is to weigh each ingredient correctly; even the slightest alteration will change the recipe completely. The flavour comes from the filling and not the shell. Always store in an airtight container.