Monday, December 17, 2007

Mes Premiers Macarons - My First Macarons

En fait ce serait plutôt les résultats de mes deuxièmes et troisièmes tentatives de macarons... et en réalité c'était il y bien des mois, mais je n'ai pas trouvé le bon moment pour vous les présenter, et comme c'est le temps des fêtes en ce moment, je me suis dit que le moment était venu. Alors voici donc ci-dessus des macarons au chocolat (enfin les coques de macarons au chocolat) selon la recette de Guillemette pour ma deuxième tentative (la première ayant été un désastre total), qui ont été promptement dévoré avant que je les garnisse de ganache, et ci-dessous la troisième tentative, une combinaison de la méthode de Christophe Felder sur le blog de Fofil et de la méthode de la reine des macarons, la grande Mercotte. J'aime bien l'aspect différent des deux genres de macarons, ceux de Guillemette étant plus rustiques et sympathiques, les autres plus lisses et élégants.

"Le macaron gerbet est rond, lisse, composé de deux macarons accolés et garni de confiture, de crème ou de ganache. Sa création est revendiquée par le pâtissier Pierre Desfontaines, petit-fils de Louis Ernest Ladurée au début du XXe siècle."

Je voulais essayer de faire des macarons et en sachant que mes parents les préféreraient au chocolat, j'ai donc commencé par les macarons que (je ne l'ai découvert que plus tard) on dit être les plus difficiles à faire. Après une première tentative qui ne mérite pas de récit, j'ai réussi à faire des coques, mais cela m'avait tellement stressé que j'avais laissé la ganache à faire pour plus tard (je préfère faire de la ganache plutôt que la traditionelle crème au beurre) et entre temps les coques ont disparu...dans plusieurs estomacs passant par la cuisine. J'ai donc recommencé en essayant une recette différente pour voir si ça me réussirait mieux, mais comme j'avais près d'une centaine de coques, j'ai décidé d'en faire la moitié au chocolat tout simple, et l'autre moitié chocolat-violette, ayant goûté des chocolats à la violette délicieux chez Pierre Marcolini. Ils sont partis très vite, et maintenant il me faut juste la patience de m'y remettre. Je crois que la prochaine fois je vais tenter la méthode de Mingoumango en zappant les blancs d'oeufs au micro-ondes plutot que de les laisser au frigo plusieurs jours. Ca m'évitera de planifier de faire mes macarons une semaine à l'avance.



Say What? In English please...


Actually, it's more like the results of my second and third attempts at macarons... and truth be told, it was several months ago, but I couldn't find the right time to present them to you, and since it is the holidays, I thought now might be a good time. So above are chocolate macarons (well really just the chocolate shells) according to Guillemette's recipe on my second attempt (the first having been a total disaster) which were promptly devoured before I put any ganache on them, and below the third attempts, a combination between Christopher Felder's method as seen on Fofil's blog and that of the indisputable queen of macarons, the great Mercotte. I like the different aspects of the two kinds of macarons, Guillemette's being more rustic and friendly, the others smoother and more elegant.

"Translated: The gerbet macaron gerbet is round, smooth, made up of two macarons slathered with jam, cream or ganache and sandwiched together. It is claimed to have been created at the beginning of the 20th century by the pastry chef Pierre Desfontaines, grandson of Louis Ernest Ladurée."

I wanted to try to make macarons and knowing that my parents would prefer chocolate ones, I naturally started with chocolate macarons which (I only later found out) are said to be the hardest kind to make. After a first attempt which merits no explanation, I managed to make shells, but I was so stressed out by the whole process that I left making the ganache til later (I prefer filling them with ganache rather than the traditional buttercream), and they disappeared in the meantime... into several stomachs which happened to be passing through the kitchen. So I tried again using a different recipe to see if I might have a higher success ratio (say 1 for 1 instead of 1 out of 2), and when I ended up with nearly a hundred shells, I decided to put regular chocolate ganache on half of them, and chocolate and violet ganache on the other half, having just tasted some delicious violet-infused chocolates from Pierre Marcolini. They were disposed of very quickly, and now I just need the patience to make them again. I think next time I'm going to try Mingoumango's method of putting the egg whites through a seconds-only sojourn in the microwave rather than having to leave them in the refrigerator for several days beforehand. It will spare me having to plan on making macarons a week in advance.

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22 comments:

Deborah said...

These look so perfect!

Helene said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Helene said...

They look gorgeous! I have been playing with both Italian and French meringue methods and came to the conclusion that no matter which one,macarons are finickey little suckers!! I usually zap my whites in the microwave as I never have enough just lying around! Fabulous job!

Parisbreakfasts said...

I second Tartelette!
They look gorgeous
I'm trying to get up the nerve to attempt them minus a Kitchen Aid..not sure it's even possible
But I should try.
The failures could be amusing..
You're giving me courage Lord knows why since I'm a novice at baking.

Anonymous said...

mes essais n'étaient pas si concluants ! Bravo !!!! Ils sont sublimes :)
Je veux bien un chocolat/violette, pour voir :op

Mercotte said...

je trouve la 2eme photo parfaitement réussie, quand on a une méthode qui marche c'est bien de la conserver !!! En tout cas bravo

Meeta K. Wolff said...

These look absolutely perfect. I have been trying to tackle these too - macaroons but I do not dare to call them that for fear people will laugh in my face LOL!

Mingoumango (La Mangue) said...

Ah c'est magnifique ! Moi, je n'arrive pas à les faire aussi lisses, il faudrait que j'essaie d'autres méthodes...
Bref, chapeau !

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hilda, these are absolutely stunning. I wish you'd send a box my way! :)

Hilda said...

Deborah: Thank you! just don't look behind the curtain or you'll see the failed attempts to get there...

Tartelette: Good to know that you zap your egg whites! I've only tried the Italian meringue because I'd heard that was the way they "should" be done, but either way, I don't always get them right even after this success...finickey little suckers indeed! Merci du compliment!

ParisBreakfasts: Do you have a hand mixer? I made these with a hand mixer because I didn't have a KitchenAid then and frankly I haven't tried making them with my KitchenAid yet, so we shall see, but try them by all means! and remember that they elude the best bakers. Maybe you'll have beginner's luck... ;)

Marion: Merci! Si j'arrive a en faire avec mon KitchenAid, je garderais la premiere fournee exclusivement pour toi.

Mercotte: Oh reine des macarons, je te dois mon succes avec ceux-ci, je suis comblee par ta visite et ton compliment. =)

Meeta: This is what is called in French taking your courage into both your hands and jumping in. I tried to follow the directions of people like Mercotte who seem unable to do any wrong when it comes to macarons.

La Mangue: En fait ils sont lisses grace a la methode de Felder ou on pulse la poudre d'amandes et le sucre glace ensemble au mixer (mais j'avoue qu'en essayant a nouveau avec du sucre glace special macarons de G. Detou c'etait trop fin et la tentative suivante a rate, faudrait peut-etre les tamiser ensemble plusieurs fois avec ce sucre la...). Merci du compliment, maintenant pour faire des macarons a la rose aussi beaux que les tiens...

Patricia: I would send a box your way if I thought they would make it through the voyage! tragedy... Maybe next time you come to Europe? ;)

Anonymous said...

ils sont sublimes, les uns comme les autres. moi aussi j'adore le chocolat !!

Bea said...

Ils sont superbes! Marrant, car j'en ai aussi fait recemment au chocolat, je ne resiste pas!

Anonymous said...

anything chocolate works so this are going to be a must in my to cook list! like the heart dish.. makes them look even more desirable!

Flanboyant Eats

Elizabeth said...

You know, there's something really wrong with the fact that your first macarons are perfect! (Who me? Envious??)

-Elizabeth

Pat said...

My family was always willing to eat the 'mistakes'.

Unknown said...

I love the little heart container for the macarons; it looks perfect to use for Valentine's Day!

Jeanne said...

Just look at those perfect little feet - like the papoose!

Kat said...

I love the heart shaped dish

Sari @ Cook Your Dream said...

Another great macarons, I need your training! :)

denie heppner said...

beautiful. haiti.

Anonymous said...

comment comment. thanks for the good work.

Anonymous said...

RTMFH

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