FRENCH MACARON - PREPARING THE FILLINGS

I’ve been on a bit of a macaron craze lately. I needed melt-in-your-mouth with a touch of home flavors. Chocolate was an easy first choice, and on my to-try list, there had long been Tiramisu, Raspberry and lemon Curb. These are a charm! I was good to go Once you know how to master the basic macaron recipe, you can get adventurous and try these new flavors. 

I’ve played around with the flavors. Once I had made all three recipes, I thought, why not mix it up? I even had a vanilla butter cream leftover so I added that in the mix. Chocolate and pistachio is especially divine.

We have learn to prepare the macaron shells ans some tips on storage and getting a beautiful shell. Today we are going to learn the varattion of macaron fillings,There are two important rules for filling macarons: avoid any fillings that are extremely sweet (the macaron shells are very sweet), and don’t overdo the filling or it will squish out when you bite into a macaron.

LEMON OR CITRUS CURD (about 1 cup)

Combine 1/2 cup lemon juice, strained before measuring, with 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, and 1/2 cup sugar in an enameled iron saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Whisk 6 large egg yolks in a small bowl, then whisk in a third of the boiling liquid.  Return liquid to a boil and whisk in the yolk mixture.  Decrease the heat to low and continue whisking gently until the curd thickens.  Pour into a plastic container or jar, press plastic wrap against the surface, and chill.

Substitute lime or passion fruit juice for the lemon juice.

Or use 1/3 cup orange or tangerine juice and 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice.

GANACHE (about 3/4 cup)

Melt and cool 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.  Combine 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 tablespoon light corn syrup in a small saucepan; whisk together, bring to a simmer, then cool to room temperature.  Whisk the cooled cream mixture into the chocolate, then whisk in 1 tablespoon very soft unsalted butter.  Chill briefly if too thin to spread.

CHOCOLATE BUTTER FILLING

Easier than ganache and has better keeping 

qualities.  Melt 6 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate and cool it to room temperature.  Whisk in 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick/3 ounces) VERY soft butter.  Use right away before it sets.

JAM OR PRESERVES (about 1 cup)

Combine 1 cup jam or preserves and 2 tablespoons water or rum in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.  Strain into a bowl, rinse the pan and return the strained mixture to it.  Bring to a simmer again and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Cool slightly, then use.  For advance preparation, reheat and cool before using

PISTACHIO CREAM FILLING

• 300 gr of  liquid sour cream (crème fraîche in french)
• 300 gr white chocolate
• 45 gr pistachio paste
• 1 or 2 drops of almond extract.

Preparation: Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Pour the cream and the pistachio paste in a sauce pan and bring it to boil. Whisk until gel mix and add it in 3 parts to the white chocolate. Mix for 10 minutes. let it cool and refrigerate.

TTIRAMISU FILLING

250 g cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp coffee liquer or nescafe

50 g caster sugar

50 g grated chocolate

1 /2/3 tsp warm water

30 g butter

• Melt nescafe with warm water and set aside
• Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth then add in butter and nescafe powder
• Lasstly fold in grated chocolate

RASPBERRY GANACHE  FILLING

Dark chocolate and white chocolate  500 G

Cream 400 G

Liquid glucose 40 g

Unsalted butter 20 g

Fruit compound or flavour  50 g

• Chopped chocolate chunk and put into bowl set aside
• Boil crea and glucoseto 60 C
• Pur into chocolate and mix well until smooth
• Then add in butter and mix until smooth and shinning
• Let it set overnight before using
• Store balance in the fridge until 2-3 days

FILLING MACARONS

First, pair all the shells since there are always slight differences in size.  Line up the paired macarons on a paper-covered pan with plenty of room between rows, then separate the pairs.  Use a pastry bag, paper cone, or a non-pleated plastic bag to pipe the filling.  Hold the bag in one hand and pipe a teaspoon or slightly more of the filling on the flat base of one of the shells, then immediately cover with the other matched shell, gently pressing it into place so that the filling shows between the coupled shells.

Chocolate macarons are one of my favorite flavors. Chocolate shells go with a wide variety of fillings, including Nutella and chocolate ganache, and they can also be paired with a simple buttercream like I’ve used here. The finished cookies have a deep chocolate color and a lovely crisp-chewy texture to them.

Vanilla Buttercream Filling

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)

1 tbsp milk

1 1/2 – 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3/4 cup heavy cream 6 oz

bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or chocolate chips 

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In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat, swirling the pan a few times, until bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan but the cream is not yet boiling, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, and let sit for 30 seconds. Slowly whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let cool to room temperature before piping onto the meringues.

make ahead tips

The ganache may be made up to 1 week ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container and bring to room temperature before using.

variations

Chocolate-Orange Ganache: Add 2 Tbs. finely grated orange zest (from 1 large orange) to the cream before heating. Heat the cream, remove it from the heat, and let sit for 1 hour. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing the zest with the back of the spoon. Reheat the cream to just under a boil and proceed as directed.

Nutella filling:

¾ cup (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tbsp. Nutella

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Pinch of coarse salt

Again dont limit yourself to just the recipe above..some option you can consider are strawberry, blueberry mango, kiwi and the list goes on and if you you are creative enough. You also can add two fillings in 1  macaron..well its all your calls and HAPPY TRYING

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