10.30.2014

the eternal trilogy mac.

{ neapolitan macarons }


guess what: i got a job!
(no... not cooking... as an architect...)

this comes out as a little menacing to the blog,
maybe i'll have less time to bake/cook/post...
but don't worry. i'm not going anywhere.
i'll keep bringing you goodies 

definitely.

Remember when I said I loved macarons, and that I could eat thousands of them?
Turns out there is a cure for this disease:
making them at home.

There is something about the process of baking them - maybe the huge amounts of batter that somehow get lost in the process (read: goes into your mouth), while you keep scraping bowls, piping bags, etc. - that just makes you sick of them. And this is sad.
Especially because, in a completely opposite fashion (and surprise, surprise), the desire to bake them (read: perfect them) grows stronger and stronger each time...

And the worst part is... I have kept track of all the ideas for mac flavours that I've had over the past year... and this list has now like a trillion of them. (ups.)



These had a much better texture than last ones. Sadly, only few of the chocolate ones started to develop feet - yet the texture of almost all of them was perfect. The pink shells had nice feet but were more hollow. I am yet to unveil all the magic behind this but I think I'm getting closer ^^


Macarons Napolitanos
2 claras
40g de açúcar
115g de açúcar em pó peneirado
70g de farinha de amêndoa peneirada
1 colher de sopa rasa de cacau em pó
corante vermelho

50g de manteiga à temperatura ambiente
açúcar em pó q.b. até obter a consistência desejada (cerca de 100g)
aroma de baunilha
doce de morango liso

Misturar o açúcar em pó e a amêndoa,
Bater as claras até estarem bem espumosas, juntar metade do açúcar,
Bater novamente até estar quase em castelo e juntar o restante açúcar, batendo apenas até este estar completamente dissolvido e as claras não demasiado firmes,
Separar as claras em duas taças; juntar a uma das partes metade da mistura de açúcar em pó e amêndoa juntamente com o corante e à outra metade a restante parte desta mistura e o cacau; envolver até obter uma mistura homogénea com textura "de lava" - esta parte requer prática - que deve escorrer um pouco mas não demasiado rápido,
Encher dois sacos de pasteleiros com uma ponta redonda e fazer pequenos círculos de creme sobre um tabuleiro forrado com papel vegetal (cerca de 3 cm, espaçados cerca de 5 cm), trabalhar rapidamente,
Bater bem os tabuleiros na bancada da cozinha para libertar bolhas de ar,
Deixar repousar até formarem uma crosta que se sente ao toque (a massa não cola aos dedos), cerca de 20 min,
Entretanto, preparar o buttercream: bater a manteiga até estar cremosa e esbranquiçada, adicionar depois aos poucos o açúcar em pó, batendo sempre, até obter a consistência desejada,
Levar os macarons ao forno pré-aquecido a 125ºC (um tabuleiro de cada vez) cerca de 12 minutos, ou até os macarons não cederem ao toque (não abrir o forno nos primeiros 10 minutos),
Retirar do forno e deixar arrefecer completamente; rechear com o buttercream de baunilha e o doce, utilizando um biscoito de cada cor para cada macaron.

Neapolitan Macarons
2 egg whites
40g sugar
115g sifted powdered sugar
70g sifted almond meal
1 tbsp cocoa powder
red food colouring

50g butter, room temperature
powdered sugar enough to reach desired consistency (about 100g)
vanilla flavouring
strained strawberry jam

Mix together powdered sugar and almond meal,
Beat egg whites until frothy, add half the sugar,
Keep beating until soft peaks form and add remaining sugar, beat until it is well dissolved and egg whites are shiny but not too stiff,
Divide the egg whites between two bowls; add half the powdered sugar and almond meal mixture to one of them together with some food colouring and the remaining powder mixture to the other together with the cocoa; fold the mixture into the egg whites until it reaches a lava-like texture - this is something that requires practice - which should flow but not too quickly,
Fill two piping bags with a rounded tip and shape small circles of batter over a baking tray lined with parchment paper (about 3 cm wide, 5 cm apart),
Bang the trays on the counter to release air bubbles,
Let it set for about 20 min, until it has a slight cover that offers resistance to the tip of a finger,
Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream: cream butter until pale and fluffy; add powdered sugar, a bit at a time, beating, until it reaches the desired consistency,
Bake the shells at 125ºC (one tray at a time) for about 12 minutes, or until, they are firm (do not open the oven in the first 10 minutes),
Remove from oven, let cool; fill with buttercream and jam, using one shell of each colour for each macaron.


And a cool treat after the recipe: for the most curious ones (like I was), here is a very interesting article on the origins of the "neapolitan" concept ;)

5 comments:

  1. PARABÉNS! Que corra tudo bem.

    ______________________
    Ana Teles | blog: Telita na Cozinha

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  2. Que sugestão encantadora. Ficaram lindos.

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  3. parabéns pelo trabalho! :)

    quanto aos macarons fazes e depois ofereces no novo emprego, como boas-vindas :)

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  4. I LOVE making macs, but you're right...the time it involves definitely prevents me from making them constantly! Love the neapolitan flavor.

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  5. Dera Inês, congratulatios on your new job, my dear! You must be thrilled - when is your first day at work? Keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work ou perfectly, it will, I am quite sure!
    Your macarons look divine - I love the Neapolitan theme for them - I nvere made any but I know that I should.
    Thank you for the lovel yinspiration!
    Alles Gute für dich und ganz liebe Grüsse,
    Andrea

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