Mad about Maccies
You know you have a serious obsession with a particular food when you actually have a nickname for it. In my case, it’’s macarons, also affectionately known around my house as “maccies”.
I made these little babies this past weekend for a very special group of ladies, who very unselfishly share their treasured recipes and baking tips with anyone who’’s interested in cooking and baking. Thank you very much, ladies, for being so generous and helpful all the time!
From left to right: Opéra (coffee cream with chocolate ganache centre), Pistachio (pistachio paste with nut praline centre), Chocolate (with dark chocolate ganache) and Blackforest (my latest flavour: dark chocolate ganache with an alcohol-soaked cherry centre).
I”ve seen many photographs of all sorts of macarons on various food blogs and couldn”t help but notice that in 90% of these macarons, one can barely make out the filling. The most obvious exceptions are Pierre Hermé’’s macarons, which have a thick layer of filling. I”m really curious to know which version people generally prefer:
(A) Two macaron shells stuck together with a subtle layer of filling OR
(B) Two macaron shells stuck together with a generous amount of filling.
It’’s obvious which I prefer, but do let me know which one you”d rather have!
I”m thinking of trying the following flavours next:
(1) Green Tea Shells with Chestnut Paste (I first read about this combination of flavours almost 2 years ago here)
(2) Mango Shells with Mango Mousse
(3) Black Sesame Shells with White Sesame Paste (inspired by Lynn’’s post on macarons)
Do stay tuned!
May 29th, 2007 at 12:09 am
lovely batch of macaroons. For the blackforest macs , is that an edible red colour paint?
My personal preference would be with a generous amount of filling for my macs.
May 29th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I actually prefer the more generous amount of filling depending on what it is. It may sometimes cut out the sweetness of the cookie.
May 29th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Generous fillings!!! *raises both hands* love your maccies. Had 9 in the course of 2 days! =p
May 29th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Thank you for your input, Mary, Landa and Charlene!
Mary: It’’s food colouring.
I”m really happy you liked them!
Landa: Yes, that’’s especially true for dark chocolate ganache.
Charlene: I know, they”re so addictive. It’’s hard to stop at one.
May 29th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Those three flavors sounds HEAVENLY!!!
I prefer macaron shells with a bucket of filling in the center. Ohhh yeaah.
I ALSO CALL THEM MACCIES!!!! OH MY GOD is something wrong with us? (NO!)
Such beautiful maccies..
May 29th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Karen…indeed these are too awesome to resist…I was actually thinking about your blackforest one yesterday!!!
Yes,the problem with too little filling is that it cannot cut out the sweetness of the macaron shell…however,as I told you,yours are not toothachingly sweet and can be enjoyed on their own…
Your dark choc one sets the bar with its deep bittersweet flavour…can”t wait to get started on my own!
May 29th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Hi Karen,
I hope I can get a chance to eat your MACCIES. I will let you know in advance and order from you when I next visit Singapore. Back in KL, I am a loyal fan of Bakerzin.
Cheers,
Alice
May 29th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Robyn: Nah, there’’s nothing wrong with us - just eating/making and generally hanging around these babies a little too much.
Stef: Thanks! Yes, do make your own. It’’s really fun to watch them rise in the oven.
Alice: I hope I”ll get to make some for you too! Thanks for coming by.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I am one of the lucky ones that got my first virgin bite on these. Absolutely delicious. Thanks so much. BTW, I got some colouring powder but not sure whether you want some.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Hi Karen,
yes, yes…. with generous fillings. I like the texture of yr mac and its not too sweet. Looking forward to seeing more flavours and pics.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Edith: I was really glad to share them with all of you. They taste so good that I think everyone should try them at least once!
Jennifer: Thanks, I”m happy that you liked them! I”ll be making some new flavours tomorrow.
BTW, it was great meeting all of you lovely ladies.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Hi Karen, I”ve tried making macarons 5 times and still they didn”t develop feet. Sigh…=( Can you share your macaron recipe with me please?
May 31st, 2007 at 10:52 am
Hi Karen, they are lovely. Hope to order some from you too.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Hey dear! How do you get the tops so shiny?
May 31st, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Karen.. after eating my very 1st maccies done by u.. im really ready to make them.. but now .. i tink urs are really much better hehe
mayb i shld jus order from you and forget bout making.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Jacelyn: I”m afraid I can”t share my recipe with you as I am selling them. However, I have tried the recipe here before and it works well. I”ve also tried the chocolate macarons in Pierre Herme’’s Chocolate Desserts book and it works well too.
One reason why your macarons are not developing feet may be that your batter is too wet. Try reducing the amount of egg whites. Alternatively, send me an email describing what happened with your macarons - no feet or cracked or lots of tiny holes on the surface or have a peak on top etc and I”ll see if I can help!
Auntie HN: Thanks! Let me know when you”d like to have some.
Amrita: The secret is refridgeration.
They always turn shiny after being in the fridge for a while - at least for me.
Jo: Thanks, Jo! No lah, you should really try making your own. It may take a few attempts, but once you get the hang of it, it’’s really worth the effort! Of course, you can still order from me if you prefer.
June 2nd, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Wow… your macaron look stunning! Esp for those with Generous Fillings….emmm… you have such an interesting fav… Black Forest!
June 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Thanks, Ellena!
July 25th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Hi karen, was just found your website, very interesting, i love baking but don”t know how to bake, decided to pick up some basic lessons. by the way the macaron is very nice and attactive. i don”t know what is this and never eat n heard b4, a bit “shua ku”. By the way do u teach people making this, i”m very interested. Thank you.
Thanks and regards,
Hui xian
February 28th, 2009 at 12:35 am
depends on what the filling is. i”m not too keen on jelly filling, but if it’’s ganache, go ahead and pile it on!