French Macaron Baking Adventures, Part 16: Chocolate & Raspberry Macarons
By Lisa Maliga, copyright 2017
I’m happy to post a new blog for another successful batch of macarons that taste as good as they look. It’s also the first time I’ve used the AmeriColor brand of gel food coloring, and to get the bright pink color I only used 3 drops of Super Red. So, color me a fan of this brand!
I decided to combine chocolate with a dollop of homemade raspberry jam in the center of each macaron. All I had to do in advance was make the jam and the chocolate ganache. Instead of taking pictures, I attempted to film all the steps to preparing French macarons. Even with a tripod, the results weren’t very good. Learning how to operate a camera and keep the lens from auto focusing every time I added a new ingredient was a challenge. Trying to keep my hands away from the lens wasn’t always successful. The first tripod I bought was so flimsy, the camera tipped over. I had to invest in an aluminum one. Then came the video editing which may look easy but when it comes to removing yawn-inducing stretches of watching the whisk attachment going round and round, or seeing someone pipe three trays’ worth of macarons – well that’s not highly entertaining.
Anyway, this batch of macarons turned out fine. I used my new Silpat mat for the third and smallest batch of shells. I was so proud of it that I took extra photos of the bright pink shells.
This was the first time I made ganache with Scharffen Berger 62% cacao semisweet chocolate. I REALLY recommend this for a delicious ganache. Yes, I adore Valrhona, but I found this to be just as good. The ganache was so smooth. Even the video I took of it didn’t seem to be too difficult to film. Once it’s edited, I’ll post it on my YouTube channel and link back to this blog post. Below is a screenshot of filling the macarons.
As I made my own raspberry jam and didn’t strain the seeds, the result is natural and changes the texture. If you prefer to make this with a fruit spread, you can choose a seedless raspberry.
I’m going to be making another batch of macarons next week. They’re the perfect summer flavor. Watch for the blog and maybe even a video!
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Want to bake macarons? Read my book Baking French Macarons: A Beginner’s Guide. Available in eBook [free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription] and paperback formats.