RAZZLE-DAZZLEBERRY MACARONS

razzle-dazzleberry macarons: who doesn't love a surprise?
Imagine my surprise when Stomach actually pronounced my latest batch of raspberry macarons amazing. This is saying a lot from a man who doesn't seem to eat anything sweet willingly.


I zinged up my trusty ol' basic macaron batter with a couple of tablespoons of finely ground dehydrated raspberries and dumped (way too much) powdered red food colouring into it as well. The red colour of the macaron shells was so intense. They even left a faint red stain on our tongues!

I piped a ring of Beranbaum's NeoClassic Buttercream (my desert/dessert island buttercream) along the macaron shell edge and then I piped a nice fat blob of seedless raspberry jam in the centre of the ring. After sandwiching two macaron shells to cover the filling, you couldn't tell that there was a secret explosion of raspberry filling inside. Bwah-ha-ha!
Check out my recipe below.

Razzle-Dazzleberry Macaronsadapted from tartelette
Makes 35

225 gr powdered sugar
125 gr ground almonds
3 egg whites (about 100gr)
25 gr granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground dehydrated raspberries
powdered red food colouring

• In a food processor, run the nuts, dehydrated raspberries and powdered sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Run through a sieve if needed.
• Whip the egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed. Add the food colouring.
• Slowly fold the nut/sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily.
• Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Let the macarons rest for 20 minutes to develop a skin. Touch the tops to ensure that they are not tacky. If they are, leave them to rest longer. [it was humid that day and I made big macarons so I had to leave them for 1 1/2 hours!]
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit and when they are ready, bake them for 14-16 minutes.
• Let cool, remove from the paper and fill with the vanilla buttercream and seedless raspberry jam. Procedure: fill piping bag with buttercream and pipe a ring around the inside edge of a macaron shell. Fill another piping bag with seedless raspberry jam and pipe a mound of jam in the centre of the ring. Sandwich another macaron shell on top.

Neoclassic Vanilla Buttercream
(from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible )
6 large (3.5 fl oz/ 4 oz/112 g) egg yolks, room temperature
sugar (3/4 cup/5.25 oz/150 g)
corn syrup (1/2 liquid cup/5.75 oz/164 g)
unsalted butter (2 cups/1 lb/454 g) (must be softened)
vanilla (2 T)
optional: liqueur or eau-de-vie of your choice (2-4 T/1-2oz/28-56 g)

• Have ready a greased 1-cup heatproof glass measure near the range
• In a bowl beat the yolks with an electric mixer until light in colour. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan (preferably with a nonstick lining) and heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a rolling boil. (The entire surface will be covered with large bubbles.) Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.
• If using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the syrup into the yolks in a steady stream. Don't allow syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of syrup over the yolks with the mixer turned off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Continue beating until completely cool.
• Gradually beat in the butter and any optional flavouring. Place in an airtight bowl. Bring to room temperature before using. Rebeat to restore texture.
  Store: 6 hours room temperature, 1 week refrigerated, 8 months frozen

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