Monday 19 August 2013

Eggnog Macarons



"Christmas in July" it's a Southern Hemisphere thing, a chance to borrow Northern Hemisphere traditions while it's not stiflingly hot. I'm originally from England and get carried away at Christmas so it follows that I'm into Christmas in July. I'm not, however, particularly time bound so it also follows that I'm making these mid August. 

Winter hasn't really happened in Sydney this year, the magnolias were in bloom weeks ago, so I abandonned the idea of a full on Christmas dinner and decided to make an eggnog inspired macaron instead. They were a bit of an experiment; testing out the italian meringue method with a thick, creamy custard filling.  I'm declaring them a partial success, a work in progress. The shells worked perfectly, the nutmeg scented filling with its boozy kick definitely reminiscent of eggnog, but in combination the shells softened quickly and were best eaten the day they were made. They tasted great, but I'd sacrifice the more authentic, eggnoggy filling for a longer shelf life; one of the great things about macarons is being forced to make them in advance, to allow the magical 24hrs rest. Being a bit persistent, my family would say stubborn, I'm not giving up on the eggnog macaron but am trialling them again later this week with a rum and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, I'll keep you posted*...



Macaron shells

75g egg white
100g ground almonds
100g icing sugar
100g caster sugar
25ml water
fresh nutmeg, grated (I'm loving grated fresh nutmeg, leave any recipe suggestions in the comments!)

line 2 baking trays with baking paper
 combine the caster sugar and water in a small, heavy based pan and set aside
 put the ground almonds and icing sugar in a blender and blitz on the pulse setting for a minute or so push the nut powder through a sieve into a large bowl, if you have a small amount that won't be pushed through the sieve just toss it out, any more than a teaspoon and it's worth repeating the blitzing stage
 divide the egg white in half, use scales for this stage, you may need to lightly beat the egg white with a fork to break it up • put half in the bowl of a stand mixer, set the other half aside
 over a low heat stir the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves • increase heat to high and bring the syrup to a boil, its ok to swirl the pan but do not stir (!) • use a wet pastry brush to remove any crystals that form on the side of the pan • check the temperature with a sugar thermometer, you are aiming for 118ºC, but when the temperature reaches 110ºC whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form
 when the sugar syrup reaches 118ºC turn the mixer to low and slowly pour into the bowl, once all the syrup is in turn the speed to high and whisk until cool
 pour the unbeaten egg white over the nut/sugar powder, tip the meringue on top and using a spatula, mix together in a circular motion, lifting the batter from underneath • this method takes a bit of mixing, the batter is ready when a ribbon of batter falls from your spatula and disappears back into the mix within 20-30 seconds
use a spot of batter under the corners of the baking paper to stick it to the trays
fit a piping bag with a 10mm nozzle and fill with the batter • pipe 3cm rounds, about 2cm apart, onto the baking paper • grate fresh nutmeg over the shells • tap the trays on the bench, turn through 90º and tap again
• preheat the oven to 140ºC while the macarons rest on the bench for half an hour or so
• bake for 15 minutes, lightly push a macaron from the side, if it moves away from the ruffled foot around the base put them back in the oven for another couple of minutes then check again
• cool on the tray for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack
• pair each shell with a similar sized partner; pipe the filling on the underside of one shell and gently press its partner on top
• store in an airtight container in the fridge for an hour or so, these are best eaten the day they are made as they soften quickly • allow to come to room temperature to eat and enjoy!!

Eggnog Custard Filling

230ml thick cream 
4 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
vanilla bean
25ml bourbon
25ml rum
1 1/2 gold strength gelatin leaves

• split the vanilla bean in half lengthways and put in a pan with the cream, bring to a simmer
• meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and sugar until creamy
• slowly pour the hot cream over the egg/sugar combo, whisking constantly
• soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water, set aside
• put the egg/sugar/cream bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir constantly until the mixture is the consistency of a thick custard, gently squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and whisk into the custard • remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon and rum, remove the vanilla bean
• place a layer of cling wrap on the surface of the custard and put in the fridge until set (approx 3 hours)
once set, fit a piping bag with a plain tip, fill with the custard and you are ready to pipe...

* as promised I experimented with a rum swiss meringue butter cream filling; I was really happy with the result, not as custardy, but still reminiscent of eggnog. The shells stayed crisp and had the usual 3-4 day shelf (well fridge) life. Follow the recipe link here, rum and bourbon swiss meringue butter cream.




the comment link is below; always great to hear from you :)


25 comments:

Sophie - thestickyandsweet said...

What a fabulous creation for the Cookie Monster SABH theme. I'm very impressed with your macaron skills - it's the one biscuit that scares me to make! Thanks for joining, Sophie xo

simmer and boyle said...

thanks Sophie! your Arnotts inspired post has me thinking; might have to experiment with Royals...

Unknown said...

Oh this would be so absolutely delicious to try... I wouldn't mind about the poor shelf life as I think I could managed to eat enough so there were none left over ;)

JJ - 84thand3rd said...

I saw these over on Instagram and am so happy they are for Sweet Adventures Blog Hop - thanks for joining! For all my Northern Hemisphere ingrained 'Christmas should be cold' comments each December July always seems to speed through without a mid-year x-mas celebration... maybe next year ;D

Swah said...

Oh wow your macarons look perfect and I LOVE your photos. Gorgeous!

Monica said...

What perfectly gorgeous looking macarons! I bet they taste great too. I rather like egg nogs :D It hasn't been super cold in Perth either this winter but I'd happily participate in Xmas in July if it means eating yummy things like these!

Christine @ Cooking Crusade said...

What a lovely idea for Christmas in July! Your macs look simply perfect:)

simmer and boyle said...

thanks so much! if you try them let me know how they last... :)

simmer and boyle said...

thanks JJ, this is my first "blog hop" and I want to bake everything :)

simmer and boyle said...

Aww thanks Swah :)

simmer and boyle said...

Thanks Christine :)

simmer and boyle said...

Thanks Monica :)

Claire @ Claire K Creations said...

They look and sound pretty perfect to me!

simmer and boyle said...

thanks Claire :)

annabanana said...

Too beautiful! I've never had great luck making macarons! These look really amazing!

simmer and boyle said...

Thanks so much Anna. Give them a try, they're not too tricky :)

Prue @ The Culinary Library said...

Looks like the shells did turn out perfect. Love your nutmeg grater, does it store the nutmeg in the middle? I am looking for one of these!

simmer and boyle said...

Hey Prue, love my nutmeg grater too! It's just like a miniature old fashioned grater with a handle; no storage in the centre, that sounds fancy :)

Chris said...

Great, I love macarons. So far I never have managed to make any good looking ones. Your macarons, though, look perfect.

simmer and boyle said...

Thanks Chris; persist they are worth it :)

Anonymous said...

These look stunning Sally! What a lovely flavor combination. I've had 2 failed macaron attempts. ...possibly could be 3rd time lucky with your recipe.

simmer and boyle said...

One small pot, thank you!! Let me know how they turn out if you do make them :)

Rachel said...

These look absolutely divine! I too hail from colder northern climates, whilst I miss the feeling of Christmas in the UK (the warm glow from fireplaces, the constant wrapping and unwrapping of clothing layers and the feeling of community that happens when everyone just wants to be inside together) I can't say that I miss the harsh winters at all; so this sounds like the perfect solution! Beautiful photos!

simmer and boyle said...

Thanks Rachel. I'd still love a white Christmas and Christmas lights seem so much twinklier when it's dark at 4 o'clock :)

mollymell said...

They look delicious, and the photos are so beautiful!