Black Macarons with Truffle Ganache

Need

• The Macaron

• 240 Grams egg whites
• 300 Grams caster sugar
• 300 Grams PURE icing sugar
• 280 Grams almond meal Recipe
• 20 Grams black cocoa powder
• 20 Drops black gel food colouring
• 100 Grams almonds blanched and roasted. Roughly chopped BUY

• The Ganache

• 100 Grams cream BUY
• 2 Tablespoons shaved fresh black truffle
• 400 Grams chocolate dark callets BUY
• 6 Drops black gel food colouring (optional)

Do

1  

To make the Macarons; Preheat oven to 130-145ºC (temp will completely depend on your oven and may take making macarons a couple times to work out the ideal temp).

2  

Place 150g of the egg white into Thermomix bowl and whip 4 min/37ºC/Butterfly/speed 3/MC off. Wipe the moisture off the inside of the lid.

3  

Add the caster sugar slowly one spoonful at a time through the hole in the lid, 6 min/50ºC/Butterfly/speed 3. Scrape around the edges of the bowl.

4  

Whip 20 min/Butterfly/speed 3/MC off (no heat). Remove butterfly and set meringue aside in a clean and dry bowl.

5  

In a clean and dry Thermomix bowl, add icing sugar, almond meal and black cocoa powder and blitz 10 sec/speed 8. Pour almond mix through a sieve into a large mixing bowl, discarding anything too big to pass through the sieve.

6  

Add remaining (90g) egg white to the almond mix. Add colour (gel or powder only) if using. Using a spatula, thoroughly mix by hand to create a smooth and consistent paste with no lumps.

7  

In thirds, add the meringue to the almond mix and stir through with the spatula. The first third can be mixed quite vigorously. The second third continue to stir but a little more gently. The last third, use a gentle folding motion to retain as much air as possible. The consistency of the mixture should be 'lava' like when the spatula is held up above the bowl.

8  

Using a 1cm piping nozzle, fill the piping bag 1/3 to ½ full.

9  

Pipe the mixture straight onto baking paper lined trays. To pipe, hold the piping bag approx 1cm above the tray, squeeze out the mixture without moving the bag, stop squeezing, then quickly twist and pull up in one swift movement. You may need to use baking weights on the corner of each piece of paper, or use a small amount of mix beneath each corner of the paper to secure the paper and stop it from blowing onto the macarons as they bake in the oven. Once all of the trays are full, tap them lightly on the bench to release any air bubbles. You can also use a skewer to pop any bubbles.

10  

Sprinkle chopped almonds on top.

11  

Allow the macarons to sit on the bench for 5 minutes to flatten out a little. Bake 13 mins on the middle two shelves with a tray on the top shelf to avoid discolouration.

12  

To make the ganache; Heat cream and shaved truffle in a saucepan over medium heat till hot. Add chocolate and turn off heat. Stir until and the chocolate has melted, then add food colouring and stir well and leave to cool, stirring occasionally.

13  

When cool and thickened, place into Thermomix bowl and whip 20 sec/speed 5. Scrape bowl and repeat until it is a pipeable consistency.

14  

To assemble Macarons; Once the macarons are cool, match up pairs that are equal in size and pipe a circle of ganache on the bottom of one half. Press together until the ganache comes to the edge of the Macaron. Dust with additional black cocoa for that real truffle look.

15  

Macaron shells will store for up to 3 weeks in the freezer or fully assembled for 1 week in the fridge. (As long as you forget about them!)

Served with

• Whipped Chocolate Ganache (pipeable)