{Chocolate-Mint Macarons}

You may have noticed a lot of hype about a certain treat lately. I've certainly read a lot about them on food blogs all over the Internet.Lately, I have become obsessed with the macaron. As with croissants, I have developed an urge to perfect my macaron skills. Whether people want to eat them or not.From the moment I saw them at Fresson in Metz, I wanted to make macarons. I didn't really want to eat them – they're a tad too sweet for my taste – but I wanted to succeed in making perfect versions of these treats.And once you start, you'll never stop. It's highly addictive.

{Chocolate Mint Macarons}

From Chef Pang Kok Keong

*Ingredients*

500 g almond meal, dried

900 g powdered sugar

440 g egg whites, aged 48 hours in advance

120 g granulated sugar

Process the powdered sugar and almond meal together, making sure to get rid of any lumps. In a cold, stainless steel bowl, place the egg whites and start beating at medium speed. Once the begin to turn bubbly and white, add a tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Continue beating, adding the sugar slowly over the next few minutes, until the egg whites are stiff. Add the almond meal together and use your spatula to blend the batter entirely together. 

Pipe macarons on lined backing sheets. Let your macarons rest on the baking sheets at room temperature for a minimum of half an hour. Bake at 140°C for 13 – 20 minutes. Fill with ganache or filling of you choice.

 

{Grashopper ganache} 
 From Not So Humble Pie

Ingredients: 

200g semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

100g heavy cream

2-3 drops peppermint oil

Place the chopped chocolate into a heat safe bowl. In a small pan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate and allow to stand for one minute before stirring. Stir to combine the cream with the chocolate, add a few drops of peppermint oil. Once smooth and uniform, leave at room temperature until it has cooled slightly and thickened. Pipe or drop spoonfuls of the ganache onto your macarons and top with another shell. 

Norsk versjon

{Peparmyntesjokolade-macaronar}

Frå Chef Pang Kok Keong

Ingrediensar:

500 g mandelpulver

900 g melis

440 g eggekvite, omlag 48 timar gammal

120 g sukker

Bland melisen og mandelpulveret saman. Ver obs på å fjerna klumpar. Ha eggekvitane i ein kald stålbolle og visp på middels fart. Ha i sukkeret, litt etter litt medan du vispar, heilt til eggekvitane er stive. Ha i mandel- og melisblandinga, litt om gongen, og rør forsiktig saman med ein slikkespott.

Ha røra i ein sprøytepose og press or macaronane på ei steikeplate med bakepapir. Pass på å ha litt mellomrom mellom kvar macaron. La macaronane tørka i omlag 30 minutt. Steik ved 140°C i 13 – 20 minutt. Fyll med ganache.

{Grashoppe-ganache} 

 Frå Not So Humble Pie

Ingrediensar:

200g sjokolade, hakka

100g fløytekrem

2-3 dropar peparmynteolje

Ha kremen i ei gryte og kok opp. Ha i sjokoladen og lat det stå eit minutt før du rører. Rør kremen og sjokoladen saman og ha i nokre dropar peparmynteolje. Lat røra stå ved romtemperatur, heilt til ganachen har vorte tjukkare.