Macaroons are still very popular and fashionable, with more and more extraordinary flavours available. For me, you cannot beat a rich dark chocolate macaroon. I call these ones double as they are sandwiched together with chocolate filling too.
See also: hot chocolate soufflés
Flour-free chocolate sponge cake
Makes 28
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus standing and cooling
Cooking time: 25 minutes
You’ll need:
200g (7oz) icing sugar
125g (4oz) ground almonds
15g (½oz) cocoa powder
3 egg whites
25g (1oz) golden castor sugar
Red food paste
Finely chopped dark chocolate, to decorate
For the filling
150g (5oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100g (3½oz) butter
3 tbsp double cream
Method:
Start by making the filling. Melt the chocolate, butter and cream together in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the surface of the water does not touch the bowl. Stir well until smooth, then leave to cool until thickened and a piping consistency but not hard.
Meanwhile, make the macaroons. Line 4 baking sheets with baking paper. Put the icing sugar, ground almonds and cocoa powder into a food processor and grind to a very fine powder. Sift the powder into a bowl. In a separate, clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, adding the caster sugar a little at a time. Just before the whites are peaking, add a point of a knife of red food colouring (to enhance the natural reddish colour of the cocoa powder). Using a rubber spatula, gradually fold the almond mixture into the egg whites until smooth and glossy but not runny. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain piping nozzle, then pipe discs about 3cm (1¼in) in diameter on to the prepared baking sheets. Leave to stand for 15 minutes at room temperature to allow the tops to start to dry. (In France, this is called croutage.) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150°C (fan 130°C)/300°F/gas mark 2.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the baking paper peels off easily from the macaroons. Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets, then remove them from the baking paper.
When the macaroons are cold, spoon the filling into a piping bag, then pipe some ganache on to the base of a macaroon. Sandwich together with a second macaroon. Repeat with the remaining macaroons. Scatter with finely chopped dark chocolate to decorate before serving.
Store the macaroons in airtight containers for up to a few days. It is best not to put them in the refrigerator, as this makes them sticky.
Chocolat by Eric Lanlard
This recipe is taken from Chocolat by Eric Lanlard (published by Octopus and available at all good bookstores for R300).
Read more about Chocolat.
Photograph by Kate Whitaker.
