Ingredients
- Strawberry Pate de Fruit:
- 120 grams strawberry puree, strained
- 3 grams yellow pectin
- 15 grams sugar
- 150 grams sugar
- 30 grams glucose
- 4 grams lemon juice
- Vanilla Bean Macarons:
- 180 grams almond flour
- 240 grams powdered sugar
- 140 grams egg whites, aged
- 3 grams egg white powder
- 2 grams fine sea salt
- 80 grams vanilla sugar
- few drops of red food coloring
- White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Cream:
- 125 grams heavy cream
- 60 grams white chocolate
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
Preparation
Step 1
Strawberry Macaron:
Puree about 175 grams of strawberries to get 120 grams of seeded strawberry puree (it might vary a bit).
Mix the pectin with the 15 grams sugar.
Place the strawberry puree in a small saucepan and bring to a light boil. Add the pectin and sugar mixture and whisk. When it comes to a boil, add the rest of the sugar. Whisk and let it come to a boil again. Add the glucose and cook to 106C. It will take about 3 minutes or so on medium heat. Stir so the sugar doesn't burn on the bottom.
When it reaches the desired temperature, remove from heat, add the lemon juice and cast into half sphere silicon molds (or any mold that you would like). let it sit for a few hours until it hardens completely.
Cut into small pieces that will go inside the macarons.
Vanilla Bean Macaron:
Make sure that the egg whites have been separated from the egg yolks at least the night before. This bit of aging really makes a difference in the macarons.
In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and sea salt. Set aside.
Whip the egg whites with the egg white powder until very fluffy, almost fully whipped. Start adding the vanilla sugar slowly while whipping. Add a few drops of red food coloring and continue whipping to stiff peaks.
Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a spatula until a shiny mass forms. We want to achieve a batter that makes ribbons. You might have to test it to see if it's done. Pipe a small amount on your sheetpan. If it keeps a little bit of a top when piped, then you have to mix it a bit further, if it spreads really fast, you have gone too far and your macarons will turn out flat.
When you have the right consistency, place the mass in a pastry bag with a number 5 tip and pipe small rounds onto sheetpans lined with parchment or silpat. Let them dry at room temperature for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
If you want to sprinkle them with anything, you must do it right after piping while the batter is still wet. If you want to paint them, wait until they are dry and before they go in the oven.
Have the oven preheated to 350F degrees. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 5 minutes.
Filling:
Chop the white chocolate nto a bowl. In a saucepan, boil the cream and the vanilla bean and pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
Let this ganache sit in the refrigerator overnight and whip the next day until a thick cream is formed.
Pipe onto the macarons shells and place a piece of strawberry pate de fruit in the middle. Top with another macarons shell.