Morello Cherry & Chocolate Macarons

Directions

The macaron shells

1. Whisk egg white with sugar until stiff peaks form, using an electric whisk if possible. Achieving stiff peaks in whipped egg whites can be easier when you double the recipe because you have a greater volume of egg whites to work with. This increased volume provides more substance for the egg whites to trap air and create the desired stiff peaks

   Fold in macaron mix until it reaches a smooth, treacle consistency. Place template under parchment paper on a baking tray. Fill a piping bag with batter, snip 1cm off the end, and pipe rounds following the guide. Keep the piping bag for later use.

2. Tap the tray to remove air bubbles. Let macarons rest for 30 minutes until dry to the touch; ensure shells aren't tacky before baking.

   Whilst the unbaked macaron shells are drying...Take a break. Do the washing up, make tea, or relax with a good book. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake the macarons for 15 minutes until they come away easily. Cool them upside down to harden completely. 

3. For an alternative method, consider using one of our macaron baking mats, ensuring consistently uniform-shaped macarons. Here are the instructions: pipe the batter to within 1mm inside the outer circles on the mat, then gently tap the baking tray on which the mat rests to encourage the batter to spread out, yielding perfect circles. Then leave the unbaked shells to dry for 30 minutes befoe baking in the oven. Please note that baking time may increase by up to 5 minutes when using these mats. After taking out of the oven cool for 5 minutes, flip the mat upside down onto a tea towel and peel the mat away from the macarons. Removing the macarons from the mat can result in a slightly porous base, which actually helps absorb the filling better—a definite advantage.

FILLING

1. Whilst the shells are drying and baking you can get on with the filling. In a medium bowl, make ganache by heating 60ml cream until nearly boiling, then melt in chocolate drops. Alternatively, microwave in 30-second bursts until smooth. Freeze the bowl to thicken. Once you take the ganache out whisk so that it has a smooth and pipe able consistency .

   

2. Reuse and prepare piping bag as before and spoon in the ganache filling.

ASSEMBLY

1. Pipe a ganache ring and fill he inside with jam onto half upturned shells. Try to pair up shells according to size and form sandwiches. Twist rather than pushing them together otherwise they may break.

   

2. Your beautiful macarons are finished! You can enjoy them straight away, but they are even better 24 hours later. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature before you serve them.

3. This process is called “ageing” and softens the inside of the shells, whilst keeping the outer shells crisp. Yummy!

STORAGE AND BATCHING ADVICE

1. Your macarons can be enjoyed for up to 3 days (if kept refrigerated). You can also freeze them and bring them out when you have guests that you would like to impress. Make sure you defrost them for at least 1 hour at room temperature before eating.