Ladurée Macaron Recipe
from http://www.thenibble.com/

Box of Ladurée Macaroons
A precious box of Ladurée macarons, couriered back from Paris
—a multicolored, multiflavored feast. Showing, from bottom left,
are Pistachio, and behind itt, Bitter Chocolate, Four Red Fruits,
next column Violet Cassis, Salted Butter Caramel, Strawberry,
and last column, Cherry Amaretto, Chocolate and Ginger Lime.

This recipe is from Ladurée, a famous bakery started in 1862 by Louis Ernest Ladurée, a miller from France’s southwest. The bakery is located at 16 rue Royale in Paris and is known for their macarons. If you love macarons, put a visit to Paris’s Ladurée on the "100 Things To Do Before You Die” list. Until then, try your hand at making the elaborate macarons at home.

The great success of Ladurée’s macarons is threefold:

While the original macarons were simple almond meringues, French macarons can be spectacularly colored and flavored meringue “sandwiches.” This concept was invented by Pierre Desfontaines Ladurée, who, at the beginning of the 20th century, had the idea to join two meringues into a sandwich cookie filled with ganache. The concept expanded, and today, centers of ganache, buttercream, jam or salt caramel (and who knows what’s around the corner) offer a seemingly limitless combination of colors and flavors.

Flavored macarons are made by adding flavor extracts, zests, or powders (like matcha or cocoa) to the meringue or dry ingredients, pairing them with flavored buttercream, ganache, or jam. Key techniques include adding 1 tbsp of flavor powder to dry ingredients, or 1/2 tsp of extract to the meringue.

Shell Flavors: Add 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, cinnamon, or freeze-dried fruit powder to the dry ingredients.
Citrus Zest: Add lime, orange, or lemon zest directly to the meringue.
Extracts: Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla, almond, or peppermint extract to the meringue once it reaches soft peaks.

Macarons from Aldi's: Blueberry, raspberry, blood orange, coconut, lemon, pistachio.

Popular Flavor Pairings

Chocolate: 1 tbsp cocoa powder in shells + Chocolate Ganache.
Strawberry: Freeze-dried strawberry powder in shells + Strawberry Buttercream.
Coffee: 1 tsp espresso powder in shells + Espresso Buttercream.
Matcha: 1 tbsp matcha powder in shells + White Chocolate Ganache.
Lemon: Lemon zest in shells + Lemon Curd Filling.

Macarons Recipe

1 cup plus 3-1/2 tablespoons ground almonds (280g)
2 cups confectioner’s sugar (480g)
7 egg whites
A few drops of flavoured food coloring, such as raspberry
An appropriate filling (or, try more than one filling with a particular meringue flavor to see what combinations you prefer—for example, pistachio with pistachio buttercream versus chocolate ganache or white chocolate ganache)

Fan favorites include Pistachio, Raspberry, and Salted Butter Caramel. You may want to start out with Raspberry, as it’s easy to find a good flavoring/coloring as well as good artisan raspberry jam. We’re also including a recipe for a chocolate raspberry ganache below.

Tip from a recipe at https://www.tasteofhome.com/. "These strawberry macarons have a sweet surprise in the filling: strawberry jam. To keep the jam contained, pipe the frosting around the outer edge before adding the jam in the center."

  1. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. If using whole almonds, pulse in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes.
  3. Add the confectioner’s sugar and process to a fine powder. Sift to remove any lumps.
  4. Beat the egg whites in bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, adding the food coloring as you go until you reach the desired shade. Then increase speed to high and continue to beat until the whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks.
  5. Quickly and carefully add the almond-sugar powder. (Meringue will deflate.)
  6. With a wooden spoon, mix from the center of the bowl outwards, turning the bowl as you go. You want to achieve a smooth, lightly colored mixture.
  7. Spoon batter into a piping bag with a 1/4-inch round tip. If you don’t have a piping bag, use a plastic freezer bag, pressing out excess air. Snip off one corner to create a 1/4-inch opening. Pipe inch-wide macarons onto the baking trays, about 1-1/2 inches apart. You should have peaked mounds of batter, about the size of a chocolate kiss.
  8. Cook for eight to nine minutes, leaving the door of the oven slightly ajar.
  9. Remove the macarons from the oven. Pour a little water between the baking tray and the parchment paper; this makes the macarons easier to lift off when they have cooled. Cool completely on racks, about 30 minutes.
  10. Carefully peel macarons from parchment; they are fragile. Sandwich a thin layer of fillings between two macarons—ganache, marmalade, jam or whipped cream. The two bottoms face the filling.
  11. If you can, leave the finished macarons in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This allows the flavors and texture to develop and intensify.
  12. Whipped cream macarons must be stored in the refrigerator; others can be kept in airtight tins at room temperature for up to three days after production.

Recipe only originally published in the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Instructions revised by THE NIBBLE.

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache

3 ounces quality bittersweet chocolate (buy a 70% cacao chocolate bar), finely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/16 teaspoon quality raspberry extract

Melt chocolate with cream in the top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. If you don’t have a double boiler, use a metal bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water.

When the chocolate is melted into the cream, remove bowl from heat. Add the butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted.

Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.