Pistachio & Cherry ‘Heart’ Macarons
Part 1: Cocoa Cherry Gel
Ingredients
Method- 200g Cherry Puree
- 100g Water
- 25g Granulated Sugar
- 15g deZaan Rich Terracotta Cocoa Powder
- Ultra-Tex: Add 1-2% of total weight of above ingredients (amount depends on desired thickness of gel)
- Heat all the ingredients except for ultra-tex.
- Heat until sugar & deZaan cocoa powder have incorporated.
- Allow to cool and add the ultra-tex one percent at a time while blending with a hand blender until the ‘gel’ like consistency has been achieved.
- Store in a piping bag until ready to use.
Part 2: Pistachio Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
Method- 150g Cream 35%
- 25g Pistachio Praline
- 25g deZaan Rich Terracotta Cocoa Powder
- 350g Milk Chocolate
- Add pistachio praline & chocolate to a bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a pan, bring the cream & deZaan cocoa powder to a light simmer.
- Once at simmer, pour over contents in the bowl.
- Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Allow to cool at room temperature before transferring into a piping bag ready for assembly.
Part 3: ‘Heart’-shaped Macaron Shells
Ingredients
Method- 300g Almond Flour
- 260g Confectioners' Sugar
- 30g deZaan Crimson Red Cocoa Powder
- 110g Egg Whites (Quantity 1)
- 275g Granulated Sugar
- 40g Water
- 2.5g Water Soluble Red Coloring
- 110g Egg Whites (Quantity 2)
- Preheat oven at 140ºC/284ºF.
- In a food processor, add the almond flour, confectioners' sugar & deZaan cocoa powder. Blitz until well combined.
- Sift the ingredients into a clean bowl.
- Making a ‘well’ in the dry mix and add the first 110g of egg whites in.
- In a pan, begin heating water, sugar & red coloring.
- In a mixing bowl, add 2nd quantity of egg whites and begin whipping.
- Once the sugar syrup has reached 121ºC/249ºF, gently stream into semi-whipped egg whites. Allow to mix until cool to touch.
- Incorporate meringue into the dry mix in three parts, until the desired ribbon stage has been achieved.
- Pipe heart-shaped macarons onto the silicone mat.
- Once done piping, transfer trays to oven and bake for 18 minutes.
- Turn oven off and leave them in for 3 minutes before removing.
- Allow them to cool down completely before removing and pairing up according to size/shape.
Part 4: Assembly
Method- Begin by piping a ‘ring’ of the pistachio chocolate ganache around the inner shell of one of the macarons.
- Next, pipe a generous serving of the cherry cocoa gel in the centre before placing the other shell on top and sandwiching together to create your macarons.
- Store in a refrigerator for 6-12 hours before serving for the best texture/taste.
