100g good-quality 70% cocoa dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Method
To make the paste, sift the icing
sugar into a large bowl, then
add the ground almonds,
whisking to break down any
lumps. Add the egg whites and
stir to form a paste.
Preheat the oven to
170C/150C F/Gas 3. Line a flat baking tray with a silicone
baking mat.
Put the egg whites for the
macarons in the bowl of a
mixer with a whisk attachment.
In a small pan, heat 50g water
with the sugar over a medium
heat. When it reaches 108C on
a cook’s thermometer, start to
whisk the egg whites at a fast
speed. When the sugar syrup
reaches 117C, quickly turn off
the mixer and pour in the sugar
syrup. Start the mixer again on
full power straightaway, lifting
the bowl slightly to catch the
syrup at the bottom for a few
seconds. Continue whisking for
a couple of minutes until the
meringue firms up.
Using a wooden spoon,
break down the macaron paste,
adding a quarter of the warm
meringue, mixing briskly to
loosen the paste. Using a
rubber spatula, gently fold in
the remaining meringue.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a
plain nozzle with the mixture
and pipe 3cm discs, 3cm apart,
on to the prepared baking tray,
to allow the macarons to
expand when baking. Bake
for 12–14 minutes, then set
aside to cool.
To make your chosen
ganache, bring the cream to the
boil in a small pan, along with
the liquorice, if making the
liquorice filling. Put the roughly
chopped chocolate in a small
jug and pour the hot cream
over. Blend together straightaway with a hand
blender, then leave to cool.
Carefully peel off the cooled macaron shells from the
baking mat and put them, flat
sides up, in similar-sized pairs
on a flat tray. Fill a piping bag
fitted with a medium plain
nozzle with the ganache filling
and pipe a small dome on one
shell of each pair. Flip the
remaining empty shell on top of
the filling, press gently and
sandwich together to serve.
Recipes and photographs taken from Bake with Benoit Blin by Benoit Blin, photographs by Sam Folan (Hardie Grant, £26).
