Mad about strawberries - Macarons à la fraise ~ 吃草莓之馬卡龍﹑果醬﹑甘納許

Every Spring I pick up these Sequoia June-bearing strawberry plants from a local nursery. The reason that kept me returning every spring is because this variety produces bountiful, luscious and juicy fruits that are exceptionally sweet, aromatic, which just perfect for making dessert and jam. Normally, they bear fruit in June over a period of just a few weeks into mid July but this year, I found some of the plants already bearing fruits and this give the perfect reason to bust out my long list of must-try fruit recipes^^

The first thing that came across my mind was making jam, a first for me. I found a tempting recipe in Mes Confitures, a book which many claimed is the bible of jam making. The author of this book is Christine Ferber, whom people in France and food lovers all over the world refer to as the fairy godmother of jams and jellies. She has been known to use only the best, freshest, seasonal fruits and ingredients from local farmers and that she produces only small batches at a time by hand in her small boulangerie-pâtisserie, Au Relais des Trois Epis in Niedermorschwihr in Alsace, France. I have not come across any of her confitures at my local markets or specialty stores but I am already won over by the interesting flavor combinations presented in this book: wild blueberry + pinot noir + licorice, white peach + lemon verbena, black cherry + eucalyptus honey + fresh mint and that just to name a few! I picked out the seemingly easy recipe to start with - strawberry with black pepper & fresh mint. The recipe called for 2 pounds plus strawberries but unfortunately, this early harvest didn’t produce enough strawberries and I had to buy some. So you ask the taste of this jam? Très délicieux!! I must admit that it is an elevation from the really good strawberry jam I buy from A.G. Ferrari. I wonder if it is the recipe or just because I made it ;p




Macarons à la fraise or strawberry macaron is next up on my must-try fruit recipes. I just love these dainty little jewels! After looking through all my books on macaron, I found that strawberry macarons are actually vanilla macarons with red coloring paired with either strawberry jam or strawberry buttercream!! I always thought the macaron was flavored with strawberry! Well, I just learn something new. So for this recipe, I have added dehydrated strawberry powder that I got from this wonderful store to the batter to make real strawberry flavor macarons. As for the filling, I tried a new recipe – white chocolate ganache with a hint of strawberry flavor. To do so, I infused the cream with sweet and fragrant strawberry tea leaves overnight. I also paired the macarons with the jam for variation. For an intense burst of strawberry flavor, pair both the ganache and jam with the macarons!

Macarons à la fraise – yield about 30 sandwiches

Italian meringue method
55g egg white
150g caster sugar
40g water

Tant pour tant
150g almond flour
150g powdered sugar
10g dehydrated strawberry powder
55g egg white
1 drop red food coloring
Some chopped raw almonds

Prep:
- On the back side of 2 parchment papers, trace 3cm/1 ¼in circles about 3cm/1 ¼in apart. Flip them over and line the baking sheets.
- Prepare 2 sheets of foil the size of the baking sheets.

I thought you should know:
- Must let the piped cookies sit out until dry to touch before baking to prevent them from cracking during baking.
- Press the piping tip on the baking sheet when piping for uniformly shaped macarons. Do not suspend the tip in the air!
- It is best to consume the macarons within 3 days as it loses its moisture and becomes dry fast.

Sift together almond flour, strawberry powder, and powdered sugar twice then place the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add 55g egg white to the flour mixture and stir until it forms into a sticky ball, set aside.

Heat water and caster sugar over medium heat until it thickens and register at 230°F/116°C on a candy thermometer. While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg white at high speed in the bowl of a mixer using the whisk attachment; whisk until pale and foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl, being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden! Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until it becomes thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch, about 5 minutes. When you lift the meringue with the whisk, it should form into a stiff peak. Dilute a drop of red food coloring with a tablespoon of water, adding a little by little to the meringue until it reaches the desired pink hue, fold until incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the almond/sugar/strawberry flour mix to the meringue, fold until incorporated then fold in the remaining flour mix and fold until completely incorporated. Now it is ready for the macaronnage process.

With the rubber spatula, scoop and spread the batter, in a full circle, on the inside wall of the mixing bowl. Repeat this scoop & spread process, for a total of 15 times. Lift some batter with the spatula, it should falls into the bowl in a ribbon fashion, and should look glossy.

Pour the batter into a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets. Pipe about 60 circles. Sprinkle some chopped raw almonds over piped circles. Let dry at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking to allow skins to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F/220°C, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

When the batter is dry to the touch, place into the preheated oven and bake for 2 minutes, then quickly turn it down to 300°F/150°C, bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets (upper and lower racks), cover the sheets with foil, and continue to bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, slide a knife (fragile, must be careful) underneath the macarons to remove from the parchment paper.

Assemble cookies:
Pair 2 macarons of similar size, pipe about 1 teaspoon of the ganache filling or spoon 1 teaspoon of jam or both onto the flat side of one of the macarons then sandwich them. Let them set in room temperature or refrigerate to set. Make about 30 sandwiches. If refrigerate, let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours to soften before eating.



Ganache chocolat blanc à l'infusion de thé à la fraise
(White Chocolate Ganache flavored with Strawberry Tea)

150g quality white chocolate
150g heavy whipping cream
1tsp loose strawberry tea leaves

The night before, add the tea leaves to the whipping cream and let infuse overnight in the refrigerator.

Strained the tea mixture and discard the solid. Bring the whipping cream to just a boil over medium heat and pour it over the chopped white chocolate. Let seat for 1 minute before stirring the hot mixture with a rubber spatula until completely melted and has a satiny look. It is ready to pipe when it registers 70°F/35°C on the candy thermometer.

Strawberry with Black Pepper & Fresh Mint Jam
Adopted from Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber

2 ½lbs strawberries
1 ¾cup granulated sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon
5 fresh mint leaves
5 black peppercorns, freshly ground

Day 1
Rinse the strawberries under cold water then dry with a towel and hull them. Let the strawberries macerate with the lemon juice and the sugar in a ceramic bowl covered with a piece of parchment paper overnight in the refrigerator.

Day 2
Bring the preparation to a simmer over medium-high heat in a preserving pan. Pour it back into the ceramic bowl, cover with a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.

Day 3
Sterilize the jam jars by putting them in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, drain, then dry with paper towel.

Pour the preparation into a sieve. Bring the collected syrup to a boil in a preserving pan, skim and continue cooking on high heat. When the syrup appear concentrated and register at 221°F/105°C on the candy thermometer, add the half cooked strawberries from the sieve, fresh mint and pepper; return it to high heat. Skim and bring back to a boil for about 5 minutes, stirring gently. The strawberries will now be translucent, remove from heat then quickly spoon the jam into prepared jars to almost full, lightly tap them to release air bubbles and seal. Flip the jars upside down and let cool completely. Store in a cool, dry place, and out of light.



每年的春天我都會在家附近的花圃買入Sequoia June-bearing品種的草莓苗回家種植。這品種所培植出來的草莓不僅色澤紅亮﹐滋味豐腴甜美﹐更有著迷人的甜蜜果香﹐非常討喜。樣子紅灩灩的又精緻剔透﹐還有著清甜柔軟的口感﹐無論是製作甜點﹑果醬又或是裝飾蛋糕都是不二之選。本來每年六月到七月間才是收成的季節﹐可今年五月中就有少部分的草莓已經結果了。也好﹐終於有了藉口好好清一清我那必試水果甜點食譜清單的機會。

最先在我腦中閃過的就是很早就被列在必試清單上的草莓果醬。這還是生平第一次嘗試做手工果醬哩﹐所以定必找個很棒的食譜才行﹐而我在被稱為果醬聖典的Mes Confitures 一書中找到了。這是在法國無人不知﹐被美食圈中人稱為果醬教母的Christine Ferber所出版的果醬食譜書。她之所以被稱果醬教母﹐原因在於她的果醬及果凍配方獨特﹐又採用當地各種優質上選時令水果﹑花朵﹑香料﹑蜂蜜﹑酒等食材加上繁複的手工製作過程熬煮而成。值得一提的是不同於其他的名廚﹐她沒有華麗的店面或包裝﹐她的店只有一家﹐就是當年太祖父開在法國阿爾薩斯鄉間的Au Relais des Trois Epis甜點店。舖子很小﹐但所推出的各款果醬卻是名聞全球擁有很多星級粉絲像法國料理教父Alain Ducasse﹑甜點界的畢加索Pierre Hermé等。雖然我還沒有那個福分吃到她的果醬(好像美國沒有售賣的說)﹐以她書中果醬的配方涵藏著的無限的可能性及精彩度﹐也足以令我臣服了。我所選擇的配方是書中比較簡單操作的了﹐堪稱草莓果醬變奏版。配方需要2磅多的草莓﹐比採收到的數量多﹐只好向超市購買填補了。吼~~~~加了黑胡椒跟新鮮薄菏熬煮的草莓果醬﹐味道質地口感比我從A.G. Ferrari花$8USD買的好許多。味道濃郁﹐果香襲人又隱約嘗到薄菏的香氣﹐都不知該如何形容才好了﹐我想還是你自己嘗味才行﹗

另一個清單上必試的水果食譜就是草莓風味的馬卡龍。翻過家裡所有和製作馬卡龍有關的書籍﹐居然記載的草莓馬卡龍配方都是香草馬卡龍加色素的做法﹐原來所謂的草莓馬卡龍根本只是指它的草莓餡心吧了﹗為了做出有著草莓香氣及味道的馬卡龍﹐在L’ Epicerie買來乾燥處理過的濃縮草莓粉來實驗。呵呵。。。這次烤的馬卡龍折損率偏低﹐我好像捉到竅門了﹗至於餡心﹐嘗試了新的配方﹐就是添加了草莓花茶的白巧克力甘納許﹐讓人吃的滿嘴是優雅迷人草莓奶香﹗為了讓草莓風味更濃郁突出﹐我將有著不同口感的草莓果醬跟甘納許一同作為餡心﹐組合成名符其實的草莓馬卡龍 =)



草莓風味馬卡龍 - 30個

義式蛋白霜
55g 蛋白
150g 細砂糖
40g 水

Tant pour tant
150g 杏仁粉
150g 糖粉
10g 草莓粉
55g 蛋白
1滴 紅色食用色素
裝飾用切碎的生杏仁隨意

事前準備:
- 準備兩張烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑3cm/1¼in間隔3cm/1¼in的小圓圈。鋪在烤盤上。
- 準備兩張相等於烤盤大小的鋁箔紙﹐備用。

要注意什麼呢?
- 擠出麵糊後要放置到表面乾燥為止才可進烤箱。
- 擠麵糊時先固定一個點再擠出是要訣。
- 馬卡龍不宜放置太久﹐否著就會失去濕潤的口感﹐最好在3天內吃完喔~

混合草莓粉、杏仁粉、糖粉﹐過篩2次後倒進一個大的拌碗中。將55g的蛋白倒進粉中﹐用橡皮刀確實攪拌勻成膏狀後靜置備用。

把水和細砂糖混合倒進小鍋中﹐以中火熬煮至出現黏稠狀﹐糖果溫度計達到230°F/116°C或用手指沾黏(非常燙喔﹗)會牽出糖絲的程度即可。在煮糖漿的同時﹐將55的蛋白用電動打蛋器以高速打發至起泡但還沒出現尖角的程度。轉低速繼續仔細打發﹐然後邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的糖漿(千萬不要攪拌糖漿不然會結晶)，完全注入糖漿後轉中速繼續打發﹐直到冷卻出現結實尖角的程度至光滑立體狀態為止﹐約5分鐘。將1滴紅色食用色素用1湯匙的水拌稀﹐再一點點的拌入蛋白霜中至達到理想的顏色為止。

將3分1的草莓杏仁粉拌入蛋白霜中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式拌勻﹐再分兩次加入剩餘的草莓杏仁粉﹐拌勻後進行macaronnage程序。Macaronnage即是將麵糊從底部往上翻起再往拌碗的內壁壓推勻15次至表面紋理細緻且有光澤的麵糊為止。

將麵糊倒進擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上以小口徑的圓形擠花嘴擠出圓形的麵糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比直徑3cm稍小的圓形。總共擠出60個﹐然後將切碎的生杏仁粒撒在麵糊上。放置30分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐用手摸不沾黏即可。放置的同時預熱烤箱至400°F/200°C。

待表面形成薄膜後用400°F/200°C烘烤2分鐘﹐然後迅速降溫到300°F/150°C繼續烘烤5分鐘。迅速取出烤盤各自覆上包裝鋁箔紙﹐放回烤箱時將烤盤調換 (上下烤架) 好 讓馬卡龍烤的均勻﹐再烘烤7分鐘﹐取出﹐放網架上靜置放涼後用抹刀取下﹐備用。

組合馬卡龍:
在半數的馬卡龍平面上擠出約1茶匙的夾心﹐再蓋上另一半的馬卡龍。做成30個。可放室溫或冰箱至餡心凝固。



草莓風味白巧克力甘納許餡心

150g 白巧克力﹐切碎
150g 鮮奶油
1茶匙 草莓花茶葉

鮮奶油與茶葉混合，放進冰箱冷藏泡浸一個晚上。

白巧克力切碎後﹐放進一個耐熱的碗裡。將奶漿從冰箱取出﹐過濾後倒進小鍋﹐開中火煮至剛沸騰後熄火。將滾燙的奶漿注入切碎的白巧克力中﹐靜置1分鐘﹐然後用橡皮刀攪拌至完全融化順滑的狀態為止。放涼至70°F/35°C﹐這是擠花的適當軟硬度。

草莓+黑胡椒+薄菏手工果醬
食譜源自果醬女主廚 Christine Ferber的Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber

2 ½磅 草莓
1 ¾杯 砂糖
1個 小檸檬﹐榨汁
5片 新鮮薄菏葉
5粒 黑胡椒粒﹐磨碎

第1天
把草莓洗乾淨﹐抹乾﹐去蒂。將草莓﹑檸檬汁﹑砂糖混合倒進陶瓷碗內﹐全體充份拌勻後蓋上烘培紙﹐放進冰箱糖漬浸軟一個晚上。

第2天
將浸軟的草莓和汁倒入銅鍋中﹐開強力中火熬煮﹐不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰後離火。倒回陶瓷碗內﹐蓋上烘培紙﹐放進冰箱浸泡一個晚上。

第3天
將果醬罐子消毒: 燒開一鍋水﹐然後將果醬罐子放進滾燙的水中煮3分鐘﹐取出﹐用紙巾抹乾備用。

將網篩架在一個有深度的大碗上﹐將草莓倒進網篩中過濾﹐撈起草莓﹐僅加熱糖漿。將糖漿倒入銅鍋中﹐開強力中火熬煮﹐不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至變稠(約221°F/105°C) ﹐此時才將草莓﹑薄菏﹑胡椒加進糖漿中一同熬煮。不間斷地邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰後﹐繼續煮5分鐘至草莓呈現剔透模樣為止﹐離火。將熱騰騰的果醬舀入罐子內直到罐口處﹐將罐子輕輕敲一下去除氣泡﹐緊栓住瓶蓋後倒立放置冷卻。將果醬放日光無法直射的陰涼處存放。