Macarons au Chocolat-Mangue ~ 巧克力香芒奶油馬卡龍

From time to time, you saw these little jewels graced the web page of my blog so you should know that I am a huge fan of Parisian macarons! As it turns out, I am not the only addict - this beautiful bride also is a fan. She requested that macarons be included on the menu of the dessert table that she ordered for her wedding although she didn’t specify what flavors so that left the possibilities wide open. Giving thought that not everyone is into exotic flavors, I have made 2 flavors, raspberry macaron with raspberry confiture – a classic favorite, and a more exciting chocolate mango flavor.

Bursting with flavor, what a fantastic combo! If you haven’t paired the two together, you should definitely give it a try! Based on previous feedbacks from my guinea pigs, many complained that buttercream is a bit dense, so I decided to add mango purée to flavor it, hoping that the acidity would help cut the grease. The result is an incredibly fragrant and flavorful buttercream, which married well with the fruity, bitter undertone of the cocoa used to flavor the macarons. Undeniably, this have become my new golden combo and I am sure I will pair these two again very soon! Also, I have dressed up the macarons with a dash of cocoa nibs – just sprinkle the top of the piped batter before baking! That way, not only do they taste scrumptious but look great too! Again, presentation is very important!

I stressed many time that ingredients play a key role in the food we eat. I would have made my own mango purée but I didn’t find any good one in the markets that have that incredible fragrance that I was looking. Fortunately, I found some les vergers boiron mango purée in the freezer of the Pasta Shop in Berkeley. I have heard so much praise about this line of deep-frozen purées from France that I have been searching for ages. Something that you can’t easily find in the Bay Area so I was very excited that I came across it! What makes boiron’s purées so special? This line of purées is produced from carefully selected fruits at the peak of their ripeness, which are then squeezed and strained. Most importantly, no addictives and retain the full flavor and original color of the fruits. I too, call myself a fan now (^u~)

To find out more, click here~




Crème au beurre de mangue (mango buttercream)

1 large whole egg
40g caster sugar
40ml water
100g unsalted butter
70g mango purée

I thought you should know:
Fruit purées are high in water content, when mixed with butter it appears to be separated at first, but keep whisking and the cream will come back together giving a smooth and shiny texture.

Cut the butter into ½ inch (5mm) thick squares, place in a heatproof container and heat in the microwave over medium heat for 10 – 15 seconds. Butter should be soft to touch but NOT melted. Using a rubber spatula, mash the butter until smooth and creamy (like the texture of mayonnaise), set aside.

In a heatproof container, mix the caster sugar with the water then heat over medium heat in a microwave for 1 minute, stir until sugar completely dissolved. Return it to the microwave and continue to heat for 4 more minutes over medium heat. Remove with CARE out from the microwave and stir with a spoon. Spoon a little bit of the hot syrup into some ice water; it should solidify into a little ball. If it does not, continue to heat in the microwave, 1 minute at a time, until it gets to this state.

While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk until pale and foamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low 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 the egg mixture is thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in the butter. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the butter cream is thick and shiny. Add the mango purée, beat for an additional minute until incorporated. Refrigerate the buttercream for 10 minutes before piping.

If stored in an airtight container, it will keep for 5 days and up to a month if frozen. Bring the cream back together before use.

FAQs for making buttercream:
- Wait! My buttercream won’t come together!
Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overheat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

- Wait! My buttercream is too soft!
Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2 – 4 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Macarons au chocolat – 20 sandwiches

2 large egg whites
40g granulated sugar
120g powdered sugar
55g almond flour or finely grounded blanch almonds
8g Dutch-process cocoa powder
some cocoa nibs

Prep:
- First, sift the almond powder twice then add it to the powdered sugar and cocoa powder mix, and sift again.
- On the backside of 2 parchment papers, trace 1½-inch (4cm) circles about 2 inches (4cm) apart. Flip them over and line the baking sheets.
- Preheat the oven to 440°F/220°C.

I thought you should know:
- Must let the piped cookies sit out for 10 - 20 minutes before baking.
- Press the piping tip on the baking sheet and pipe for uniformly shaped macarons. Do not suspend the tip in the air.

In a large dry bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy and the color turns white. Gradually add the granulated sugar, increase the speed to high and continue to whip until stiff peaks form – the whites should be firm and shiny, about 3 minutes.

With a rubber spatula, fold half of the almond/sugar/cocoa mixture 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.

Fit a piping bag with a 3/8 inch (1cm) round tip, fill it with the cocoa batter and pipe the batter from the center of the drawn circle onto the baking sheets, about 40 circles. Sprinkle some cocoa nibs over piped circles. Let dry at room temperature for 10 - 20 minutes before baking to allow skins to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 440°F/220°C.

Bake for 4 minutes at 440°F/220°C, then turn it down to 260°F/130°C, continue to bake for 8 minutes. Remove macarons from oven and transfer to cool on the cooling rack. Once cooled, slide a knife underneath the macarons to remove from parchment paper.

Assemble the macarons:
Pair 2 macarons of similar size, pipe about 1 teaspoon of the buttercream filling onto the flat side of one of the macarons then sandwich them. Place in the refrigerator to set. Make about 20 sandwiches. It will keep for 3 days, if stored in the refrigerator and up to 4 weeks if frozen. Let stand at room temperature at least 20 minutes before eating.



常來這裡的朋友應該知道我對小巧玲瓏的馬卡龍著迷不已﹐所以我就不再強調了。不過現在才知道除了我﹐身邊很多人也很愛﹐這個新娘子就是其一。她要求跟我訂的甜點布斐菜單中必須包含這道小點心﹐而口味卻不挑。我想了很久﹐為了讓人嚐到不同口感與風味的成品﹐決定做兩種口味(要不是時間及人手不充足﹐我還想多弄幾個口味呢﹗)。除了男女老少都愛的酸酸甜甜覆盆子馬卡龍配覆盆子果醬口味﹐另一款就是這個較新鮮的組合 - 巧克力芒果風味﹗

原來濃郁的巧克力跟香氣襲人又帶有酸味的芒果的配對是很有個性的。加了芒果泥的奶油餡甜中微帶一點清新的酸剛好托襯出巧克力的甘苦味﹐還順帶的令口感清爽起來。那芬芳四溢的芒果香氣在口腔裡久久不散﹐讓人心醉神迷﹗除了在皮與餡的組合花了點心思﹐造型上也稍作改變﹐就是在表面灑了些可可豆碎加以裝飾﹐讓整體更富趣味~

至于這個芒果泥﹐我用的是法國boiron牌。耳聞很久了﹐好不容易在Berkeley的Pasta Shop找到的呢﹗不便宜但是果香濃厚襲人﹐顏色鮮艷﹐嚐起來像在吃新鮮的芒果﹐極品呀﹗除了芒果泥我還購入百香果泥和青蘋果泥﹐我想也是擁有極致的品質的﹐值得極力推薦的優質果泥﹗

關於boiron果泥(轉自Gourmet' s Partner):

Les Vergers Boiron是來自法國的天然頂級果泥，於1936年成立，1970年開始創新研發生產冷凍果泥，為市場第一位推出該類型商品的製造商，因為高成本與高品質的緣故，幾乎僅有五星級以上的飯店才會使用，為西點烘焙業的領導品牌。通過ISO 9001與ISO 14001認證，每種果泥口味皆嚴選各國最適合的水果來源及品種，挑選最高峰的採收期採收，因此無論是口味、顏色、重量和紋理，都絕對經過縝密的挑選，以獨特的產品篩選及完善巴氏瞬間滅菌法的保存技術，展現獨具要求的製程技術，採用標準化的萃取精華，混合四個味道，分別是桔子、紅橙、福柑和檸檬。同時強調「產地、品質、色澤」做為產品的最高要求。每批產品都維持一致的完美口感，不會因產季採收、熟成度等外在因素，而影響其口感及成品之表現。同時根據不同的水果種類屬性，研發出不同的製作技術與成分比例，秉持健康天然原則，100%不添加防腐劑、人工色素、濃稠劑等，符合現代顧客追求健康的飲食取向，低糖不膩口，全程冷藏，彈牙爽口不言而喻，嚐起來有天然果香，絕對是果泥中的極致。

篩選全世界最新鮮美味的嚴選水果，使用最完善規模的冷凍技術，Les Vergers Boiron對於天然果泥的堅持，讓世界各國如日本、法國等熱愛精緻美食的先進國家指定購買，有了最完美的果泥，烘焙出讓人安心又幸福的甜蜜糕點，品嚐最健康美味的結晶。



香芒奶油餡心

1個 大的全蛋
40g 細砂糖
40ml 水
100g 無鹽奶油
70g 芒果果泥

要注意什麼呢﹖
水果泥的水份含量高﹐容易在和奶油攪拌過程中造成分離﹐但只要繼續攪拌就會成為滑潤的奶油醬。

把無鹽奶油切成1/2寸(5mm)厚的小方塊﹐然後放進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐再放進微波爐裡加熱10 - 15秒使奶油變軟。絕對不可以加熱到融化﹐手指按下去有壓進去的軟度即可。用橡皮刀用力壓變軟的奶油﹐再攪拌成美乃滋狀﹐備用。

將細砂糖與水混合倒進一個耐熱的容器裡﹐放進微波爐裡加熱60秒後取出﹐迅速拌至砂糖完全溶解。再次放進微波爐裡加熱4分鐘後取出(要小心處理﹐非常燙喔﹗)﹐用湯匙拌勻。舀取一小匙糖漿滴到冷水中﹐取出在手指間搓揉﹐若能成為小球狀的濃度即可。若是沒能搓成球狀﹐再加熱60秒。

利用糖漿加熱的時間以電動攪拌機以高速將蛋打散至起細泡﹐再轉低速繼續打發﹐待糖漿達到所需的溫度時﹐邊打發邊細絲般的慢慢地注入滾燙的糖漿(千萬不要讓糖漿直接和攪拌機接觸到﹐要在碗邊注入糖漿﹐這樣就不會結晶了)，完全注入糖漿後轉高速繼續打發﹐直到冷卻出現結實尖角的程度﹐約5分鐘。將奶油分2次加入蛋霜中﹐以中速打發攪拌至融合﹐拌入芒果果泥﹐轉高速繼續打發2分鐘至光滑立體狀態為止。將奶油醬放冰箱冷藏10分鐘即完成。

如果不立刻使用﹐將奶油醬倒入密閉的容器裡放冰箱存放﹐可以保存5天。如果放冰格冷藏可以存放1個月。使用前靜置回溫即可。

製作奶油餡最常遇倒的問題:
- 奶油餡看起來有分離的跡像:
將奶油餡隔熱水加熱5秒﹐看到奶油餡融化時即停止加熱。用木匙稍微攪拌﹐然後用電動打蛋器打發至光滑立體狀態為止。

- 奶油餡看起來太軟了:
將奶油餡放進冰箱冷藏10分鐘後﹐用電動打蛋器打發至光滑立體狀態為止。如果還是不夠立體﹐可以加2 - 4湯匙的奶油 (硬的) 至奶油餡中用低速打發至光滑立體狀態為止。



巧克力馬卡龍 - 20個

2個 蛋白(L尺寸)
40g 砂糖
55g 杏仁粉
120g 糖粉
8g Dutch-process無糖可可粉
適量 可可豆碎

事前準備:
- 杏仁粉過篩2次後和糖粉、可可粉混合過篩1次﹐備用。
- 準備兩塊烤纸﹐然後在每一張的反面畫上直徑1 ½寸間隔2寸(4cm間隔4cm)的小圓圈﹐然後鋪在烤盤上。

要注意什麼呢?
- 擠出麵糊後要放置10 - 20分鐘讓表面乾燥﹐才可進烤箱。
- 擠可可糊時先固定一個點﹐從上方擠出是要訣。

用電動攪拌機先以中速將蛋白打發至起泡、顏色變白﹐將砂糖分成2 - 3回加入蛋白中﹐仔細發泡﹐轉高速打至出現尖角成立體型蛋白霜﹐約3分鐘。

將一半篩過的粉類加入蛋白霜中﹐用橡皮刀從底部往上翻起的方式迅速拌勻﹐加入剩餘的粉類﹐攪拌至粉末完全消失為止。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。

將可可糊倒進裝上直徑3/8寸(1cm)的圓形擠花嘴的擠花袋中﹐在先前畫了圓圈的烤盤紙上擠出圓形的可可糊。先固定一個點﹐再從上方擠出比圓形稍小的可可糊﹐總共擠出40個。在可可糊上面灑上些許可可豆碎﹐放置10 - 20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440°F/220°C。

用440°F/220°C的烤箱烘烤4分鐘﹐然後降溫到260°F/130°C繼續烘烤8分鐘。取出後放網架上靜置放涼﹐用抹刀取下﹐備用。

組合馬卡龍:
在半數的馬卡龍平坦面上擠出約1茶匙的夾心﹐再蓋上另一半的馬卡龍﹐做成20個。放冰箱至餡心凝固即可。

將馬卡龍包好放密封的容器中放冰箱存放﹐可以保存3天。如果放冰格冷藏可以存放1個月。食用前靜置回溫即可。