Fairy Floss Macaron

I remember when I was young and my mum would take me to the show and how excited I'd get when she bought me a big stick of fairy floss. Light pink, glistening in the sun almost as if a magical spider had cast a spell and produced this web which was so magnificent in every way. Sugar melting and crystallising and getting stuck in my hair - little sticky pudgy fingers putting fingerprints everywhere. Fast forward to today and fairy floss comes in every colour of the rainbow and now my gorgeous girls enjoy it just as much as I did. 

Now that I'm an adult my passion for all things sweet is much more sophisticated so imagine how ecstatic I was when I made fairy floss macaron... delightful on its own but absolute heaven with a bottle of Moet.

Gold glitter adds some bling!

Understated Elegance

Macaron are like distinguished French ladies dressed in shots of shantung silk, taffeta, tuille, ribbons and lace.  Their skirts come in every colour imaginable and sit perfectly with little frills on the bottom.  But for most women, world-wide, it's all about the heel and with macaron it's the "pied" or foot.  Shoes come in a vast array of styles: ballet flats, kitten heels, French heels, Mary Janes, pumps, peep toes, sling-backs, stilletos and wedges. And, the feet in macaron can also come in a vast array of sizes and shapes.

When making macaron, some like the effect of stilettos (really high feet) - they stand out and have the "wow" factor but sadly often contain nothing more than air pockets inside the shell.  Others, however, prefer simple understated elegance and opt for dare I say it French heels, which are also perfect for macaron as they are a medium height "pied". This type of foot for macaron, should not contain any air pockets and the batter should rise nicely throughout the inside of the shell.  The outer "croûte" or crust of macaron  should be as fine as eggshell. Like French women they look rather polished on the outside but when you delve into that crisp exterior it gives way to a soft, mellow centre.

At the end of the day, how you want your macaron to look is a personal choice and part of the fun is experimenting and trying new things (styles).  If you get sick of your stilettos why not try French heels for the day but definitely stay away from those ballet flats as they're not an attractive look for a macaron.

Adriano Zumbo Candy Cane Macarons

Australian Gourmet Traveller

Not sure about anyone else but I've got some left over candy canes that I hid from my girls so that they wouldn't gobble them all up in one day... not much fun when they start bouncing off the walls. Anyway, this sounds just perfect to use them up.


Makes 15

Macaron Ingredients

150g almond meal

150g pure icing sugar, sieved

150g caster sugar

110g egg white (about 3 egg whites)

¼ tsp red food colouring, or to taste

Candy Cane Ganache

125g white chocolate, finely chopped

20g coarsely crushed candy canes (about 2 small)

75ml pouring cream

½ tsp peppermint essence

45 g butter, coarsely chopped

STEP 1 MAKE THE TPT & ITALIAN MERINGUE

Preheat oven to 140C. Sieve almond meal and icing sugar into a large bowl, set aside. Combine caster sugar and 40ml water in a saucepan, stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and cook until mixture reaches 121C on a sugar thermometer (4-5 minutes). Meanwhile, whisk half the eggwhite in an electric mixer on medium speed, then, whisking continuously, gradually add syrup in two places to avoid syrup pooling in bottom of mixing bowl. Whisk until lukewarm (3-4 minutes), then add to almond meal mixture. Add remaining eggwhite and fold to combine.

STEP 2 COLOUR, PIPE & BAKE THE MACARON SHELLS

Divide mixture between two bowls and add red food colouring to one bowl, folding to combine and colouring to your liking. Slap excess air out of white mixture with a spatula. Lay a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle on its side, fill one side with white mixture and the other side with red mixture. Pipe half the mixture into 8cm-long right-facing candy cane shapes on baking trays lined with baking paper. Pipe remaining mixture into 8cm-long left-facing candy cane shapes, firmly tap trays on work bench to expel excess air, then stand until a skin forms and mixture doesn’t stick to your finger when touched (45 minutes-1 hour). Bake in batches until firm and tops are set (10-12 minutes), then cool on trays.

STEP 3 MAKE THE CANDY CANE GANACHE

Meanwhile, for candy cane ganache, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set aside. Cook candy canes without stirring in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until caramelised (4-5 minutes). Meanwhile, warm cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, add to candy canes, shake pan until combined (10-15 seconds). Add to chocolate with peppermint essence, stir to combine, then stir in butter. Stand until ganache reaches spreadable consistency (1-1¼ hours), spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 9mm plain nozzle and pipe on flat sides of right-facing candy cane macarons. Sandwich with left-facing candy cane macarons and stand until set (10-15 minutes). Candy cane macarons will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days but are best eaten on day of making.

(source: Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine December 2009 issue)

RECIPE ADRIANO ZUMBO PHOTOGRAPHY WILLIAM MEPPEM STYLING EMMA KNOWLES