Red Velvet Macarons

If you’ve been reading this blog since the baby years of its existence, you might be aware of my humiliating macaron attempts in the past. 

Macarons are the sweet, sweet confection that I’ve posted on here regardless of their success. I’ve even tried to educate the internet on how not to make macarons. I am that confident in my mistakes. 

This is why there is a grand total of five macarons in these pictures. The other 15 were cracked, Mr Blobby shaped and had missing limbs (no “feet"). 

The macaron ship had sailed, people.  

It gets worse. Last week, I completely forgot about how terrible I was at “macoranage.” I forgot so badly, that I agreed to try and match a boutique’s red velvet macaron! 

Macarons from L'orchidee in Westfield Stratford

Naturally, the macarons at L’orchidee were exactly what you’d expect: each told its own tale. Even though they’re made in continuous batches 3 days a week, not one was the same. Which I think is just the way it should be, none of this precision and uniformity, especially since so many of us have so much trouble making them at home. 

So here is my attempt to out-do L’orchidee’s red velvet macaron for Westfield Stratford City’s We Are Dining campaign. This month, Westfield Stratford City is showcasing their diverse array of eateries, and they're giving lots of offers to customers in this nifty little booklet which you can download here. 

I am usually disappointed by the vast selection of same-y food chains you find in shopping centres. But Australian company, Westfield, do things a little differently. They have whole sections dedicated to certain cuisines. For example, a 'World Food Court' where the busiest fast food restaurants are the ones serving up sushi, falafel and ribs, and the same goes for their 'Fast Food Court.'

Personally, I don’t think my attempt at red velvet macarons even slightly match up to L'orchidee's. But it was nice to see what else The Great Eastern Market had to offer, besides beautiful Baklava and gorgeously scented roasted nuts.

If you live in London, you're never too far away from a Westfield shopping centre. Go east for Westfield Stratford City, or west for Westfield London in Shepherds Bush. You can also pick up the offers booklet at the concierge desks in both branches! 

Violet Macaroons

Violet Cakes' Macaroons

Ever since that afternoon I spent at Violet Cakes however long ago I have been besotted, foolishly besotted, by a macaroon.

Everything else of that afternoon seems distant in my memory now, apart from that golden, crispy, syrupy rounded mound of baked coconut.

Before my near death experience involving sugar, my only knowledge of a macaroon (the real deal, not the contemporaneous meringue kind, I’m talking about the poor macaroon that was overshadowed by that) came from a packet of 4 overly chewy macaroons commonly found in my aunts, or even dating back 10 years ago, my late nan’s flat – where there would always almost certainly be a packet of chocolate dipped store bought macaroons. But hey, I knew no better, and I still ate the whole bloody packet.

Who says the coconut cant be desiccated?! 

The recipe for Violet’s delicate, perfectly proportioned macaroon can thankfully be found in Leon’s Baking &Pudding’s book – I will take this moment to mention how lucky we are that Ptak & the founder of Leon live in the same neighbourhood. Leon is one of the best food chains in England, but truthfully, I bought their book for the macaroon recipe but I’m sure I will be dipping myself into some more recipes such as the Lemon Bars fairly soon (as should the poor soul reading this). 

What really sets this recipe apart from the rest is the addition of honey; it makes the world of difference through extra subtle sweet flavours on top of that already coming from the caster sugar (trust me, it works). It also makes the macaroons extra sticky, so sticky you will need to keep your paper towels well away until its time to wipe the stickiness from your fingers - licking is totally acceptable btw. 

The Recipe: Violet Macaroons

Adapted from Leon Baking & Puddings: Coconut Macaroons 

150g desiccated coconut 

150g caster sugar 

3 egg whites

3 heaped tbsp honey of your choice 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Makes 6 large macaroons 

Equipment

Deep, medium sized saucepan 

Ice cream scoop

The Method:

Place all the ingredients except vanilla into the saucepan and stir on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the bottom of the pan leaves bubbles when scraped across - about 7 minutes. 

Take off heat and leave to cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 C. 

Place baking parchment over a baking tray. 

Scoop level amounts of mixture straight onto the baking tray making sure they are slightly spaced apart. I used an ice cream scoop to get uniform macaroons. 

Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. 

Leave the macaroons to cool completely before removing from the parchment. This allows the macaroons to crisp up. 

The macaroons will lose their crispiness if stored in an airtight environment, so try to eat them ALL on the day of baking! 

So, here's the big question that's playing on both our minds - do you plunge yours in chocolate or leave them raw?

Love Em xx 

Amatuer Macarons

These French darlings are supposedly to die for - my first attempt was far from this. In fact they resemble a rotting red blood cell. My macaroons look like they are more suited to the post living... After having a go at it, the method itself was quite simple! However the piping was a challenge, hence the amateur-esque rusky look i've got going on here. The macaroons had a deep almond flavour, the texture was tender yet chewy and this recipe helped balance the orgenolaptics of a macaroon perfectly. But if i were to try these devils again i'd  use a different filling - and i'd make double sure that said filling does not curdle! 

The Recipe
175g icing sugar
125g ground almonds
75g caster sugar
Food colouring
Filling
150g icing sugar
75g butter
1 tbsp milk
Food colouring

The Method

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees
• In a food processor blend together the ground almonds and icing sugar to a very fine dust and then sift into a bowl 
• In another bowl whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until you have soft peaks
• Gradually add the caster sugar until glossy
• Fold half the almond mixture into the egg whites using the figure of eight. Add the second half and do the same until you have a thick and smooth mixture 
• Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe out 5cm rounds onto baking tray with baking paper on it
• Let the rounds rest for 15 minutes so that they form a film
• Bake for 15 minutes and let cool
• Cream butter, food colouring and milk together in a bowl
• Gradually add sifted icing sugar to the mixture until smooth
• Plop a spoonful of buttercream onto a macaroon and then place another on top

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