Macarons!

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

THE DARING COOKS OCTOBER 2009 CHALLENGE: MACAROONS

(actually, should be spelled macaron, as in French macarons, as that's what the challenge was this month for the Daring Bakers)

Macarons have intimidated me since the beginning of time, but I've always admired them from afar. The French Pastry Too Cute To Eat. Never even tasted one until this challenge either, as a matter of fact.

This was my first ever attempt at macaron-making, and although not successful in obtaining the classic appearance of macarons, the taste did not disappoint! The ingredients are basically almond flour, egg whites and sugar (both granulated and confectioners) for the macaron itself. The inside layer can be anything from ganache to buttercream to jam.

These little buggers are temperamental and you really need to follow directions and do a bit of research and prepwork to guarantee yourself the signature feet on the macaron, which mine failed to develop (for those who want to check out what "feet" on macarons should look like, this is a perfect example: it's the fluffed-out, poofed-out bottoms of these that mine failed to have).

I decided to flavor my macarons with instant espresso, so I added a tsp here and there to both the macaron itself and into the chocolate ganache I made to sandwich in between.

So here is my first presentation plate of espresso macarons with espresso chocolate ganache.

I was really bummed that my macarons did not develop feet (have I mentioned that already? lol), but getting past the fear of making these is my biggest DB accomplishment for this month's challenge. It was very interesting to read about other Daring Bakers' fails and successes and find out what worked for some and not for others. I really think a "practice makes perfect" mentality is necessary to achieve that perfect macaron, as well as trying various recipes to see which one works best for you. I heard many people had success using the macaron recipes from this purdy blog.

I had hopes of making a second batch before the reveal date, but things got a little hectic around here and I ran out of time. I'll definitely give these another shot again and will definitely post on my blog when I get them durned feet to appear!!!