Macaron Second Attempt.

I won't give up till i have a almost perfect macaron. It might sound a little nutty but i just need to know i can do it. After the failed first attempt, I decided to look for another recipe. I found another thermomix recipe:
http://www.thermomix-recipes.com/2011/10/macaroons-thermomix-recipe-of-french.html
As usual, i have adapted it based on my current oven, temperature and utensils.

Ingredients

- 125 g Almond Meal
- 150 g Icing Sugar (not icing mixture) - I made my own icing sugar as i did not have time to run to the shops. I wasn't sure if the Thermomix icing sugar will be suitable but it turn out fine. Will be using Thermomix made icing sugar next time. Much easier.
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 100 g Egg Whites (from around 3 eggs)- This time i did not aged the egg whites. I did this first thing in the morning, and it rested on the kitchen bench for a good hour.
 
How to prepare the Macaroons

Grind the almonds and the icing sugar (I am sure you can use caster instead). 10 Sec. Speed 10. -I might sieve this mixture next time as it is still grainy when mixing the batter.




Clean out TM bowl and attach the butterfly attachment.  Place the egg whites and whip. 4 Min. Speed 4.
Add the caster sugar after 2 minutes.  Whip the whites until stiff peaks. - I am not sure if the egg whites were done properly. From the picture below it looks a bit runny. But i tested it by tilting it and it stayed. I might look into beating this properly next time.




Add the almond/icing sugar into the TM bowl with the egg whites.  And mix. 10 Sec. Speed Soft. Reverse.  (add the colouring if using any - Trissalicious used green gel) - I added some colour but maybe too little. It was suppose to be yellow but there is no difference in the batter at all. I did not follow the recipe to mix the batter using the Thermomix, i did it but it did not look mixed correctly. In the end, i tilt the whole mixture out which is quite messy and fold the batter manually. The batter still look grainy by it was much more manageable compared to the first time i did it. I manage to get it to flow into a smooth ribbon.

Place the mixture in a piping bag and pipe on baking paper or a silicon mat. - I hate piping. Even in my second attempt my piping looks horrible. and that is after drawing circles on the baking paper. I need to work on getting better preparation for the batter. I was struggling to get the mixture in the piping bag quickly as the batter was slowly drying up.

Dry the macarons for around 30 to 45 minutes. 


I have a total of 3 trays in assorted sizes. I bang them on the table 3-4 times really hard and loud. The little piped macaron looks quite lumpy but it started to ease into a smooth top after 15 minutes. I waited 15 minutes, and then started heating the oven up. I bake my first tray after 20 minutes.
Bake at 150C° (fan forced) for 13 minutes.


As usual, i did not get the right number of macaron as stated. I am suppose to have around 50 but i only manage 40. I think alot of the batter were wasted when i tried to pipe them and maybe the batter was not runny enough. Will need to work on this next time.
This time the macaron turned up better. It does not have fat duck feet like the previous batch. I also cooked within 15 minutes. I did turn the trays around when it hit 7 minutes just to make sure it has an even cooking.

Remove from oven, cool and fill with piping



 Much better looking. It had the nice crunch when you bite into it. Like real! :)

That's it. My attempt in macaron baking. Hope my dear boy loves them.