Macarons

Hey, I guess I'm joining the French Macarons frenzy too! Almost every food related website have pictures and recipes for them! They look so cute and adorable. This lovely tiny cookie is for all the sweet tooth lover out there. It was fun for me to make them, not perfect but I find them way too sweet for my liking. Anyway, at least all of us at home did try a couple of home-made macarons. As for me, after having one macaron, I had to drink my black coffee, 2 cups of them! LOL!

Btw, there are many basic macaron recipes and I'm not sure which one is the best. I got my recipe from Seriouseats.com

Recipe adapted from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan

Bittersweet Chocolate Cream Ganache

8 oz (230 g) Bittersweet Chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, finely chopped
1 Cup (250 g) Heavy Cream
4 Tbsp (2 oz/60 g) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

Method

Place the chocolate in a bowl that's large enough to hold the ingredients and keep it close at hand. Bring the cream to a full boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. While the cream is coming to the boil, work the butter with a rubber spatula until it is very soft and creamy. Keep the butter aside for the moment.

While the cream is at the boil, remove the pan from the heat and, working with the rubber spatula, gently stir the cream into the chocolate. Start stirring in the center of the mixture and work your way out in widening concentric circles. Continue to stir-without creating bubbles-until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Leave the bowl on the counter for a minute or two to cool the mixture down a little before adding the butter.

Add the butter to the mixture in two additions, mixing with the spatula from the center of the mixture out in widening concentric circles. When the butter is fully incorporated, the ganache should be smooth and glossy. Depending on what you're making with the ganache, you can use it now, leave it on the counter to set to a spreadable or pipeable consistency ( a process that could take over an hour, depending on your room's temperature) or chill it in the refrigerator, stirring now and then. (If the ganache chills too much and becomes too firm, you can give it a very quick zap in the microwave to bring it back to the desired consistency, or just let it stand at room temperature.)