Monthly archive for June 2009

Ganache Mousse Macaron Sandwich Cookies

Macaron Sandwich

So, what do you do when you have 5-6 egg whites sitting in your fridge and waiting to be used up before they go bad? Right! You make Helen’s Macaron sandwich cookies! Helen is a baking whiz. And not only baking; she is also a photography whiz with so much to learn from. I literally want to bake everything I see on her blog – everything is so neatly made and presented. I made macaron sandwich cookies using Helen’s recipe for meringue macarons and they came out tasting so good (I will say they looked good too only after Helen’s approval:). I turned them into cute little sandwiches by filling them with ganache mousse. Next time I am going to try some of Helen’s filling choices  she offers in the magazine and on her blog. They all sound too good to miss to me.

In the meantime, here’s the recipe for ganache filled macaron sandwiches. Enjoy!

Thank you, Helen, for the wonderful recipe!

GANACHE MOUSSE MACARON SANDWICH COOKIES

Basic French Merengue Macaron recipe by Helene of Tartelette. Published in Desserts Magazine – slightly adapted
Ganache Mousse recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Baking

Makes about 22 sandwiches

For the Merengue Macarons:

5 large or 6 small egg whites (or 200 g weighed), at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1  1/2  cup (220 g) blanlched skinned almonds, whole
4 cups (400 g) powdered sugar

For the Ganache Mousse:
115 g semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup (2 fl oz / 60 ml) milk
1/4 cup (4 fl oz / 125 ml) heavy cream

First, prepare the Ganache Mousse.

Ganache Mousse

1. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the milk just to a boil. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Stir with a wire whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

2. In a clean bowl, usin ga  balloon whisk, whop the cream just until soft peaks form.

3. Gently fold the cream into the chocolate just until the two mixtures are incorporated. Do not overfold, or the filling will be gritty. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm and spreadable, about 1 hour, or for up to 3 days.

Now, prepare the meringue macarons.

Meringue Macarons

1. In a bowl, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar and continue beating until you obtain a glossy meringue.

2. Finely grind the skinned almonds in a food processor. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar and stir to mix. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

3.    Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

4. Preheat the oven to 300F (150C). Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for about 15 minutes, until they have changed their color slightly. Do not overbake. Let them cool completely before filling.

Assembling
Spread a thin layer of the ganache (about 1 rounded teaspoon) over the cookie bottoms. Press a plain cookie onto the ganache mousse. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.