Parma violet macarons

Well here we go again, a large absence on my part……..oops x I think I just have to accept that I am not going to blog as much over the summer period. Lots of very exciting things going on to keep me distracted. But I will try to put up the odd post here and there x

Today is a good one, I’ve been working on this macaron recipe for a while now to get it right and I’m pleased to finally be sharing it with you all now.

Parma violets are a firm favourite from my childhood and I could smell them all day, the smell is so amazing!! So I had to find a way to incorporate them in to a recipe!! I hope you like these as much as I do!! 🙂 x

Ingredients: Shells

• 200g icing sugar
• 200g ground almonds
• 80ml water
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 x 80g egg whites (approximately the egg whites of 4 large eggs)
• 1tsp violet flavouring
• food colouring
• Crystallised violet petals

Filling:

• 200ml Double cream
• 1tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Mix the icing sugar and ground almonds together thoroughly until you have a fine, even powder. Sieve and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, bring the water and the caster sugar to the boil. Use a thermometer to ensure that the temperature of the syrup does not exceed 110ºC. This is very important.
3. Whisk half the egg whites until they form soft peaks, not too stiff.
4. Decrease the speed of the whisk, then, still whisking, pour the sugar syrup over the egg whites in a thin line. Continue whisking until the mixture has almost cooled, this will take a while and will be easier in a food mixer.
5. Mix the other half of the egg whites (unbeaten) with the sugar and almond base to get a thick paste.
6. Add the food colouring to the almond paste, this allows the colour to be mixed in well without overworking the meringue mix (as this can sometimes have disastrous consequences). Then add the violet flavouring.
7. Add a little of the meringue to the almond paste with a flexible spatula and stir in with regular motion from the bottom towards the top and from the edges towards the centre of the bowl. Add the rest of the meringue in one go and mix in gently. This is a crucial step: it is the art of making macarons. The consistency of the macaron mix should be smooth, even and runny.
8. Fill a piping bag with macaron mix and pipe small even discs of mix on to a tray covered with grease proof paper. Add crystallised petals to the top of half of the shells (you may want to choose the best half for this….heehee). Lightly tap the bottom of the tray on the work surface to remove any small air bubbles. Put the tray aside for 1 hour to allow the shells to dry, then bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 145ºC (or fan assited oven 125ºC).
9. Immediately on taking the macaron shells out of the oven, slide the greaseproof paper on to a lightly dampened surface. This will stop them over cooking and make them easier to remove from the paper.
10. The shells should be smooth and glossy with a good colour.

Filling:

1. Whisk the double cream and vanilla extract in a bowl until it thickens sufficiently.
2. Fill a piping bag and squeeze a good amount on to the bottom layer shells and the sandwich the upper layer on.