While true Fall doesn't really visit Northern California until after one final heatwave around the end of October, we are seeing the usual yearly patterns that fool me into thinking Fall is officially here: apples found on trees all over the neighborhood and at my local farmers' market; pumpkin spice everything everywhere; the sounds of the high school marching band and football games beaming from the other side of my fence as I pick ripe figs off my tree; and the cool and breezy, yet sunny days. This is also the time of year I pull ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, mace, allspice, and cloves from my spice rack. Sticking to tradition, I used most of these spices for my latest creation: spiced apple and salted caramel macarons.
While I make most of my macarons using a Swiss meringue method using proportions that I have tested and tested... and tested until they gave me the most consistent and delicious results, I decided to opt for an Italian meringue method for this experiment, as I find it to be a little more forgiving when adding a wetter flavoring, like Amoretti Artisan, to the macaronage.
If you decide to try this recipe, be ready for your kitchen to smell amazing.
Macaron Shells (about 20-30 pairs, depending on size):
Ingredients
- Egg whites (for the meringue): 60 grams
- Granulated Sugar (for the meringue): 150 grams
- Water (for the meringue): 37 grams
- Cream of Tartar (for the meringue-optional): pinch
- Almond Flour (I like Costco brand): 150 grams
- Egg whites (boxed are okay): 60 grams
- Confectioner's Sugar: 150 grams
- Amoretti Apple Pie Natural Artisan Flavoring: 1 tsp
- Penzeys Apple Pie Spice
Setting Up
As a bit of added insurance, you may set out your aged egg whites overnight so they are at room temperature, but I have found having this extra step doesn't really make a difference in the result. I get the same result from whites straight out of the refrigerator. Set your oven to 285 degrees F Convection (this can vary by oven).
Making the Almond Paste
Sift 150 grams of Confectioner's Sugar and 150 grams Almond Flour into a large bowl. You may, instead, run it through a food process for a few pulses, but not so much that it turns to almond butter. The goal is to get the texture to be fine, which will result in a smoother top. Add 60 grams of egg whites, a tsp of Amoretti Apple Pie Artisan, and mix thoroughly into a paste consistency. Add a drop or two of gel food coloring at your own risk on this one. I will cover coloring your macaron shells in a later post, but prefer to avoid coloring in this recipe since it can throw off the results.
Making the Meringue
Place the granulated sugar and water in a saucepan with a candy or instant read thermometer attached, and bring to 242 degrees F. Don't feel the need to stir it around, as it will increase the chances of crystallization. As the sugar is beginning to dissolve, wipe the inside of your stand mixer's bowl and whisk with vinegar to ensure all traces of oil are gone. Add 60 grams of egg whites and a pinch of Cream of Tartar (optional). Once the sugar gets to 236 degrees F, turn your mixer on medium low speed to beat your egg whites into soft, frothy peaks. Once the sugar reaches 242 degrees F, turn your mixer on high and carefully stream the sugar down the side of the mixing bowl, between the bowl and the whisk. Once all the sugar is poured in, turn the mixer on high speed for about two minutes. Then decrease the speed to around medium high until your mixing bowl is warm to the touch and your meringue has increased in volume, and formed glossy, stiff peaks.
Mixing the Macaronage
Add half of the meringue to the almond paste and fold in with a spatula until the color is consistent and there are no streaks of meringue. Then add the remaining half of meringue and fold into the macaronage right until it flows off the spatula in a ribbon streak. Be careful not to over mix when is slips right off of the spatula too easily. I find a good test is to not only see how the macaronage glides off the spatula, but how long it smooths out in the bowl. If it takes about 15 seconds to smooth out, you are good to go. Anything quicker, and you likely over-mixed. Too little, you will get a lumpy end result. That said, slightly under-mixing is the lesser of the two macaronage mixing evils. There are tons of video tutorials on YouTube that show you exactly for what you should be aiming, as well as posts that offer troubleshooting advice and the why behind properly mixing macaronage.
Piping and Baking
Line your baking tray with parchment, Teflon sheets, or a Silpat. I prefer Silpat, as I get a smoother bottom that peels off more easily. I find that moisture seeps into the parchment paper, resulting in wrinkly looking bottoms, and the shells' feet tend to burn off when I use Teflon sheets. Pour your macaronage in a piping bag and pipe 2-3 inch rounds on your lined baking tray. You want to leave about a half inch of space between each piped round. Once you have piped your tray, firmly drop the tray on the counter several times to work out any air bubbles, using a toothpick or scribe to pop any remaining. Lightly dust with piped macaronage with Apple Pie Spice. Let shells dry until a film forms where none will stick to your finger when gently touched. While many recipes will insist you don't have to do this step, you MUST with this one, as the Artisan flavoring throws off the delicate balance of wet and dry ingredients, and I find that they will crack during baking if this important stage of letting the shells dry out a little is skipped.
Bake one tray at a time in on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes. Even though I use convection, I rotate the pan half-way through for extra insurance. Once the shells don't wobble way from the feet when slightly wiggled, they may be removed from the oven to cool completely. Once cooled, pair shells and fill with slightly warm, but not too hot to handle, caramel filling. Let mature overnight in the refrigerator or freezer, and bring to room temperature before serving. If stored in the refrigerator, these should last you a few days. Storing in the freezer will extend their life to a few months.
Salted Caramel Filling (adapted from Veena Azmanov)
- Brown Sugar: 100 grams
- Light Corn Syrup: 60 ml (around 1/4 C)
- Unsalted Butter: 60 grams
- Condensed Milk: one 13.9 ounce can
- Vanilla Extract: 2 tsp
- A generous pinch of Kosher salt
