February 15, 2014
Rob
43

Recipe: Pistachio macarons (with Italian meringue)

Some time ago I decided to make green macarons and so I bought a powdered green colouring (which for some reason is orange until it melts in a liquid).

Several months later, I finally made them! Don’t know why I waited so long but here they are! 😀

Pistachio macarons 04

This recipe, taken from Christophe Felder’s book “Pâtisserie!”, is for around 80 pistachio macaron shells (so 40 macarons) and a pistachio buttercream filling.

Recipe - Pistachio macarons - Step 42

To make them, I had to use fresh unsalted pistachios: they are not so easy to find in supermarkets (apparently the whole world likes them salted) and they’re even a bit pricey, but the result was definitely worth it. 🙂

Pistachio macarons 01

Moreover, the recipe called for pistachio paste. You can certainly find it in shops, but why buying it while RoadToPastry has a fantastic recipe for a homemade pistachio paste?

Recipe - Pistachio macarons - Step 43

So far I had only made macarons with a ganache filling, and this was the first time I tried a buttercream filling. It is not difficult at all: it’s just soft butter whipped with some sugar, ground almonds and the main ingredient, pistachios.

Pistachio macarons 12

As I already mentioned in a previous article, macarons are quite touchy and require a lot of precision and a good mastery of the technique. Nothing impossible, if you follow my step-by-step recipe below (and don’t forget reading the notes at the bottom)! 🙂

Pistachio macarons 05

 

Pistachio macarons (Italian meringue) with buttercream filling

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Pistachio macarons (Italian meringue) with buttercream filling

Ingredients

Macaron batter

200gPowdered sugar
135gAlmond flour
65gPistachios (or 65g of almond flour)
75gEgg whites (for the dry ingredients)
75gEgg whites (for the Italian meringue)
200gGranulated sugar
75gWater
Powdered green colouring (just the tip of a knife)

Pistachio buttercream filling

200gUnsalted butter (softened)
130gPowdered sugar
80gAlmond flour
60gPistachios (finely chopped)
80gPistachio paste

Directions

Macaron shells

1
Put the almond flour, powdered sugar and pistachios (if any) in a food processor and mix 2-3 times for about 10 seconds each, with at least 10 seconds of pause every time (or just sift everything well at least three times)
2
Put the dry mixture in a bowl with the first half of the egg whites and stir until you obtain a thick paste
3
In the meantime, put the granulated sugar and water in a saucepan on medium heat
4
When the sugar syrup reaches 108°C, start whipping the egg whites with the food colouring at high speed. Slow the mixer down in case soft peaks form before the syrup is ready.
5
When the sugar reaches 119°C, pour it slowly on the egg whites in a steady stream between the side of the bowl and the beater while the mixer is running
6
Continue beating at medium speed until the egg whites are completely cool. At this point, you have the so-called Italian meringue! The Italian meringue is ready for macarons when it forms a soft peak usually called "bec d'oiseau" ("bird's beak").
7
Using a spatula, fold in a third of the meringue into the macaron paste
8
Macaronage: carefully fold in the remaining meringue with an upward movement that starts from the centre and reaches the border of the bowl; at the same time, make sure you slightly turn the bowl in the opposite direction of the spatula
9
The batter is ready when it becomes shiny and it is not too thick nor too runny (achieving the right consistency is actually the hardest part of making macarons). You can check if the batter is ready by passing the spatula vertically in it: if the batter return to its initial position in about 5 seconds, it's ready.
10
Optional: to make sure the parchment paper doesn't move when you pipe the macarons, pipe some "dots" of batter in the four corners of the pan
11
Hold vertically a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip and pipe the batter into small rounds (about 3-4cm each) on paper-lined sheet pans. (See method in the notes)
12
Lift the pan 20cm above the table with two hands and let it drop twice (or tap it a couple of times on the bottom)
13
Sprinkle some coarsely chopped pistachios on half of the macaron shells (optional). Let the piped batter sit at room temperature for 20-40 minutes, then bake in an oven preheated at 150° for 13-16 minutes.

Pistachio cream filling

14
Whisk the softened butter vigorously
15
Add the sifted powdered sugar...
16
...and whisk again to incorporate it
17
Add the almond flour
18
Add the finely chopped pistachios
19
Finally add the pistachio paste and whisk to incorporate everything

Assembling the macarons

20
Cool the macarons completely before removing them from the pan. Press the interior of the baked shells gently in the centre (without crushing them!) in order to make more room for the filling
21
Pipe the pistachio cream filling in the middle of a shell
22
Sandwich two shells together and store for 24 hours in the fridge before serving

Note

  • When the food processor is in action, its blades will heat the almond flour and pistachios: for this reason it is very important to work with chilled ingredients and to avoid overheating them by pausing the processor regularly
  • Macarons require precision in terms of quantities, technique and also temperature: use a chilled almond flour, room temperature egg whites and check the sugar syrup temperature with a thermometer (yes you really need it, but it just costs about 15€)
  • Based on personal experience, silicone mats are not the best choice for macarons as the "crown" at the bottom might not develop well; I prefer the good old parchment paper in this case
  • To pipe the batter, keep the pastry bag vertically and mechanically apply the following technique: 1) Pipe enough batter - 2) Stop piping - 3) Draw a round on top of the piped macaron and quickly lift the piping bag vertically at the same time
  • For best results, pipe the macarons alternately in the pan, like in the pictures
  • It is possible to scale this recipe, but be careful when scaling down since it can be very difficult to whip well less than 60g of egg whites
  • Macarons need to absorb humidity for at least one day in the fridge . Then they can keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge and can be frozen as well for several months.

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