Mint Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Sometimes, there just things you won't get right the first time (read: I am speaking for myself)

Like these macarons, remember the first time I made them? See here. 

Then I made them the second and third time? Still no success... see?

The the fourth time I made it, yes!!! Finally. 

And so, after making  my first ever successful macaron batch, my hands are itching to make another batch again. There are some things I want to improve on. One is that I find it a bit sweet. But that's because I used all the 50 grams sugar. This time around, I used just 25 grams. Also, I find the texture to be gritty. My friend Joed said I need to use a food processor so the macaron will have a finer texture. I still don't have a food processor to my name so I went to the mall and looked for one. I didn't realize they were a bit expensive so I was thinking, a food processor will have to wait. But then again, I saw a food chopper that looks like a processor but much cheaper and it's 50% off! It must be fate. 

This time around, instead of making a basic macaron recipe, I made one of my all time favorite flavor combinations - mint and chocolate. Want to see how I made it?

Mint Macaron Recipe

adapted from Tartelette's Recipe from Bakerella's Blog

What we need:

90 grams aged egg whites 

25 grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams ground almonds 

1 tsp egg white powder

1/4 tsp peppermint oil

Mint food color (optional)

Here's how:
(1) Add egg white powder to the aged egg whites. Beat until foamy.

(2)  Once foamy,gradually add in granulated sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. How do you know if the meringue is stiff enough? Flip the bowl upside down. If it doesn't fall off, you're good to go. 

(3) Now, time to use my new gadget. Only, the second I began to use it, nothing happened. Oh no, I was actually contemplating on throwing the whole thing against the wall or walk all the way back to the mall to return it when my sister saw my distress. Thank heavens she's just nearby. She was the one who figured out how it works. It was not the chopper, it was me, oopsie :)

Okay I digress, I used my new gadget to process the powdered sugar and almonds. And wow it works! Here's how it looks like. Finer than my earlier macaron batches. And by the way, sift it three times after grinding it. 

(4) Fold in the meringue. 

(5) Now is the time to add in the mint food coloring. I added two drops. In hindsight, I should have used just one drop. It's too bright.

(6) Add in the mint oil as well. 

(7)  Fold and fold (and fold) until the mixture becomes sticky. 

(8) Place in a piping bag with a round tip. Or if you suddenly can't find all your big round piping tips, you can use a coupler - like I did. 

(9) Pipe the shells into the Silpat or parchment paper. Leave to rest (or sleep) for one hour.

(10) Baked the macarons for 15 minutes at 200F then for another 5-8 minutes at 350.

(11) Make the ganache for the filling. I used the ganache recipe from here. 

You'll make more than enough ganache so you can either half the recipe or just eat the rest. I opted for the latter, made my day.