Hold your seat tight as here comes the very first recipe of macarons on Pastry Workshop! It took me a while to finally have the guts to dive into the world of macarons a little bit more. I used to find macarons quite bland and too sweet, not something I wanted to taste too often. I guess I just didn’t taste the right ones as when I finally had the chance to see them done by Diego Lozano and tasted them, I was hooked. They were moist, fragrant, not overly sweet and simply melt-in-your-mouth! From all the varieties he’s made, there’s one that totally crawled under my skin – basil! Basil macarons are amazing! But imagine having them combined with raspberry! Pure joy for your taste buds!

Basil Raspberry Macarons – fragrant, delicious, moist, beautiful!

These basil raspberry macarons are so surprising that one won’t be enough to tell why they are so good or so fragrant! The basil aroma is just the right amount so when you bite into them, it floods your taste buds with its intensity and then it slowly leaves room for the tangy raspberry to wash off the feel and make room for one more macarons! It’s a quite addictive combination of flavors, one that yields a lovely color contrast as well!

The recipe below belongs to the one and only Pierre Herme. It’s one of the two recipes (together with Diego Lozano’s) that worked in my home oven. The recipe uses Italian meringue as a base and the meringue in itself is the most stable one so the rate of success with this particular ingredient list is quite high.

Basil Raspberry Macarons Print Recipe Pin Recipe Servings: 35 pieces Author: Olguta - Pastry Workshop Ingredients Macaron shells: 150 g almond flour

150 g powdered sugar

55 g egg whites A

55 g egg whites B

150 g white sugar

37 ml water

Powder food coloring Basil ganache: 190 g white chocolate

150 ml heavy cream

10 g fresh basil leaves

25 g cocoa butter

50 g butter softened Raspberry jam: 150 g seedless raspberry puree

20 g glucose syrup

5 g pectin NH

35 g white sugar

5 ml lemon juice Instructions Macaron shells: Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar twice. Place aside in a bowl. Reserve the egg whites A next to the bowl of dry ingredients.

Combine the white sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, begin whipping the egg whites B until foamy. When the sugar syrup reaches 119C, start pouring it over the egg whites B, mixing all the time while pouring. Continue mixing until the meringue cools down slightly and it looks stiff and glossy. Add the food coloring and mix well.

Mix the dry ingredients with the reserved egg whites (A) to form a paste.

Add 1 tablespoon of meringue into this paste and mix well then add the remaining meringue and mix carefully until the batter is thick, but runs off the spatula into a ribbon like stream. That's how we know the batter is ready to pipe and bake!

Spoon the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a small round pastry tip then pipe small (or larger) macarons on a silicone baking mat.

Gently tap the baking tray on your countertop to remove air bubbles then allow to dry at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on weather and temperature. You know they are ready to bake when the surface of each macaron has formed a skin, if you touch gently, the macaron batter won't stick to your fingertip.

Bake the macarons in the preheated oven at 130F with the fan on for 15-20 minutes.

When done, remove from the oven and allow them to cool down in the pan. Basil ganache: Combine the chocolate and cocoa butter in a bowl.

Pour the heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to the boiling point. Add the basil leaves and remove from heat.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to infuse for 10 minutes then blend with a hand blender.

Strain the heavy cream through a fine sieve then heat the cream once again to the boiling point.

Pour the cream over the chocolate. Allow to rest for 2 minutes then blend well.

Allow the ganache to come to 40C then add the butter and blend until smooth and creamy.

Cover the ganache with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Raspberry jam: Combine the raspberry puree and glucose in a small pot and heat to 40C.

Mix the sugar with the pectin NH then add it to the puree pot and mix well. Bring to a boil then cook for 2 minutes from the moment it begins to boil.

Add the lemon juice and remove from heat.

Allow to cool down to room temperature, covered with plastic wrap. To finish the macarons: Pair the macarons shells two by two, considering their shape and size.

Spoon the ganache and jam into two small pastry bags.

Pipe an outer layer of ganache on the macarons. Fill the center with raspberry jam then cover with another macaron and press gently to make sure they're sandwiched.

Store in the fridge for 24 hours before serving. Tried this recipe? Mention @olguta_oana or tag #pastryworkshop

ROMANIAN

Lume, lume, iata prima reteta de macarons pe Pastry Workshop! V-am facut sa asteptati ceva timp, stiu, dar va promit ca a meritat! Caci reteta de mai jos e absolut delicioasa! Cojile ies minunate, iar crema… oh crema e angelica! Aroma intensa de busuioc, zmeura dulce-acrisoara si delicat parfumata fac casa excelenta, astfel incat acesti macarons se topesc in gura!

Recunosc ca daca ma intreba cineva acum cateva luni daca imi plac macarons, as fi zis ca nu. Dar banuiesc ca nu mancasem macarons de unde trebuie caci in momentul in care i-am gustat pe cei facuti de Diego Lozano in cadrul masterclass-ului, am avut revelatia texturii macaron-ului perfect! Inca incerc sa reproduc exact acea dulceata, acea umiditate si textura pe care le-am gustat atunci!

Incercarea de azi e timida, foarte timida, dar e un inceput bun. Reteta folosita de mine apartine lui Pierre Herme si foloseste ca baza o bezea italiana foarte stabila. Dupa suficiente incercari ratate, am ajuns la concluzia ca secretul consta in cuptor. Asa incat temperaturile date de mine astazi ar trebui luate ca ghid de plecare – va recomand sa faceti cateva incercari cu diverse temperaturi si pozitii ale tavii in cuptor pana ajungeti la un rezultat care sa va satisfaca.

Tineti minte insa ca un macaron perfect are un piciorus frumos, vizibil, o crusta usor crocant, care se sparge cu usurinta cand musti si un interior umed, cremos, aromat, care se musca usor si se topeste in gura!

Nu indraznesc insa sa va dau sfaturi pentru a realiza macarons perfect, e un proces de invatare si pentru mine, asa ca va propun sa parcurgem impreuna acest drum. Va invit sa impartasiti cu mine experienta voastra cu aceste mici minuni colorate in sectiune de comentarii de mai jos! 🙂