I've been meaning to post about my experiments in making some black sesame flavored macarons after my first successful batch of macarons. These don't have the colorful charm that most French macrons have, but the taste is seriously out of this world!
You can get pre-ground black sesame packs at most Asian grocery stores. It's easy, you just have to memorize whatever character and proper pronunciation for black sesame depending on what type of Asian grocery store you go:
Japanese store, ask for "GOMA"胡麻
Chinese store, ask for "HEI-ZHI-MA" 黑芝麻
Korean store, ask for "HEUGIMJA" 흑임자
Cantonese store, ask for.....
Or you can just ask someone who can speak english or get it at any grocery store...that would probably make things a little easier. :P
Black Sesame Macarons recipe:
I got it from Martha Stewart, but altered it a little so the macarons arent' too sweet and won't get burn:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup finely ground blanched almonds ( I get Bob's Red Mill pre-ground almond flour here.)
- 1/4 cup finely ground black sesame
- 6 tablespoons fresh egg whites (from about 3 extra-large eggs)
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds and black sesame. Sift it couple of times, so there's less clumping. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull.
- Double stack the tray (so it doesn't burn on the bottom) and then bake with the door of the oven slightly ajar held open with a water soaked wooden spoon or metal spoon. Bake for 5-6 minutes, turn the tray and bake for another 5-6 minutes if your oven bakes unevenly.
- Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. If it's sticking to the paper, spray the bottom of the paper with water. This will help peel it off easier. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Butter Cream Filling:
This is pretty much the same, make the butter cream and then add ground sesame. This yields more filling than the amount of macarons. So I take third of the filling, and mix half cup of ground sesame. You can save the rest for another batch or make different flavors with it.
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar. Set the mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and warm mixture, whisking often, until it feels warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer bowl to the mixer, and fit with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until mixture is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, and continue mixing until butter is thoroughly incorporated. The filling can be kept, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before stirring.
- To fill the macaroons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macaroons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macaroons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges.
All this talk about macarons is making me wanna make them and of course....eat them too! God. I love them!!