International Cuisine Recipes: Black Cherry Macarons

Black Cherry Macarons

Who else agrees with me that these macs look like little pots of make-up? They started off flat pink and red for some Valentine’s macarons, but then I glammed up a few with some shimmer and shine for added drama. For the filling, I wanted something equally dark and dramatic so I went with a sour cherry and dark chocolate ganache.

These glam macs are pulling double duties as Valentine’s macarons and celebratory macarons because I finally turned in my manuscript! The book has been such a labor of love. It’s taken me a little longer than I wanted, but I’m so pleased with the recipes and I think you guys will be too. It’s set for release Fall 2017, stay tune for more details!
Until then, yay to being off of the crazy train and back to a normal life!

Quick note on the recipe, up until now, I’ve only shared the French method, but today I’m sharing the Italian method. I actually prefer the latter because it seems more stable and more error-proof against hollows. Here are few additional notes and tips against hollows.

KNOW YOUR OVEN. This means buy an oven thermometer to check for an accurate reading. This sounds simple, but know and experiment with your oven. For example, I have a bottom heating oven, as a result I bake on two baking sheets to insulate the heat. But when I bake in a convection oven I don’t need to double up pans like that.
Parchment vs. Silpat: I prefer Silpats because they guarantee a flat even bottom where parchment can sometimes cause the bottom of the shells to have a slight wave from the parchment rippling (even when I’ve tried spraying non-stick down under the paper to keep it flat).
Egg whites: I don’t age them, but I do make sure they are room temperature. Additionally, I’m not sure what the science is but the Italian method of heating the egg whites definitely seems to make a difference in stabilizing the egg whites for the meringue portion. With the Italian method, I don’t notice the the little bubbles that need to be rapped out or individually popped (Seriously, who has time to sit there and poke out every little bubble??).
Macronage: The folding – do it with intention. Save the gentle folding for sponge cakes. The idea here is to beat the air out of the batter. The batter is ready when it resembles thick cake batter.
Resting: I don’t rest or skin whether I’m using the French or Italian method. I fold, pipe and bake right away.
Baking: I bake one tray at a time, because my oven heats from the bottom. When using a convection oven, I’m able to bake two trays at a time.