Macarons à la framboise

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 150 g almonds, peeled, very finely ground
• 150 g powdered sugar
• 110 g protein
• 150 g sugar, fine
• 75 ml water
• possibly food coloring, red, definitely powder
• 500 g raspberries, frozen, thawed or fresh
• 300 g sugar
• 7 ½ g pectin, or 8 g agar-agar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 12 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 42 minutes

Almond macaroons with raspberry filling

First, prepare the raspberry jelly. Purée the raspberries, pass them through a sieve, and bring to a boil in a saucepan with the sugar, lemon juice, and gelling agent, stirring constantly. Then simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish, place plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let it set in the refrigerator. For the almond dough, mix the almonds with the icing sugar, then sift it into a bowl. Divide the egg whites into two 55g portions. If using food coloring, mix one portion of the egg whites with it. Then add this to the almond-icing sugar mix and do not mix! For the Italian meringue, place the other portion of the egg whites in a bowl and prepare a hand mixer. Make a syrup from the caster sugar and water. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, checking with a thermometer. Remove from the heat when the temperature reaches 118°C. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. During this process, carefully pour the sugar syrup in around the edges and continue beating until you have a shiny, compact peak that is only lukewarm. Now add this to the almond-sugar-egg white mixture and fold in until everything is well combined and the batter flows smoothly from the spoon. Line a baking tray with baking paper, fill a piping nozzle with the batter and pipe small circles of about 3cm in diameter. This is easiest if you hold the piping nozzle vertically and close to the tray and quickly pull it upwards at the end. Carefully tap the baking tray with the macarons on the worktop several times. The piped macarons now need to rest for 30 minutes so that a crust forms. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tray in the lower third of the oven. Bake the macarons for 12 minutes, opening and closing the oven door quickly twice. The baking time depends largely on the oven. After baking, carefully remove the baking paper with the macaron halves to the countertop and let cool. Stir the raspberry jelly thoroughly and fill it into a piping bag. Pipe generously onto one half at a time, then place the second half on top and press down lightly. The macarons should ideally rest overnight in the refrigerator before eating. Tip: It’s important to finely ground and sift the almonds and powdered sugar, not to overmix the batter, and not to use liquid food coloring, as this drastically changes the consistency of the batter. You also have to wait until the baked macarons are completely cool before removing them from the baking paper, otherwise too much batter often sticks to them. Many recipes are made without the Italian meringue, but the risk of the macarons not turning out well is much greater and, in my opinion, the baking result is considerably worse. You can also fill the macarons with various types of ganache; it’s also very decorative to dust some cocoa powder, gold powder, etc. over them before baking.