Raspberry Macarons - Italian Meringue :: Home Cooking Adventure

Prepare white chocolate raspberry filling. Place raspberries and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickens and remove from heat. Sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside. Place the sieved raspberry jam, cream and chocolate in a small saucepan. Place over low heat to melt the chocolate. Add freeze dried raspberries and red food coloring if used. Transfer to a small bowl, let cool completely and refrigerate before using. Prepare the macaron shells. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about ½ inch, 1 cm) ready. Preheat oven to 300F (150C). Grind together the powdered sugar with almond powder and freeze-dried raspberries, using a food processor, to obtain a fine powder. Sift through a sieve into large bowl. In a small bowl place 55g egg whites and a pinch of red food coloring. Beat together until well combined. Pour the whites over the sieved almonds. Place the other 55g egg whites and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside until you prepare the sugar syrup. In a small saucepan combine granulated sugar with water and place on medium heat. Using a candy thermometer measure syrup temperature. When it reaches 230 F (112C) start whipping the egg whites. When the syrup reaches 244F (118C) pour it over the whipped egg whites while mixing continuously. Continue beating until the bowl has cooled slightly, and glossy stiff peaks have formed. Add the whipped whites over the almonds mixture and using a rubber or silicone spatula gently fold in until combined and smooth. Work the batter until it flows in very thick ribbons when the spatula is lifted. Transfer the mixture to the piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1 cm) plain tip. Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (2.5 cm) circles, evenly spaced one-inch (2 cm) apart. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons and to remove air bubbles. Bake for 20-24 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from baking sheet. Place the raspberry and white chocolate filling into a piping bag and spread on the inside of the macarons and sandwich them together. Refrigerate for at at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors. Serve macarons at room temperature.