Macarons (Donna Hay packet mix)

Yes, lets just say straight up that it's a packet mix, I was curious to see if a packet mix could be any good. Frankly if Donna Hay couldn't pull it off then no-one can. That woman is a goddamn marvel.

The Macarons looked good on the cover too, virginal white with some exceedingly naughty looking ganache in between. Oh Stop it!

What is the difference between a macaroon and macaron, is it just fancy pretentious spelling? Or is one actually correct and the other some bastardised Anglo version, it's generally the way it goes.

The box is sort of gratifyingly heavy too, with an expensive look matched only by it's price. I forget what it cost, but more than White Wings.

I have wanted to make macarons before but they look fiddly and like you need a piping bag and I find that the more that eggs are involved the higher the bad mojo for me. So actually this was a blessing in a blue box.

There are three packets inside the box, the "egg mix", the almond mix and the chocolate. I rip open the egg mix with panache, wanting to inject some sense of risk into this process.  It begins.

You add 1/4 of a cup of warm water to the egg mix and then let it sit for 4 minutes.

          From this..                             To This...

Then you beat the bejesus out of it. As above. It actually sort of looks like egg whites, so I guess it's just a powdered version. Do I want to know how they do that? I do not. Beats up pretty though.

Next, folding. Oh how I hate folding. This is the reason why I think that every time I try to make something  light and fluffy it FAILS. I am too overzealous for the genteel touch required in folding. I'm like "They want folding? I will fold the SHIT out of this". I always get too caught up in making sure that it's actually all mixed, but I don't think that's what they mean, they use the word "gently" on the box. I always get nervous when I have to fold. Whenever I see TV cooks like are all light fingered and loose-wristed and saying things like "and just a quick fold, like this". And somehow what they have looks light and fluffy and so happy it could cry, whereas what I have looks like it just spent 10 years selling crack on the streets. Anyway, I know that I'm just holding out on the inevitable folding step.

For all intents and purposes, folded.

That's my mix almost completely folded, but there is still like actual clumps of almond mix. I folded it more, and then a bit more. Upshot - I may have folded it too much. They looked a bit flat at the end. You live and learn, apparently. Well, not me, because I always do that, but others, others live and learn.

I made teaspoon sized blobs on trays and then left them for 10 mins to have a good think.

    This was their spreading time. Time for them.

Then into the oven and a nervous 12 mins for me. I admit that I checked them once, although eggy things are intensely private and don't usually like you checking them, or poking at them, which I also did.

I think that I pulled them out at the right time though. Some of them had a sort of middle section eruption and others were just flat and a bit puffed. Both were charmingly eccentric.

 Notice odd schism in far right hand corner macaron

The ganache was easy, just melt your chocolate and cream together and BOOM! Not really, there are no explosions, they just mix silently together and then patiently sit in the pot until needed. I believe that I've mentioned before that ganache makes everything better and it really does.

 Making everything better, just by existing.

Once the macarons had cooled I sandwiched them together. I had made a sort of calculation error because I had an extra one, with no special friend to be sandwiched with. Before that single macaron could get me down re my own single status I ate it. That's how to deal with pesky lonely looking egg based cookie treats.

 Admit it, they look good.

They're yummy. I have to say it, and... I'm recommending the packet mix. There you go, words I never thought I'd blog. Which is not a stretch because until 3 months ago I never thought I'd blog about food. I made macrons people, or macaroons, either way - TICK.

*Update: a Macaroon is a biscuit thing with coconut in it and a Macaron is the lovely light almondy thing that I detail above. Thanks to Auntie Lee and Meredith for that info. :)