Cherry & fig leaf macarons

We’re going to make the perfect macarons! I’m going to show you how to make almond macarons with a cherry ganache, homemade cherry chocolate and fig leaf pate de fruit.

The cherry ganache

500 g	frozen cherries
50 g	sugar
210 g	white chocolate
30 g	butter
2 g	flaky salt
30 g	cream 35%

Mix the frozen cherries with the sugar. Now cover the pan with a lid and bring this to a simmer on a low heat. By doing this you will separate the liquids from the solids. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes. After that let it drain on a fine sieve. I always leave it overnight to insure you don’t waste a single drop. The next day you can spread the drained cherries on a tray. Now dry completely them at 50 degrees Celsius. You’ll need these later for another recipe. Back to the ganache pour the cherry broth into a pan and reduce it till you’re left with 90 grams of broth. Then transfer the white chocolate into a bowl and add the boiling reduced cherry broth. Also add the butter, the flaky salt and the cream. Blend it till smooth and fully emulsified. Then transfer it into a piping bag that’s fitted with a round nozzle and keep it out of the fridge for later.

The fig leaf pate de fruit

400 g	apple juice
50 g	cleaned fig leaves
35 g	sugar
10 g	pectine jaune
75 g	glucose
230 g	sugar
1.5 g	citruc acid
15 g	water

Pour the apple juice into a measuring cup. Then remove the core from some fig leaves. In total you need 50 grams of cleaned leaves. Now add the leaves to the juice and blend it till smooth. It’s going to take some time, but the color needs to be dark green for the best result. Then pass the juice through a fine sieve. You need 375 grams. Bring it to a boil. Meanwhile mix the 35 grams of sugar with the pectin jaune. Mixing the pectin with the sugar will ensure no lumps will form when you add it to the liquid. Once the juice is boiling while stirring add the pectin sugar. Let this boil for 2 minutes. Then add the glucose with the 230 grams of sugar and heat it up till the temperature is 108 degrees Celsius. Stir it every now and then to prevent it from burning. Now mix the citric acid with the water and once the pate de fruit has reached the 108 degrees Celsius add the citric acid liquid. Mix it well and bring it to a boil once more. Then add a thin layer of baking spray to a tray and pour the pate de fruit in there. Make sure it’s level and let it set out of fridge. This is going to take a couple of hours.

100 g	sugar
2 g	citric acid

Meanwhile mix the sugar with the citric acid. When the pate de fruit has set sprinkle the citric acid sugar on top and gently take it out of the tray. Now sprinkle the other side with the sugar as well and then cut it to the desired size. Clean your knife every couple of cuts to insure you get an even end result. Later on where going to cut it with a round cutter, but I also needed some pate de fruit to serve on it’s own. For me this is the perfect size. Now make sure it’s covered all around and then it’s ready to be used! Then place them on a tray or in a container and keep them airtight at room temperature for later.

The macarons

150 g	fine almond powder
150 g	icing sugar
1 g	purple coloring powder
60 g	egg white
150 g	sugar
40 g	water
55 g	egg white

Mix the fine almond powder with the icing sugar, the purple coloring powder and the 60 grams of egg white. Mix it well till you get an even thick paste. Then cover it and set it aside for later. Now mix the sugar with the water and heat it up till the temperature is 121 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile pour the 55 grams of egg white into a mixing bowl and start beating it when the sugar syrup is 105 degrees Celsius. Once the syrup has the right temperature and the egg whites are fluffy and firm slowly add the hot syrup to the bowl. Then beat it for 10 minutes till it’s at room temperature. Now add a third of the meringue to the almond paste and fold it in. Then add the remaining meringue and gently fold it in as well. Be gentle so you don’t overmix the batter. You can also undermix the batter, for macarons consistency is key! It needs to be slightly runny. Then transfer it into a piping bag that’s fitted with a small round nozzle. After that pipe your macarons on a silicon sheet that’s laying on a metal tray. Leaves some space in between the macarons and twist the tip while piping to get an even result. Then directly bake them at 150 degrees Celsius for 16 minutes. If the macarons don’t rise it means you have overmixed the batter. If the macarons crack open it means you have undermixed the batter. Now let them cool down on the metal tray. The heat from the tray will insure you get a beautiful flat bottom. Then gently remove the macarons and keep them dry and covered for later.

The cherry chocolate

200 g	cacao butter
75 g	sugar
100 g	milk powder
75 g	the dried cherries

We need the dried cherries we made before. First melt the cacao butter on a low heat. Then pour it into a wet grinder and turn it on. Also add the sugar, the milk powder and the dried cherries. Now let it grind for at least 8 hours. Because the cherries can be quite sticky I had to grind it for 12 hours, but if you use freeze dried cherries or powder it’s done much faster. Once the chocolate is completely smooth you know it’s done. Then we need to temper the chocolate. For that pour four fifth of the hot chocolate on your worktop and while moving it with a big pallet knife cool it down till it’s 27 degrees Celsius. We temper the chocolate for a shiny finish, a satisfying snap when broken, it prevents the chocolate from easily melting and the chocolate will shrink slightly.

Then transfer the chocolate back into the bowl and mix it well till it has a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. Now pipe a little bit of the chocolate into a slightly curved mold and press the macaron shells in there. I had these custom made by Mold Brothers. Let it set for at least an hour. With the remaining chocolate I made my own chocolate bars. Once the chocolate has set gently remove the macarons from the mold. Just look at that awesome cherry pattern! Now pipe the ganache on the outside of the macaron and fill the center with the pate de fruit. Like I said before I cut it with a small round cutter. Then place a macaron shell with the chocolate on top and press it slightly so they stick together. Now they’re ready to be served! I serve them on some toasted cru de cacao!