Strawberry and cream macaroons
Author: Helen Doyle
Serves: 15
Ingredients
- Macaroons:
- 300g caster sugar
- 220g egg white
- 2g pink food colouring paste
- 300g icing sugar
- 300g ground almonds
- Vanilla mascarpone mousse:
- 3.5 leaves bronze gelatine
- 90g caster sugar
- 90g water
- 2 vanilla pods
- 360g mascarpone
- 747g UHT 35% fat cream
- Wild strawberry fluid gel:
- 370g wild strawberry purée
- 4g agar agar
- 74g sugar
- juice of ½ lemon
- To serve:
- fresh strawberries
Method
- For the macaroons, whisk the caster sugar and 110g of the egg white in a food mixer.
- Add colouring paste (not liquid) and set aside.
- Using the food mixer with a paddle attachment, mix icing sugar, ground almonds and remaining 110g egg white until smooth.
- Add a third of the pink meringue mixture and beat until smooth.
- Remove from the mixer and add the rest of the pink meringue mix by hand in thirds until fully incorporated.
- Pipe to desired size and rest for 15-20 mins.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins at 150C/Gas 2, turning the trays every 5 mins.
- For the mascarpone mousse, soak the gelatine in cold water.
- In a pan, boil the sugar, water and deseeded vanilla pod and add the gelatine.
- In a bowl, strain a little of the sugar water onto the mascarpone and whisk smooth then add the rest of the liquid and emulsify.
- In a separate bowl, whisk cream to soft peaks and fold into mascarpone mix.
- Pipe into moulds and freeze slowly.
- For the wild strawberry fluid gel, mix together the purée, agar agar and sugar in a pan.
- Bring to a boil, remove from heat and chill.
- Blitz in a food processor for 3 mins while adding the lemon juice.
- Pass through a fine sieve.
- To serve, put mascarpone cream onto one half of each macaroon.
- Add the gel to the centre of the cream and decorate with fresh strawberries.
- Finish with the other half of the macaroon.
