MACAROONS
Macaroons, or maccarone, are the small, meringue based cookies made of almond flour (or rather, ground almond) that can be eaten as they are or can be layered with some nice filling in-between, as a sandwich. Macaroons or the filling can be flavored in many ways, so there are several possibilities to make varieties of these cakes. Here's a vanilla flavored sort.
For about 30 small macaroons you will need:
80 g/2.7 oz ground almonds, that is - finely ground, not coarse
120 g/4 oz powder sugar
seeds from 1 vanilla pod, or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg white
1/2 tbsp flour
For the filling you can use:
60 g/2 oz creme fraiche
60 g/2 oz mascarpone
60 g/2 fl oz double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
To make the macaroons, mix ground almonds with sugar, flour, and vanilla seeds thoroughly. Beat the egg white to firm peaks then fold it together with the almond mixture. You will get a tough mass that now must be piped out onto a baking paper that you place on a baking plate. Use a fairly big opening on the piping bag, I usually don't even use a nozzle just pipe the mass through an open bag since it is the fastest way. Pipe out small circles of macaroon dough, then smooth out the surface with a wet spoon. Let them stand for about 30 minutes so they develop a fine shining surface. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 150 C/300 F. Bake the macaroons for about 25 minutes, they should be crisp on the outside and slightly chewy in the middle. Once they are baked, remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack to allow for good air circulation. They can be stored for about 3 days in a sealed container.
To make the filling, just mix all the ingredients, that is creme fraiche, mascarpone, and vanilla extract, and then add the whipped double cream. Put into refrigerator to let it firm up somehow. Then plate out the filling in-between two macaroons, and serve.