Swiss Meringue Buttercream For French Almond Macarons Food

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FOR FRENCH ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
• Attach bowl to a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; beat 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Wipe the bowl of an electric stand mixer and the whisk attachment with lemon juice to remove any trace of grease. Add sugar and egg whites to the bowl.
• Whisk sugar and egg whites together in the bowl of the stand mixer over simmering water, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140 degrees F (60 degrees C), about 10 minutes. Return bowl to the stand mixer.
• Whisk sugar-egg white mixture in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until mixture is thick, glossy, and temperature of outside of bowl is room temperature. Change attachment to the paddle attachment and continue mixing on low speed. Add butter, 1 cube at a time; mix until silky-smooth. If mixture curdles, continue mixing and it will return to smooth.
• Pour vanilla extract and sprinkle salt into butter-sugar mixture; beat until fully incorporated.

ALMOND MACARONS WITH VANILLA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• To a medium mixing bowl, add egg whites, and let sit at room temperature, uncovered, for exactly 3 hours.† Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw 1 1/2-inch circles, 2 inches apart, on parchment paper. Turn parchment paper over; set aside. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine almonds and 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, pulsing until finely ground. (Do not overprocess, or nut butter will be created. The nut particles should stay separate and dry, not clump together.) Add remaining confectioners' sugar, and process until just combined. Set aside. Using a mixer at medium-high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. (Egg whites will be thick, creamy, and shiny.) Add vanilla extract and desired amount of food coloring; mix well. Add almond mixture to egg whites, folding gently until well combined. Let batter sit for 15 minutes. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe batter into drawn circles on prepared baking sheets. Tap baking sheets vigorously on counter 5 to 7 times to release air bubbles. Let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour before baking; this will help develop macarons' signature crisp exterior when baked. (Macarons should feel dry to the touch and should not stick to finger.) Preheat oven to 275°. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let cool completely on baking sheets, then remove to airtight containers. Refrigerate until ready to fill and serve. Place Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream in pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe mixture onto flat side of macaron, and top with another macaron, flat sides together, pushing down gently and twisting slightly so that filling will spread to edges. Repeat with remaining macarons and filling.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine egg whites and sugar. Using a mixer at medium speed, whisk together. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture registers 140° on an instant-read candy thermometer. Remove mixture from heat. Using a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, beat at high speed for 10 minutes, or until mixing bowl is cool to the touch and meringue is tripled in volume. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Using mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat mixture at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Use immediately.

FRENCH MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Start whipping egg whites slowly in the mixer until foamy. Increase the speed of the mixer and slowly start adding the sugar until all the sugar is incorporated. Once all the sugar is in, increase the speed of the mixer even more and whip until the mixture is shiny and stiff. You now have a meringue. You know when your meringue is done when you pull out the whip, hold it horizontally, and if you have what looks a "sparrow's beak" on the end of the whip.
• Replace the whip, turn the mixer on medium and start adding the butter a bit at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer on high and let mix; depending on the weather, the buttercream could take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to form. You will know when it has formed when you hear the motor of the mixer start to slow down and whine a little bit; also, when you first add the butter, your meringue will break down and look weird and this is what you want. When the buttercream is done, the mixture will be homogeneous, consistent, and tasty.
• Remove the buttercream from the bowl and transfer to an airtight container. Buttercream can be kept at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for a 1 to 2 weeks, but always use warm buttercream when icing a cake. To warm up the buttercream, put it back in the mixer using the whip or the paddle, and apply direct heat with a propane torch you can find at any hardware store.

SIMPLE SWISS MERINGUE MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Use a double boiler and heat and whisk egg whites and granulated sugar until reaches 160 degrees or hot to the touch.
• Add mixture to your mixer and whip until stiff peaks are formed.
• Add almond flour, powdered sugar and any desired flavor ingredient and follow macaronage steps.
• Pipe your mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet in rounds. Lift pan about ten inches above counter and drop a few times to remove bubbles.
• Allow your rounds to sit for about ten minutes. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
• Remove and allow to cool on parchment paper.
• Combine all ingredients in mixer and blend until peaks are formed.
• Pipe filling inside two of your macarons.
• Refrigerate in airtight container until ready to serve.

3:2:1 SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Set butter out at room temperature.
• Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
• Place egg whites and sugar into a heat proof bowl. Stainless steel is light and safe.
• Gently whisk the whites & sugar mix over the boiling water, do not let the bowl touch the hot water.
• Pay attention to whisking the mixture when it starts getting hot, you don't want to cook the eggs.
• Whisk the mixture until the temperature reaches 160F*
• Whip the mixture in a counter mixer with the balloon whisk attached. Whip on low to start, then increase to medium.
• Once the mixture is stiff and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch, stop mixer. Change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment.
• Add butter a little bit at a time while beating with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
• The mixture might look curdled or separated for a while but keep mixing. It will all come together.
• Add any extract, flavorings, salt or food coloring if desired. Whip until incorporated.
• Using a flexible spatula, fold out excess air in the frosting so that it can be piped or spread smoothly.
• Use immediately to frost or fill cakes, cupcakes, macarons or other desserts. Refer to post on how to store and freeze extra buttercream.

ALMOND MACAROONS WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Make macaroons:
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Finely grind almonds with confectioners sugar in a food processor.
• Beat whites with salt in mixer at medium-high speed until they just hold soft peaks.
• Reduce speed to medium, then add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Fold almond mixture in 2 batches into whites until just combined, then fold in vanilla and almond extracts. Transfer meringue to pastry bag and pipe 16 (1 1/2-inch-wide) mounds 1 inch apart on each lined baking sheet (32 total). Smooth tops of mounds with a wet fingertip.
• Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until macaroons are puffed and tops appear dry, 15 to 17 minutes. (Macaroons should be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.) Slide parchment with macaroons onto racks and cool 10 minutes, then peel macaroons from parchment, transferring to a rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Make buttercream:
• Vigorously whisk together whites, sugar, and salt in cleaned mixer bowl set over a 4-quart pot of barely simmering water until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm. Put bowl in mixer and beat with cleaned whisk attachment at medium-high speed until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Continue to beat, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is completely cool to the touch, about 5 minutes.
• With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. (If buttercream looks soupy after some butter is added, meringue is still too warm. If so, briefly chill bottom of bowl in a large bowl filled with ice water for a few seconds before beating in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all of butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.) Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat 1 minute more.
• Assemble cookies:
• Transfer buttercream to cleaned pastry bag and pipe about 1 tablespoon onto flat sides of 16 macaroons, then top with remaining 16 macaroons.