Bookish Bites
"'Mum made some macaroons this morning. See- all gooey and fresh'... Soon, they had a plateful of macaroons in front of them- and they were indeed very nice and very gooey inside.. 'Most delicious macaroons, they were', said Julian. -Five go to Finnistan Farm, Enid Blyton.
These macaroons are a textural treat. They nod to their distant French macaron relatives, with the use of crushed nuts. However, the texture and flavour is nothing like a classic macaron. These are chewy and nutty, a more down-to-earth and rustic play on the dainty macaron. This recipe makes approximately 20 macaroons.
Ingredients
2 Egg Whites
1/2 cup Sugar
100g Cashew nuts
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
100g Cashew nuts
Pinch of Salt
This macaroon has a meringue base, so all rules for making meringues apply - Clean bowls and whisk, room temperature eggs, perfectly separated eggs!
First, grind or pound the cashew nuts, until some of it is powder, but there are a few larger pieces as well, and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 150C. Beat the egg whites till light and fluffy. Once the egg whites have increased in volume, start adding the sugar. Add a spoonful of sugar, one spoon at a time, until well incorporated. Make sure each spoon of sugar has dissolved before you add the next. Once the sugar is fully incorporated and the mixture is ultra fluffy, fold in the crushed cashews and a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness.
Pipe or dollop out the mixture on to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Put the macaroon laden baking tray in to the 150C oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 120C. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the macaroons are crunchy on the outside but gooey and marshmallowy inside. Switch the oven off, open the oven door very slightly and allow to cool in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. The longer you keep these in the oven the less gooey the insides will be. So the texture comes down to the baking and cooling process; they are gooiest served warm, ideally with a cup of hot coffee or cocoa. They do firm up as they cool but are still melt-in-the-mouth delicious.
