I realized that I have been blogging for a year and a half now. Wow. That’s lasted longer than most relationships nowadays – I feel like you should know me really well by now, after all, I’ve always considered my life to be an open book blog.
But do you really? I guess, there comes a point in all relationships where you THINK you know a person and then they throw you a curveball.
Well, this is mine: I don’t like eating macarons. I find them too sweet.
I know, it’s crazy, especially with the number of times I’ve made them on my blog. Even at Pierre Herme or Laduree, my husband will order a box (his line is “one of each flavour please!”) and I’ll feel obliged to try them since we’re supposed to be in macaron mecca – but in most cases, I’ll only have half a compulsory bite if ever. I have come to realize that my fascination with them was really borne out of the frustration of not being able to make them properly the first three or so years after learning about them.
Last week however I was inspired to make some macarons for myself after reading Ellie’s post on her Ret Hot Devil mac pops. But this time, I decided to go with a more savoury/sweet approach. You see, I love salt. You know how some restaurants serve salt in little bowls? My husband has to stop me from picking at it because I can eat salt on its own. So I made two lots of macarons, first a chocolate macaron which I sprinkled with some pink salt flakes and made a ganache of chocolate, olive oil and more sea salt. I managed to have two macarons from this batch. The first one was me trying to figure out whether the olive oil flavour was strong enough to come through (it was) and the second one was to savour the hint of salt flakes from the shell and the ganache.
The second batch of macarons was a Masterchef winner. Really… it was. Our work sponsored a Masterchef Dessert competition as part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival (of which we were a major sponsor) and I piped up a batch of these Salted Caramel Macarons that won me not only a dinner for two at the Young Chef’s Dinner, but also a signed copy from Joanna Savill of the Good Food Guide!
I’m sharing both recipes here in case you’d like to try them yourself. Macaron recipe can be found here (for French method, the ganache is good for half a batch of these macarons) or here (for Italian Method).
Salted Caramel Macarons
Makes enough for one batch of macarons
- 160 grams caster sugar
- 130 grams cream
- 150 grams butter, diced (best quality you can afford – I used Lurpak brand)
- 7 grams sea salt (I used pink Murray river salt)
- Heat sugar in a pot, making sure to constantly stir so that it browns evenly.
- In another sauce pan, warm the cream until the cream bubbles along the sides of the pot.
- Once the sugar turns a deep brown, immediately add the warmed cream. Be careful not to burn yourself as the cream and sugar will create a lot of steam – it’s preferable to use a long wooden spoon to stir.
- If you notice that some sugar has hardened, heat the mixture gently until the sugar dissolved. Continue to stir the sugar and cream mixture off the heat to allow it to cool, you can even place it in another container to speed up the process.
- Once the mixture has cooled to around 50c, add the diced butter with a whisk, a little at a time until fully incorporated.
- If you haven’t already, transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with cling wrap and allow to cool in the refrigerator for around 2 to 3 hours.
- Once the mixture has cooled, add the salt and emulsify the mixture using either a food processor, stand mixer, hand held mixer or thermomix until the mixture changes colour to a dark beige shade. This is now ready for piping.
Chocolate, Olive Oil and Sea Salt Ganache
Makes enough for one batch of macarons
- 150 grams dark chocolate, 50% cocoa (I used Lindt)
- 120 grams cream
- 30 grams olive oil
- 7 grams sea salt
- Chop the chocolate into little pieces and place them in a bowl. Heat the cream until it is almost boiling in a saucepan (the cream at the sides of the pan will start to bubble) and pour this onto the chocolate.
- Allow the chocolate and cream mixture to rest for a minute and then start to stir the chocolate, starting from the middle of the bowl – outwards, until the chocolate is fully incorporated.
- Add the olive oil and sea salt and allow to cool. Cover with a cling wrap and allow to harden in the refrigerator before use.
On a side note, have I told you how much I love Melbourne? I’m in Melbourne this week for a number of courses at Savour School. I’m absolutely amazed at the dedication and passion of my classmates. Many of them are working in professional kitchens or are running (or about to start) their own businesses. It’s both humbling and inspiring to see them in action and I’ll surely share with you my experiences in the coming posts.
[…] with some sea salt flakes. Salted Caramel sauce can be bought or otherwise, you can use the recipe here (just skip step […]
Definitely going to give these a try – sound so yum.
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Hi Trissa,
Looks yummy, I would definitely want to try out the Italian way, because so far I’ve been making the french method and perhaps I would prefer the French way better.
You can check it out and perhaps tell me what i’m not doing right?
http://passionatemae.blogspot.com/2010/09/macaron-mission-day-2.html
And would you happen to be the instructor for the Macaron Masterclass at Essential?
I would love to ask you more questions 🙂
Mae
Hi Mae, I’ve just emailed you. I think your macs are great – you should maybe just process the almond meal together with the icing sugar to get a smoother top. Cheers
Amazing looking macarons!
These are gorgeous!
Oh these are so cute Trissa!
Those are adorable.
Haha I definitely know that macarons aren’t for everyone. I guess I’m really a sugar junkie as I adore them. Unfortunately, I haven’t mastered the skill of making them like you have. Probably better for the diet though. These are so adorable.
They look gorgeous and delicious. You are definitely the Macaron Queen
gorgeous macarons, Trissa! which method did you use for your chcocolate macs, IM or FM? thanks =)
Hi Aimee! I used Italian for the salted caramel and French for the chocolate. Cheers.
Trissa
Wow! These look amazing! Really great photos too – creative staging. I visited Melbourne when I was studying abroad in Australia a while back, so I’m totally jealous!
Beautiful, beautiful macarons Trissa and you added salt to them… Interesting! I would love to try those and I can sure see why you would win a price with these. I also can’t wait to hear all about your adventures in the Saveur kitchen. Sounds like great fun!
Well done on the win, Trissa! Another set of awesome macs. Perhaps it’s for the best that you don’t really like to eat them, given how good you are at making them.. could be dangerous 🙂
Love the flavours combo and styling. So elegent 😦 glad you like the pops!
THESE ARE GORGEOUS! i havent been able to brave macarons yet, but they are so pretty I might have to suck it up!
It’s quite embarrassing to admit I haven’t yet made macarons, but these are right up my alley. I love the combination of sweet and savoury flavours and salted caramel is by far my favourite.
These pops are so cute! I’m not into macarons either 😦 I feel like it’s a bit blasphemous these days given the hype… Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying Melbourne! Even though the weather is… um… kinda bad 😉
I’ve only heard awesome things abt the Melbourne food scene … jealous! And those pops are just divine!
I find most macarons too sweet too, but I love pierre herme’s.
I can totally relate to the whole thing about macarons Trissa! Sometimes I find them a tad too sweet. I love what you have done here with all these savoury components…olive oil and salt are two of my favourite ingredients!
They look amazing, Trissa! However, I’m with you, I would prefer a cupcake or brownie any day of the week. I don’t find Macarons satisfying and they are just a little too sweet.
I almost wrote a post about this last night – I am the same way! Macarons are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too sweet, and the only reason I like to make them is because it’s a challenge. Oh, and they’re cute too, I guess.
Your photos are absolutely stunning, as always!
I adore these! They are so cute and beautiful! What a fabulous idea!
Wow, congratulations on your win- they certainly look like award-winners!
I’m totally with you on macarons… I think they’re overated. When I confessed this on Facebook (Maz at Dimmi), I received such an uproar though!
Ahhh yes, great idea. I’m not a huge fan of the old mac (I know, shock horror), but the sweet n salty taste sounds intriguing. You’ve got me a little more interested with these recipes. Thanks Trissa. Beautiful pics & really lovely looking macs too.
Those are so adorable, Trissa! And you had me at salted caramel! My favorite!
I love this! Inspiring 🙂 I wish I could bake macarons
I also don’t really like macarons, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a really gorgeous one such as yours 🙂
I “made”, well, I use the term loosely, very loosely, made these macs last sat. as part of Trissa’s class at the essential ingredients in Rozelle.
Wow, they were delicious and I really was amazed how well the macs turned out! I’m convinced Trissa can teach anyone to make macs – well, she taught me, didn’t she? 😉
I came out of the class with a new found confidence, Trissa made it look so easy, I’ve convinced myself I can actually make these little babies… The trick will be to make them on my own without my little sister holding my hand!
I’m with you on the macarons though I don’t find them too sweet, I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. They do photograph well!
Confession – I don’t really like macarons either. Like you, I find them too sweet. These, on the other hand, look like something I would have no hesitation in eating – yum 😀
You know what? I’m the same, finding macarons too sweet a lot of the time. That’s why I love flavours like salted caramel and popcorn (hello, Zumbo!). Congrats on winning such a cool prize with your creations 🙂
STUNNING!
Oh Oh Oh!!!! These are preeeeeety! Love your presentation, it’s just lovely!
These are beautiful! I have to admit this too, (what I’d never really admit to my chi-chi, Gucci-bag carrying friends voluntarily) – I don’t like macarons! Most that I’ve actually tried are glorified sweet tea treats, overhyped and oversugared. On top of which, (maybe this is just me), I could never really tell the tastes apart, except for the citrus ones. The vanilla? Tastes like the rose. The rose? Tastes like the butterscotch. The butterscotch? Tastes like the vaguely purple coloured one.
I love how you’re tring this out and making this macaron. You’ll probably unearth a dozen and more of us here who feel the same way and then you can start selling us these lovely salted desserts!
WOW. Bene doesn’t like them either for the same reason. She is my teacher… the one who guided me toward believing I could do this along. I am so surprised. I LOVE THEM. I COULD EAT BOXES of them. But, some of them just ARE too sweet. Those, I can’t eat many of. The ones that are not too sweet… Lauduree – and Paulette’s (San Fran) are wonderful. VONDER-FULL. I am so surprised you find those ones too sweet. My husband doesn’t like them either – but I think it is because I do and he loves watching me have such pleasure when I play with my cookies.
🙂
Valerie
Hi Val! My tolerance for sweets is very very low – most days I can only eat a bite of dessert. If given a choice, sweet or savoury, I’d go savoury any day. Still trying to find a way to make a completely savoury macaron.
oh yummy! im drooling!!!
It’s funny–in some ways I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. But this post makes the sentiment even stronger. As obsessed as I have been about macarons (and always jealous of your macaron pictures!), I found them too sweet at Laduree, too! I would have been much happier just eating the meringues and would have passed on the filling. I actually swore to be mindful of this when I finally decide to make my own–don’t make the fillings to sweet! Nice to know I’m not alone in this.
I’m so in love with these pictures. I could be jealous but that’s not healthy. I will just appreciate them for the beauties they are. 🙂
I totally understand! I will always choose cake over a macaron but I think the challenge of making them makes them taste better. 🙂
Trissa, I also hesitate to try baking macarons until now, as you said, they are too sweet. We have a sweet tooth, but not quite into too sweet things. Having read your post here, I think I should have a go, at least bake one batch of macarons successfully in my entire life. 🙂
Trissa, you don’t say! I don’t like to eat macarons either! I just to look at them because they are so pretty… Same for all the pretty cakes and desserts…. Sometimes I feel like I have been cheating on my readers with a false mask!
Love this post on the two macarons! 🙂 My favorite flavour from Laduree has always been Caramel fleur de sel. By the way, I’m a friend of Tina’s!
Trissa, I love you for throwing out that curve ball!! Coz I share the same feeling!!!! Macs are just too sweet for me/us.. which is one of the reasons I stopped making them or rather trying.. didn’t see the point in mastering something that we didn’t enjoy anyway 😀
For someone who doesn’t love them, you certainly make the MOST gorgeous macarons!! Salted caramel!? Our favorite!