Mandarin & Rhubarb Macarons

Ahhh macarons. These little sweet treats are everywhere. Love them or hate them, it's hard to escape them. My opinion on macarons is a little confused. First of all, I shouldn't be eating them - I'm supposed to be allergic to almonds. But I eat them anyway because they haven't made me sick yet. Sometimes I find them insanely sweet, and can get a little nauseated if I have too many...like the time I ate 48 in one day at Adriano Zumbo. But as a learning home baker, these little babies are the perfect challenge. There are SO many things that can go wrong. You could have made them 10 times in a row and have them turn out perfectly, only to have your next batch turn out awful. But ohhhh how glorious it feels to succeed! To press your nose up to the oven door and see those little feet pop up! For those who have yet to understand the macaron craze, at least try to make them yourself because they taste so much better once you are victorious in your quest for macaron feet (particularly after 3 failed batches have been thrown in the bin).

So why am I rambling on about the joys of baking macarons? Last night, I made a last minute decision to bake these mandarin flavoured shells to go with my leftover homemade rhubarb jam that I made previously. And everything went exactly to plan. Baking is so much more fun when you're more confident and not experimenting with crazy new recipes. It was relaxing, almost therapeutic, and I can look at these in a much happier light compared to those bloody madeleines that gave me so much grief. But there is always room for improvement!

I've used the combination of mandarin and rhubarb previously, for these upside-down cakes, so I knew it would be a winner. I was a little anxious at first, because the mandarin flavour in the shells was very mild right after baking and I thought the rhubarb jam would overpower it. But after filling the macarons and leaving them to sit in the fridge overnight, the mandarin flavour developed nicely and was very fragrant by the next day. These may have been the best textured macarons I've ever made, but I think that was more due to the fact that I am making less mistakes, than to do with anything I changed in the recipe. (I personally believe it is only the foolish bakers who immediately blame a recipe rather than themselves when things do not turn out as well as expected in the kitchen)

The mandarin flavour turned out surprisingly well, considering I only used the zest from a Hickson mandarin. You could certainly replace the mandarin zest with lemon or orange zest, in fact I would strongly encourage you to try lemon zest as a substitute because I am still completely obsessed with the lemon & rhubarb combination. But I do like the rhubarb and mandarin combination, it has a very Winter fruit-y theme about it. Anyway, it's such a relief to be finding comfort in baking at the moment, it takes away all the stress from earlier in the day. I've always had trouble adapting to change. I like routines. And right now there are changes occurring in my life that I am struggling to process and adapt to, so it's good to come home and fall into the comfortable routines of baking. Yep, I'm totally gonna go hug my oven now.

Mandarin & Rhubarb Macarons
(adapted from Tartelette's basic macaron recipe, makes 25-30 macarons depending on size)
100g aged egg whites (you can use fresh eggs too, just make sure they are room temperature. I always use fresh these days, and zap it in the microwave on defrost for 10 seconds)
110g almond meal, dried in a cool (100 degrees C) oven for 5 minutes and sifted
200g icing sugar
50g sugar
Zest of one large (or two small) mandarin (Can also be substituted with orange zest or lemon zest), about 1-2 tsp
150ml Rhubarb Jam (recipe here)
Optional: 1 tsp egg white powder, orange powdered food colouring

Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Place icing sugar in food processor and pulse for a minute to remove any lumps. Stir in almond meal and pulse a few times to combine. Place in a large mixing bowl with mandarin zest.

Beat egg whites and egg white powder in a medium mixing bowl until the egg white powder dissolves and it reaches soft peaks. With the mixer on high speed, gradually add sugar (and food colouring) and beat until it reaches stiff peaks.

Add meringue to your dry mixture and mix, quickly at first to break down the bubbles in the egg white, then fold carefully as the dry mixture becomes incorporated and it starts to become shiny again. Take care not to overmix, the mixture should flow like lava and a streak of mixture spread over the surface of the rest of the mixture should disappear after 30 seconds to a minute. Place in a piping bag and pipe rounds of about 3cm diameter on lined baking sheets or silicon baking mats. Gently rap your baking sheets on your bench top to remove any extra bubbles from your piped shells.

Preheat your oven to 140-150 degrees C (temperature varies depending on your oven). Leave shells on bench to dry for about an hour, so that when you press the surface of one gently it does not break. Place on top of an overturned roasting tray or another baking sheet if they are not professional grade. Bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on the size of your shells. Remove from the oven and cool on the tray for a few minutes, then gently remove from the sheet and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Sandwich macaron shells with about 1 tsp rhubarb jam and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavour to mature. Serve at room temperature. Can be stored for several days after baking in an airtight container in the fridge.

EDIT: I don't care what Masterchef says, it's not pronounced macaROON. It's macaRON!