Happy Macaron Day! I can’t believe that a year has passed since the last Jour du Macaron.
A year ago I never would have guessed that Helen would be coming out for a visit to teach us all about proper macaron making. It’s amazing how much can happen in a year. Helen’s visit was perfect—just in time for us all to hone our skills so that we could properly celebrate today! This is not a holiday that can be celebrated at the last minute if you are making your own macarons. My preparations for today’s celebration began several days ago with separating the egg whites for my macarons. They aged for 24 hours at room temperature, and then for about another 46 hours in the refrigerator. Yesterday I ground my almonds, and proceeded with making my macaron batter. Then I carefully piped out little circles of batter onto my silpat and let them rest.
Finally they went into the oven and I did a little giddy dance as they grew feet, and then grew less giddy as the feet turned into skirts.
I had a problem with my macarons sticking to my silpat, so I used a trick that Helen taught me a while back. I put them back into the still hot oven, closed the oven door, and turned off the heat. There the macarons stayed until the end of the day. While I waited, I mixed up a batch of chocolate ganache and a batch of white chocolate plastic (like chocolate modeling clay). Finally it was time to assemble my macarons. Their time in the cooling oven had worked its magic, and the macarons peeled qoff of the silpat easily. They’re not perfect, but they’ll do!
Today is no ordinary macaron day, so I wanted to do something extra special. Now that Spring has arrived (at least it has here in Southern California!), my thoughts have been turning to picnics, and outdoor barbecues. So today’s macarons are inspired by those thoughts and the most recent Mac Tweets challenge. I’ve affectionately named them “Big Macs” (pun intended). I sprinkled the “buns” with sesame seeds. The hamburger patties are made from chocolate ganache, and the lettuce and tomato are made from the white chocolate plastic (with red and green food coloring kneaded in it). Ok, enough talking, I’m craving a Big Mac. I’m off to celebrate!
“Big Mac” Macarons
- Macarons: Helen’s recipe (with the powdered food coloring omitted, and the swirling decoration skipped) for swirly macarons
- Chocolate Ganache Hamburger Patties: Helen’s recipe for Bittersweet Ganache (I used semisweet chocolate instead)
- Lettuce & Tomatoes: Chocolate Plastic recipe from Baking Obsession (I made a half batch, which makes plenty)
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Ok, these are the coolest macs I have seen! And the only Big Mac I will ever eat..ha!
These are so cute! I must say I have not seen this type of macaron before! :)
I am in the town, where as a little girl, I ate my first big mac the day they were introduced. I would love to try one of your big macs on the day they were introduced. I’m sure they have addictive powers!
Love this! I’m currently living in Paris and can’t resist the glorious Pierre Hermes macarons :)
Lauduree just came out with a new line of spring Macarons – but nothin’ quite like these!
Adorable! Thanks you!
These loook GREAT! They have great feet! Mine keep getting burnt feet. =( Love the clever idea of making a Big Mac, YUM!! Happy Macaron Day!
Ok these trump ALL the macs I have seen posted today! BRAVO! And only ONE batch you needed for perfection!
So cool! I can’t have normal burgers, but I can have these ones =D. And really, I think these are much better!
Now that’s a Big Mac I could really sink my teeth into!
They are gorgeous. So cool! I have to try my hands at chocolates plastic soon.
@The Cooking Ninja, Chocolate plastic is SO easy to make and even easier to use! Seriously, the first time I made it, I thought it would be hard. But it is WAY easy, and only 2 ingredients!
Awesome! I love pretty macarons but these are so clever, right down to the sesame seed ‘buns’. Probably the only time when it would be perfectly okay to gobble down a half dozen ‘Big Macs’!
awwww! that is so awesome!! great creativity!!! and these look great! did you end up using the almond flour from TJ’s?
ok, i’ll admit, when I saw your tweet about chocolate plastic, i thought you were insane. [more than normal.] :) MUWAH!!!
@jenjenk, Nope, I ended up grinding up whole almonds that I have an insane amount of on hand! Yeah, chocolate plastic sounds totally unappetizing, doesn’t it? It’s really not a great name. :)
Okay SERIOUSLY could you be any more talented? GAW-GEOUS!
So Cute!!!
Rachael, You’ve got to be kidding me?!! These are adorable!!
These are so cute! Definitely not your traditionally filled macaron but still really yummy I bet.
Wow these are absolutely amazing! I love the little sesame sprinkles on top, so cute! And hey, I didn’t realize the 20th of March was Macaron day! Total coincidence then that I posted some Chestnut Creme Macarons on my blog today :-)
Ahh!! How cute are these! So creative! I had no idea it was “Macaron Day” and yet this afternoon I whipped up a batch…perfect! Great pictures too! :)
They are adorable. It is a such a cute idea.
These are so impressive! Oh my gosh the talent… A true Mac Artist you are.
I only hope that beyond their unique look, these “MACarons” don’t also taste like a Big Mac.
@Cafe Pasadena, Definitely not! LOL Despite their alarming “Big Mac” exterior, they taste like traditional macarons filled with rich chocolate ganache. :)
Those are brilliant!
This is soooo cute :-)
I’m surprised your macarons stuck to your Silpat. You could also put a bit of hot water under your Silpat or parchment paper to remove the macs. It is much quicker than the oven trick.
Anyway, your “Big Macs” look cool! How inventive!!
@Memoria, Thanks Memoria!
This was more than just a simple sticking that a bit of water would take care of. The interior of the macs weren’t quite cooked, which I didn’t realize until I had pulled them out and let them cool slightly. So it was either the oven trick, or scraping them off of the silpat and turning them into ice cream topping! LOL
Rachael
What beautiful macaroons! They look like mini burgers!
The little burgers are so funny. I love making macaroons but haven’t hit the success stage yet. Will keep trying. A French friend of mine recommends a flat sieve for sifting the ground almonds. You can buy them from restaurant supply stores.
What a perfect example of how something as delicate and classy as the macaron can be Americanized.
Rachael! Aren’t you the creative, clever one? I love your Big Macs! Just brilliant! Thanks so much for sending them over to Mactweets – now we can go enjoy the coming spring on that picnic!
oh wow these are so cute love the name
Impressive! Boy, you just blew me away with these! Brilliant idea! Lovely macarons!
Those are absolutely adorable! So clever!
~Kurious Kitteh
I’m still so sad I had to miss Helen’s visit, but it looks like you all had a blast! These macs are so cute! i love that you turned them into big macs!
Those are adorable! Love the little sesame seed buns.
It was just a matter of time till someone picked up the play on words. :-)) Absolutely adorable!
These are adorable! Very impressive and now I want to work with chocolate plastic!
Oh this is such a treat! I’m nuts for macarons ;-) and didn’t even know there was a “macaron day”! Thank You!!
Oh these sure are absolutely cutie pie …..would love to bake these sometime too !!!!!
How impressive are these!!! How about your patience letting these Macs rest in the oven…..my would have broken everywhere in haste! Awesome job, playful and creative!
Wow they look so cool and sound great. Congrats on the Foodbuzz top 9!
Now that you’ve Americanized the mac, maybe you can do a French version, mac n’ cheese (oh, maybe that’s American too). Perhaps a Japanese version, mac shimi. I’m sure it would be delicate and classy. Love your creativity.
Haha. That’s pretty and fun. I’m making Swedish cupcakes in my latest episode of my online cooking show, come and check it out! Linn
I love this idea! Now you just need mac “fries” to complete the picture.
Love it when people have fun with food! So cute!
These are awesome they really do like big macs!! Great job!! :o)
These are so cute! And much more appetizing than an actual Big Mac. For Macaron Day NYC 2010, I was touring bakeries. If you have a moment, feel free to check out my photos: http://www.highlowfooddrink.com/2010/03/whirlwind-saturday-morning-macaron-tour.html
creative! Love the play!
They are really creative and look delicious (because I know what’s inside). Great job! You should make more and send them to La Duree and PH for fun!
These are too too adorable. My one attempt for making macs for the daring bakers a few months back wasn’t terribly successful…I need to try again, and soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
WOW! This looks stunning!
wow,,,this looks so cute,..
I’ve seen ALOT of macarons lately, and these are the cutest ones yet! I’ll be linking tomorrow for the spotlight on foodwhirl.com …
Thanks for sharing them!