My first attempt on French Macaron

After reading countless of blogs about these little minions, I finally joined this crazy trend.
Although I made a promise that my first macaron bite has to be the ones from Pierre Hermé, I got a little too impatient of waiting for the day I will set foot in Paris. *sigh* So here I am breaking my own vow.
Although only few and very simple ingredients are used, It's quite interesting how many were unsuccessful at their first, second, even third attempts in making macarons. So It got me curious than intimidated. For starters, many advised to use the French method than the Italian counterpart. Everyone has their own preference and even swear by them. Then there is the "aging" of the egg whites. What does that mean? Well it means allowing the separated egg whites to dehydrate both inside the fridge and in room temperature for up to 5 days before incorporating them with the rest of the ingredients!! Now that sounds ridiculous. So since it's my first time, it wouldn't hurt that much to fail if I try the simplest procedure I could find.
First I searched for a video about the "macaroonage" step in making macarons to know the consistency I should be aiming for. It should be lava-like or molten.Then  I came across a video of Lorraine Pascale and fell in love with her in an instant! I like her approach in keeping everything simple. Like just what she said, baking is not always fast, but it's always easy! :)

Ingredients:
125 grams fine ground almonds
125 grams powdered sugar
40 grams egg whites
Sift the ground almonds and powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the egg whites and mix together into a paste.
Add the color of your choice.

In another bowl:
40 grams egg whites
110 grams sugar + 2 Tbsp water boiled together.

Boil together the sugar and water in medium heat without stirring. Meanwhile whisk  the egg whites to a medium peak. When sugar syrup reaches a 110° C, remove from heat and with the mixer still on, gently add the sugar syrup in a thin stream while constantly beating the egg whites. Mix until stiff peaks form.

** Because in the past I have had my fair share of failed boiled sugar and I still don't have a candy thermometer (I cannot stress enough how vital it is in baking), I did not use this version.
And like what I said, I'd go for the easier way. Therefore whip the egg whites till foamy and gradually add the sugar (omitting the water of course) until stiff peaks form.

Now the macaroonage step: Add the meringue to the paste and mix the batter only in a maximum of 50 turns. The consistency must be lava-like.
Place inside a pastry bag with a 10mm tip and pipe small, evenly spaced dollops on a baking sheet.
Tap the baking sheet against the counter few times to ensure the shells are smoothed down.
Leave the macarons to rest at room temperature, uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the batter does not stick to your fingers when you touch them.
Bake for 12-15 mins at 170 with the oven door slightly ajar.
Cool completely before adding the filing.

For the filling:

150 grams of semi sweet chocolate
 50 ml cream
2 tsp instant coffee powder

Melt altogether until smooth.

This recipe makes 30 macarons. They came out lovely and the feet!! oh they had feet!! :)