Vanilla Fleur De Sel Macarons with Nutella Filling

This month Aspiring Bakers theme is March Macaron Madness . I was thinking of not participating as I always have love hate relationship with macarons. I baked them few times but it don’t always turn out right. Something always went wrong like cracked tops, over baking it, under baked, sometimes no feet appearing and etc…

This batch of macarons was no exception. I have to throw out the first batch because it was under baked. I am still learning the temper of this oven. Thank God I still have some aged egg whites left from my Pineapple Rolls and I am able to start all over again. It turns out ok but still need some improvement. Nevertheless, I like the taste of these macarons. I particularly love the sprinkled of the glorious Vanilla Fleur de Sel as the saltiness of the salt compliments so well with the sweet macaron.

Fleur de Sel ("Flower of Salt" in French) is a gourmet hand-harvested sea salt that is formed at the surface of salt beds and collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt. Rich in minerals with superior flavor qualities, Fleur de Sel is one of the most expensive salts in the world.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites (about 90 gram)
40 gram granulated sugar
200 gram powdered sugar
110 gram almond meal
a few drop of violet coloring

1 tsp Vanilla Fleur De Sel
Some nutella for filling

1. For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to foam; gradually add the sugar and coloring until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over beat your meringue or it will be too dry.
3. Combine the almonds, powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Pass through a sieve. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon.
4. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flatten on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
5. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (I used Wilton tip 12) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Sprinkle some Vanilla Fleur De sel on top of the macarons. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit.
6. Preheat the oven to 300 degree F and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely before sandwich it with some nutella.

Am submitting this to the Aspiring Bakers Challenge #17 - March Macaron Madness (March 2012 ) hosted by Alan from Travelling Foodies