Iced Gem Macaron Recipe

November 17, 2015


One of my favourite snacks as a child are iced gem biscuits. These bright treats bring back so many memories from my childhood. Do you remember the rows of tin cans with a see-through centre, proudly displaying the treats inside? My eyes never-failed to light up when they came across a tin full of iced gem biscuits as they beckoned me to eat them.

I used to bite off the icing before eating the biscuits, sometimes without even eating the biscuits; Confession: I am still guilty of doing that. It's my favourite part about eating them. This is a twist to my favourite nostalgic treat - macaron biscuits topped with meringue kisses. They are so delightful. You can go crazy with the colours for your meringue kisses, but I stuck with the "traditional" icing palette.

Likewise, you can pipe the macarons with your desired fillings! I filled each colour with a different macaron filling - green for matcha, white for dark chocolate, yellow for thai iced tea, and pink for raspberry. And yes, I still bit off the meringue kisses "icing" before digging into the macaron "biscuits". It is every bite as satisfying and makes me feel like a child again.

Mummy and baby iced gems

What is it about this plain snack that brings such delight? Is it the fact that there's beauty in simplicity? Or is it because I am craving for a kind of happiness that can only exist in a mindset of childish innocence?

Don't get me wrong, we can still be happy after growing up. But happiness as a child holds a different definition as an adult. With age comes a widened perception, greater sensibility and heavier responsibilities. We are less carefree and have more worries. As Neil Gailman said, “I do not miss my childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt…but I took joy in the things that made me happy.”



Through my reminiscing about the past, I've realised that it is possible to be happy as an adult, maybe even happier. Now that we are older, we can control our lives.

Don't want to eat that yucky fish? Then don't.

Want to make an impromptu getaway? Go ahead. 

We are now responsible of our own lives and it feels so good being in control.

At the same time, if we remind ourselves to find happiness in the simple things, we would be like a happy driver who is heading to the desired destination, but still marvelling at the passing scenery.

We used to say "When I'm older, I'll *fill in desired activity here*." Well, we can do so now. And yes, we might have thought that adults seem to know everything, only to be struck in the head with the rude realisation that we might still be lost as a grown up. It might be a horrifying discovery at first, but it will seem less daunting once we've come to terms with it. I suppose this is why they say we never stop learning, with each discovery adding greater meaning to our lives. 



ICED GEM MACARON RECIPE

Servings: ~20 macarons
Time: 1.5 hours active time + baking time

Ingredients
[For Macaron Shells] 
Meringue: 70g of Egg whites + 90g of Castor sugar
80g of Ground almonds
80g of Powdered/icing sugar
5g of Cocoa Powder

[For Meringue Kisses]
1 Egg white
33g of Caster sugar
1/4 tsp of Vanilla
A pinch of Cream of tar tar
Food colouring

[To Assemble] 
Any of your favourite macaron filling. You can view my recipes to select your filling!
Some melted chocolate


Directions
[For Macaron Shells] 
1. In a large bowl, sift the ground almonds, icing sugar, and cocoa powder. Mix it well with a spatula.
2. To make the meringue, beat the egg whites on low speed using an electric mixer until it is white and frothy (approximately 1 minute)
3. Gradually add the sugar 1/4 at a time. When the first addition of sugar has completely dissolved (approximately 1 minute later), increase the mixer speed to medium and add until all the sugar has been incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Add the meringue to the sifted ground almond flour and icing sugar in Step 1. Using a spatula, start the macaronage process until you get a molten-like mixture and drips down like a ribbon when lifted. Read here on how to macaronage.
5. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a round tip and pipe out macarons.
6. After piping, knock the bottom of the tray against a flat surface to get rid of air bubbles.
7. Let the shells dry for approximately 30 minutes in an air-conditioned room. You should be able to touch it gently with the tip of your finger without it sticking.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 150C for approximately 10 - 13 minutes. Let it cool.

[For Meringue Kisses]
1. Beat egg whites and vanilla essence only low speed until it is white and frothy for about 2 minutes, then gradually add in your sugar and cream of tartar on medium speed.
2. Once the meringue is a lot fluffier, add vanilla essence and beat till stiff peaks form.
3. Depending on the number of colours you desire, split to equal portions and add the food colouring.
3. Pipe on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and a star-fitted tip. They should be slightly smaller in circumference compared to your macaron shells.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 100C for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn off your oven and let it cool with the meringue kisses inside. This prevents them from cracking.

[To Assemble]
1. Fill the macarons with your desired filling.
2. Use the melted chocolate as a glue to attach to the meringue kisses to the macarons.


Have fun!

P.S. These iced gem macarons will look great on a party table. It could be a fun 90s Throwback party theme with other nostalgic desserts. I'm currently taking orders for the festive period, so email me at sumopockymail@gmail.com for more information! Stay tuned for my christmas special designs too~



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