Meowcarons

Meowcarons - filled with orange blossom and lemon curd.

gluten-free

This recipe is also in my book, Bake Me a Cat.

Makes: 15-20

These are as pawticular as real cats, but so rewarding when you get it right. These use an Italian meringue method rather than French - which makes the batter trickier to make as you need to heat the sugar syrup, but the end results I find more reliable.

Here are some general tips to help out:

•   Make sure your almonds are ground up very finely. Sieve them to make sure they are fine enough.

•   A non-stick silicone or Teflon baking mat won't crease and cause your macarons to become misshapen (baking paper may do this if it creases). You can place any templates or guides underneath the silicone mat, as they are slightly see-through. You can also buy silicone mats with circle markings to guide you when piping.

•   When piping, pipe from straight above rather than at an angle. This helps achieve a round and even shape.

•   Don't skip banging the baking sheet on the work surface - this is important to get any large air bubbles out. If you don't, they may expand and cause the macaron surface to crack! You can also bang the tray a few times throughout the piping process.

•   Don't fur-get to give the macarons time to rest and form a skin! You should be able to touch them and your finger shouldn’t stick.

• Don’t let the sugar syrup get too hot! Keep a very careful eye on it.

FOR THE MACARONS:

MIXTURE A

105g finely ground and sifted almonds

105g sifted icing sugar

Mixture B

45g egg white

Mixture C

115g caster sugar

40ml water

PLUS

gel food dyes

black edible ink pen, or black gel food dye mixed with a tiny amount of water (to paint the face details after baking)

Edible eye sprinkles

FOR THE LEMON CURD: (makes extra but you can use it for your toast, for filling a cake, swirling through yoghurt, so much!)

Zest and juice of two lemons

100g caster sugar

50g butter

2 eggs

FOR THE ORANGE BLOSSOM SILKY BUTTERCREAM: (again makes extra, but it’s tricky to make a smaller quantity! Put the remaining in a piping bag, seal tightly, then freeze to use another time). This buttercream is less sweet than the standard, and very silky. So it works well in a macaron, especially paired with the lemon curd.

85g salted butter, room temperature.

85g icing sugar

25g pasteurized egg whites

1/4tsp orange blossom extract

Orange food dye

MAKING THE MACARONS

1 / First, line 2 baking sheets with baking paper or a silicone mat. Have any templates you will be using ready to hand and organized. Have all your piping bags and any food dyes you will be using ready to hand.

2 / For Mixture A, stir the sifted ground almonds and icing sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg white and mix until it forms a thick paste.

3 / Add Mixture B to a stand mixer (or use a handheld electric whisk) fitted with a balloon whisk attachment.

4 / Add Mixture C (caster sugar and water) to a pan and stir occasionally over a medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble. Stop stirring at this point. Start whisking the egg white to soft peaks. You want to time the sugar syrup reaching 115°C (239°F] with the egg white reaching soft peaks. You can always take the sugar syrup off the stove and/or slow the mixer (but don't turn it off) to time the two together.

5 / When the egg white has reached soft peaks and the sugar syrup is at 115°C [239°F], increase the speed of the mixer (or whisk) to high while pouring the sugar syrup in a thin stream down the side of the bowl (do not pour directly on the whisk).

6 / Once all the sugar has been poured in, continue whisking on high speed until the side of the bowl feels cool to the touch, 3-5 minutes or so. At this point, turn off the mixer and use a spatula to fold the meringue into Mixture A. Distribute the macaron mixture between bowls and add food dye to colour each individually, before transferring to piping bags.

7 / Pipe the macarons like in the video.

The macarons should gradually spread slightly after piping but still hold their shape, and the tip of the macarons should disappear within a minute or so. Bang the tray on the surface a few times throughout to encourage this.

8 / pipe the ears like in the video, trying to keep the mixture thick (similar to the rest of the face).

9 / After piping, pick up the baking sheet and bang it on a flat surface about 3 times. You should see air bubbles come to the surface. Some of them might pop of their own accord but you might have to use a cocktail stick [toothpick] to help pop a few.

Alternative: For cats with a two-tone face /or different coloured ears you need to have a small/medium tip (or cut a tip on your piping bag) and use this to pipe the shape

10 / Leave the macarons for 1-2 hours to form a proper skin on the surface - you should be able to gently touch the macaron and it shouldn't come away on your finger. The time it takes for the macarons to form a skin depends on how humid the air is. The more humid, the longer it takes. A fan or gentle breeze can help speed things along.

11 / When the macarons are ready, preheat the oven to 150°C [300°F/Gas mark 2]. Bake for 15-18 minutes. You know they are done when you tap them and they don't still move around on their 'feet'.

12 / Leave the macarons to cool, then peel off. If you have any difficulty with them sticking, just put the whole tray in the freezer for 20 minutes or so, and then they should peel off easily.

MAKING THE LEMON CURD FILLING: (makes extra)

1/ whisk the egg in a bowl. Set aside.

2/ Mix the lemon zest, juice, sugar and butter in a pan. Heat on medium until the butter and sugar has melted, and the mixture is slightly bubbling.

3/ pour a little of the mixture over the beaten egg, all the while whisking quickly (balloon whisk). Add more of the mixture gradually, keeping whisking.

4/ return the mixture to the pan. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens - it should be like custard and you should be able to cut a knife through the middle and it holds the trail for a few seconds.

5/ cover with cling film and place in the fridge to firm up before piping.

MAKING THE ORANGE BLOSSOM BUTTERCREAM FILLING

1/ whisk together the icing sugar and egg white until it is thick and glossy.

2/ add the butter gradually in small chunks, whisking well after each addition. Once all the butter is mixed in and you can’t see any chunks, make sure the mixer is turned up to high and whisk until fluffy. Add the orange blossom and food dye, and whisk again until combined.

3/ to make the buttercream smooth, it needs mixing so that the air bubbles are knocked out. If you have a stand mixer, attach the paddle mixer and mix on speed 1 for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and silky. If you don’t have a paddle mixer attachment or only have an electric whisk, you can take about a quarter of the mix into a separate small bowl and microwave this for 5 seconds or so until slightly melty. Add this back in to the main mix, using a spatula to combine. Repeat this process until the mixture is silky smooth. If you get the mixture too melted, don’t worry, just put it in the fridge for a while.

ASSEMBLING MACARONS:

1/ pipe the filling like in the video.

2/ add faces using black edible ink pen or black food dye mixed with a tiny amount of water. Or edible eyes stuck on with a little remaining buttercream. You can use any sprinkles you like!

TIP: The macarons are best chilled in the fridge for a day or so before serving, as this helps to soften the shell - this is especially the case for the vegan macarons. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (separating each layer with a sheet of baking paper) for up to a week, or freeze for 3 months.