CHILI CHOCOLATE MACARON

This may very well be my last sweet treat post until bubba Will arrives! I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be continuing the rest of my pregnancy with gestational diabetes, and a glucose tolerance test in the next couple of weeks will confirm this. Everytime I eat something with sugar in it is hits me so hard that it's a battle for me to stay awake. But in saying that I will be hosting a 3rd birthday party and a BaByQ so I'm sure some sugar will sneak in, especially because I love am addicted to the white powder!

I made this for my husbands 30th last month, and it has taken me this long to post about it. I love the combination of chocolate and a surprise hit of chili in the back of the palette. The macaron shell is quite an easy one in comparison to some. Not too much technique, just getting your egg whites whipped to the right point, not too runny and not too stiff. weighing out all your ingredients and sifting them a couple of times. A correct oven temperature is paramount and making sure you turn the timer on is just about all the skill you need to make these beauties. This recipe makes approximately 35 macaroons

CHILI CHOCOLATE GANACHE

250 grams dark chocolate
2 vanilla beans split and scraped
3 cayenne chilies seeds removed
100 grams cream

Heat cream, vanilla and chili together until just before boiling. Take off heat, remove chili and add broken up chocolate and use a bar mix to blitz until smooth. Reserve for later.

MACARON

140 grams egg white
70 grams caster sugar
230 grams icing sugar
120 grams almond meal
2 grams salt
cocoa powder
smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius. Whip egg whites and sugar until stiff and then continue to whip for 2 minutes. Sift icing sugar and almond meal twice discarding any bits that do not pass through the sieve. Fold into egg white with a metal spoon in as little folds as possible aim for less than 20. Place mixture into piping bag and pipe onto trays lined with baking paper and bang the tray down on the bench a couple of times. Sprinkle half with cocoa powder and the other half with smoked paprika and let them sit for 10 minutes before baking them in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

ASSEMBLY

Match up the macaron shells so that both top and bottom are even sizes. Spoon or pipe in a tablespoon of the chocolate ganache and place both halves together and enjoy!