WHAT ARE THEY?
Macaron shells filled with a verbena-infused diplomat cream and a fresh raspberry.
TIME TO MAKE
Preparation: 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking: 12–15 minutes
Resting: 24 hours (optional)
EQUIPMENT
Electric mixer
Piping bag (8 mm diameter)
VARIATION
Infuse the diplomat cream with a scraped vanilla bean rather than the verbena.
TIP
Depending on the season, you could use dried verbena.
TRICKY ASPECTS
Folding in the meringue.
Dropping the macaron mixture correctly.
TECHNIQUES TO MASTER
ORGANISATION
1 month or 15 days before | Make and freeze the macaron shells.
2 days before | For fresh macarons, make the shells.
1 day before | Make the diplomat cream.
On the day | Assemble the macarons and serve.
MAKES 40
1 MACARON SHELLS
80 g water
250 g sugar
200 g egg white (from 6 eggs)
250 g finely ground almonds
250 g (2 cups) icing sugar
pinch of powdered red colouring
2 FILLING
250 g (2 cups) fresh raspberries
3 DIPLOMAT CREAM
8 g leaf gelatine
100 g egg yolk (from 6–7 eggs)
120 g sugar
50 g cornflour
500 g milk
1 bunch fresh verbena, washed
50 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
200 g whipping cream (35 per cent fat)
4 DECORATION
20 fresh raspberries, halved
1 Make the macaron shells following the method, adding red colouring to the almond base. Match up pairs of shells of the same size.
2 To make the diplomat cream, start by soaking the gelatine in cold water. Blanch the egg yolk with the sugar then whisk in the cornflour.
3 Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan with the verbena. When it starts to rise up the sides of the pan, remove the verbena and whisk half the infused milk into the egg yolk, sugar and cornflour mixture.
4 Pour it all back into the saucepan and, whisking vigorously to stop it sticking to the bottom, cook over a medium–high heat. When the mixture starts to thicken, cook for another 1–2 minutes over a high heat, still whisking. Remove from the heat, add the butter, squeeze out and add the gelatine and mix. Turn out into a baking dish lined with plastic wrap and cover with plastic wrap (with the plastic touching). Set aside in the refrigerator.
5 Whip the cream straight from the refrigerator until it loses its sheen. Set aside in the refrigerator. Whisk the pastry cream, add one-third of the whipped cream, then whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining cream and fold it in gently using a silicone spatula.
6 Pipe a dome of the cream mixture in the middle of one macaron shell of each pair, leaving a 5 mm border. Place a raspberry on top and push it into the cream, then add a tiny spot of cream on the raspberry and top with the second macaron shell of the pair, pressing lightly so the cream reaches the edges. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
7 Just before serving, pipe a dot of diplomat cream on each macaron and top with half a raspberry.
