Pistachio macaron.. you are gonna love it

It is a little bit pricey.. but worth the effort

Pistachio macs has been a house fav.. except for my son, he hated the nuts..

Ever since i had a success in my macaron journey.. up and down..i was getting more excited , looking forward in trying new flavours... new colours.. new shape maybe.. so many variation out there just like having handbags and shoes.. you wanted to try something new ,yet attractive... something flashy....and sexy

I wanted to make a macaron with an intense pistachio filling and shell.Nothing pays the pleasure of having a delicate crunch and soft moist macaron shell in your mouth... yummy..I tried making the pistahio ganache but the buttercream pistachio filling is still my fav as it gives a smooth and lighter feeling compared to ganache and cream cheese+pistachio filling.So far i think book from jose is my fav besides the famous pierre hermes macaron macaron book.. here is the recipe..using italian method

Recipe source : secrets of macaron by Jose Marechal

The Ingredients :

(for the smooth paste - tant pour tant)
120 gm ground pistachios #im too generous..i used al pistahios, no almond
80 gm ground almonds
200 gm icing sugar
80 gm egg whites

(for sugar syrup)
75 ml water
200 gm castor sugar
#need to have candy thermometer or use manual method (sugar drop in water to look for soft ball form)

(for meringue)
80 gm egg whites

• Prepare the almond paste (tant pour tant) and set aside
• In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to the boil , while that, beating the egg whites to soft peaks.
• When the sugar reaches 115'c, remove the saucepan from the heat, increase the speed of your mixer and pour the syrup in a thin stream into the beaten eggs (meringue)
• Continue to beat the meringue until it cools a little or some might said about 50'C
• Combine the almond paste that we made earlier into the meringue.At this stage you might want to add some food coloring or during making the almond paste.To create this pistachio color i add some green and yellow food coloring.
• Using a flexible spatula, incorporate the mixtures well.Carefully working the batter, not to overworked (a technique called macaronage) or else the batter will be runny and you are going to lose the "feet".You should stop when the mixture resulting a smooth flowing.Another test is by piping a small macaron on another paper. if there is still a "nipple" then you should work a little bit more.
• Fill the batter in pipping bag and pipe out small onto the parchment paper.Lightly tap the botom of the tray and allow the macarons to form a crust (croutage-drying time).may take about 30-60 mins depends on weather and room temperature.
• Lightly touch the top, if it doesn't stick then it is ready .
• Preheat the oven and bake at 150"C for about 15 mins (ovens may vary -depends, no fan oven might take higher temperature)

For the filling ... there are so many selections that u can make but i still prefer the buttercream

Ingredients :

250 gm butter
25 gm icing sugar
150 gm pistachio paste

Want to know how to make your own pistachio paste using pierre hermes recipe? click here

Beat the soften butter into a smooth and creamy texture.Add the icing sugar, beat.Finally incorporate the pistachio paste and beat again for another minutes to aerate the cream and give it lightness.