Inspired by Disneyland Paris, a recipe from Pierre Herme
Makes 6-8 Macaroon
Ingredients
– 100 g of raw hazelnuts
– 460 g Double cream
– 500 g milk chocolate
– 480 g icing sugar
– 280 g almond powder
– 210 g egg whites (7 whites)
– 100 g granulated white sugar
– 50 g cocoa powder – 100 g marzipan
1) Print and cut out the Mickey Mouse stencil
On thick paper or card, e.g. photo printing paper, print the drawing of Mickey’s head
Using scissors, cut out the black parts of the top of the face and the ears. Save these parts for when you make the ears and top of the face
2) Roast and crush hazelnuts
– 100 g of raw hazelnuts
Cover a baking tray with a greaseproof paper and place the hazelnuts on the tray (be sure to spread them evenly). Roast them in the oven at 160°C for 15-20 minutes. Remove the skin by rubbing them together. Put them in a colinder and shake, allowing for any remaining skin to fall. Using a rolling pin or an empty bottle, crush them into medium sized chunks and set them aside for when you assemble the macaroons.
3) Milk chocolate ganache
– 460 g Double cream
– 500 g milk chocolate
Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt – either in the microwave or in a sausepan over a low heart. In another saucepan, heat the cream until it comes to a boil and pour it over the chocolate gradually, mixing it until the ganache is blended. Cover the ganache and keep it in the refrigerator until it has slightly set, becoming slightly more creamy.
4) Before making the macaroon dough
Using ordinary paper, print a second head of Mickey. On greaseproof paper the size of your baking tray, use a large black felt-tip pen and using the stencil you’ve cut out, draw several Mickey heads side by side, 2 cm apart from each other. Once drawn, place a second sheet of greaseproof paper of the same size on top of this one, so you can see the stencils through the top sheet.
5) Making the macaroon
– 480 g icing sugar
– 280 g almond powder
– 210 g egg whites (7 whites)
– 100 g granulated white sugar
Mix the icing sugar and almond powder and, using a sieve, transfer the ingredients in to a mixing bowl. Using a food processor or a whisk, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add the granulated white sugar to stiffen the meringue. The whites should be slightly firm, shiny and smooth. Quickly sprinkle the powdered sugar-almond mixture over the meringue and uing a soft spatula, mix by folding the middle of the mixture towards the edges of the mixing bowl.
Place the mixture into a piping bag with a smooth tip. Using the drawing underneath the baking sheet, make disks 7 to 8 cm in diameter for the head and disks of about 4 to 5 cm in diameter joined together to for the ears..
Leave them for 30 minutes at room temperature before placing in the oven at 170°C for 18 – 20 minutes. If possible, leave the oven door ajar using a wooden spoon. If not, open the oven for 2-3 seconds every 5 minutes during the cooking time
6) How to make the macaroon look like Mickey
– 50 g cocoa powder
– 100 g marzipan
Once the macaroons are baked, while they’re still hot, immediately place the cut rigid paper stencil on a macaroon and sprinkle it with cocoa powder to draw the top of Mickey’s face on hald of the macaroons. Let the macaroons cool on a wire rack. In the meantime, mix a little marzipan with cocoa powder to form the eyes and nose – on the same half previously sprinkled with cocoa powder.
7) Assembling the Mickey macaroons
Pour part of the ganache into a piping bag with a smooth tip. Turn over the macaroons that have not have been used for the Mickey cocoa heads. Fill them generously with ganache, spreading it over the entire surface. Sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts and cover them with the macaroon of Mickey’s face. Press lightly and place them in the refrigerator for 24 hours to set – if you can resist them that long!
8) Tasting
Take them out of the refrigerator 2 hours before eating and enjoy!
