There is something about this time of the year that sparks my imagination and I throw caution to the wind. For days, visions of macarons have been dancing in my head. Not just any macarons, mind you, but macarons wearing little pumpkin costumes. I decided to attempt another batch of these finicky little monsters, color them orange, and add a little green stem. Most importantly, I wanted a truly luscious chocolatey filling because nothing says "Halloween" to me quite like chocolate. If you don't already know about my long, horrifying history with macarons, you can read about it, and find my basic recipe here. To add the little stems to the macaron shells, set aside a teaspoon or two of the shiny, white meringue before you fold it into the almond/powder sugar mixture. Add some green gel food color and mix until the meringue is uniformly green. Use a toothpick to place a mini-dollop to the center of the macaron before baking. Do this to half of your macaron shells.
I'm happy to report that I continue to have good results with my Mud House propane gas stove. I'm not sure this batch actually looks like little pumpkins but the chocolate caramel ganache filling is to die for...
Mud House Chocolate Caramel Ganache
5 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, heated
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Note: It is important to warm the cream because it will be added to the very hot cooked sugar. The cream boils furiously when added to the hot sugar, so be sure to cook the sugar in a saucepan large enough to accommodate the boiling cream.
Chop chocolate, place in heat proof bowl, and set aside.
Bring cream to a boil. Turn off heat and cover pan to keep cream warm.
In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and water until all the sugar is moistened. Heat on medium-high, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring and boil sugar undisturbed until it turns a deep amber. An instant-read thermometer will register 370 degrees. I usually remove it from the heat just before it reaches temperature then slowly and carefully pour the hot cream into the caramel. It will bubble up furiously. Use a silicone spatula to stir the mixture, scraping the bottom. Return to cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture is combined and the caramel has dissolved. Remove it from the heat and add butter, stirring gently. Let the caramel mixture cool for a few minutes before adding it to the chocolate. Adding too-hot caramel to the chocolate may cause the ganache to separate. You want the caramel warm enough to melt the chocolate but not too hot. Once you add the caramel to the chocolate, allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a minute while the chocolate melts.
Then stir very gently until the mixture is uniform and smooth. Add the vanilla, stirring to combine. Stirring too rapidly can may cause the ganache to separate.
Allow ganache to stand uncovered for 1 hour, then cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until firm enough to pipe onto meringue shells. Use a piping bag and tip to pipe a large "Hershey kiss" sized dollop onto the flat side of mararon shell and sandwich with another shell. Give a slight twist to the top shell as you sandwich it to the bottom shell.
Enjoy!
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