1. Keep egg whites at room temperature for 3-4 days without a lid.

2, Good almond flour. If you cook it yourself, then I advise you to hold the almonds after blanching and cleaning in the freezer, and then grind them in a coffee grinder in small doses. Be very careful, otherwise you will get almond paste. It is desirable to grind more than you plan to bake, after sifting large pieces will move away. Sift the resulting flour, separate large pieces and weigh only the sifted fine flour for baking. This should be done 2-3 days before baking. But if possible, then buy almond flour already ready. I now order online and the price between almonds and flour is negligible, especially when you consider the waste.

3. Be sure to sift the powdered sugar with almonds again after mixing and again after drying in the oven.

4. Proteins for whipping must be at room temperature. Cold proteins whip faster and do not have time to gain the right amount of air for a good rise. It is important not to beat the whites, otherwise the air bubbles will burst and the pasta will fall and crack instead of growing. Proteins after whipping should be dense, but at the same time soft.

5. Before baking, be sure to hit the baking sheet several times on the table so that air comes out of the cookies and keep them at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to form a crust. This can be easily verified. When you touch the surface with your fingernail, it springs, not sticks. Therefore, all experts unequivocally recommend baking them in dry weather.

6. Prepare the ganache for the filling in advance and keep in the refrigerator.

7. After baking pasta, you need to withstand 7-8 hours, and then start.

8. The taste of pasta is fully revealed when they lie down for several days in the refrigerator. And you can store them in the freezer, taking them out 20-30 minutes before eating.

Exquisite and incredibly tasty French Macaron cookies according to the classic recipe are prepared on the basis of almond flour. In the territory where they were invented, pasta is sold everywhere. And the most delicious desserts can be tasted in candy store Laduree.

But if you want to try sweet cookies with unusual fillings, you should go to the confectionery art picasso Pierre Erme, who is called the magician of taste and the best in his business for a reason. Every year he invents new combinations for pasta with notes of grapefruit and cloves, anise and saffron, lime and cucumber. Masterpiece desserts with spices, floral aromas, berry and fruit aromas annually replenish new collections of delicious and the most delicate dessert. It is thanks to Erme's creativity that everyone can try something new and unusual.

French Macarons are called that way, and not otherwise. But often they are called Macarons, Macaroon or Macaroni, which is an erroneous name. Unique cookies do not require special pastry skills and can be made at home. The classic recipe involves the use of two versions of powder in the same proportions. You can choose the filling from any cream, but chocolate ganache is considered the easiest to prepare. Also, if desired, pasta can be greased with any favorite jam or even condensed milk, and mixed into the dough coconut flakes or even chocolate chips.

Dough Ingredients:

• powdered sugar - 250 g;
• almond powder (flour) - 250 g;
• egg whites - 90 g + 90 g;
• cane sugar - 250 g;
• filtered water - 75 ml.

Light Ganache Ingredients:

• high-fat cream (33-35%) - 75 ml;
• White chocolate- 150 g;
• butter- 1 tsp

Dark Ganache Ingredients:

• high-fat cream - 75 ml;
• black chocolate bitter - 100 g;
• butter - 1 tsp

Cooking:

We sift both powders through a fine sieve to obtain a loose mass without large particles. It is especially important to do this with almond flour, so that the French macarons will turn out smoother and more tender. It is best to weigh bulk products already sieved for greater accuracy.

Mix the ingredients together, and then add half egg white leaving the rest to whip. Mix until you get a homogeneous sugar-almond paste.

Let's move on to the Italian meringue. To do this, dilute sugar with filtered cold water and put on moderate heat. Stir regularly with a spatula to prevent sticking to the bowl.

When the syrup begins to gurgle, we begin to beat the rest of the chilled proteins at a slow speed, and after a couple of minutes we switch the mixer to a fast mode.

Remove the dishes from the heat and introduce the syrup in a thin stream to the proteins without stopping the whipping process. In this case, the speed must be transferred to medium, allowing the mass to slightly increase in volume and completely turn white.

Turn off the appliance and let the meringue cool down. Then turn on the mixer again and beat into a thick foam until the bird's beaks. When the protein will harden on the fingers in this form, you can stop the whipping process.

The resulting mass is introduced into the almond paste in three stages. Stir quickly, but gently and slowly. The result is an unusual viscous air mixture.

We transfer it to a pastry bag with a round nozzle and squeeze halves of French Macaron cookies onto a baking sheet. We try to make them the same and leave space between them. We produce jigging on a silicone or any other baking mat. You can use regular thick parchment paper.

Then several times strictly vertically we toss the baking sheet over the work surface by three centimeters and lower it onto the table. This will help remove excess air bubbles and make the surface of the dessert smoother.

We leave the blanks alone for 15-30 minutes and preheat the oven to 150 degrees. During this time, the French Macaron cake should grab a little and, when pressed with a finger, will not stick to it.

We send the dessert to the oven, close the door and lower the temperature to 140 degrees. Bake them for no more than 10 minutes. At the sixth minute, the baking sheet should be taken out and turned over so that all halves are baked evenly.

When ready, you should immediately pull the mat with dessert onto the work surface from the baking sheet so that they begin to cool at room temperature.

At this time, you can do the preparation of ganache. It is prepared according to the same principle for two variants of chocolate. To do this, heat the cream over moderate heat and remove from the stove. Add the chocolate, divided into squares, and knead with a whisk or spatula until completely dissolved. Add butter and stir until completely dissolved.

Pour the resulting homogeneous mixture into a separate bowl. It can be made in any color with your favorite syrup or food coloring. To make the dark brown ganache especially fragrant, you can add a little of your favorite liquor or cognac to it.

When the filling has cooled down a bit, put it in a pastry bag and squeeze it onto French Macaroons in a small amount and strictly in the middle. Then cover with the second half and lightly press down so that the cream is evenly distributed.

We do the same with the second version of the filling. Finished products are best stored in the refrigerator in tightly closed plastic or cardboard packaging.

When you really want to cook a unique French dessert "Macaroni" with a variety of fillings and dyes, but you can't find flour, you can cook it at home. Of course, it will be significantly inferior to the purchased one, but the taste of an elegant delicacy will not get worse from this.

Ingredients:

• almonds - 1 cup.

Cooking:

1. Almonds are dipped in hot water for literally one minute, and then discarded in a colander.
2. The steamed skins will easily fall behind the nuts, making them very easy to peel. To do this, you need to lightly press it and the almonds will pop out by themselves.
3. If necessary, blot the nuts with a towel to get rid of excess moisture. Then we send it to the oven, preheated to 80 degrees. The almonds will dry for about half an hour. In the process, it must be stirred so that it warms up evenly. You need to do this every 7-10 minutes.
4. Pour the finished almonds into a food processor with sharp blades that are close to the bottom. Otherwise, you will have to stop the equipment regularly and mix with a spatula to grind everything evenly.
5. We turn on and off the processor or blender every 5-10 seconds until the nuts turn into crumbs. The main thing in this matter is not to overdo it. In the almond flour from which the French Macaron will be made, there should be small, unground pieces. Otherwise, the almonds will begin to give off oil, which means they can spoil the bitterness of wonderful cakes.
6. We sift the resulting powder, and send the rest to the combine and grind it again according to the previous scheme. Then pass through the sieve again. We do this until there is no minimal amount crumbs. At this stage, you should stop. Almond flour is ready.

Pasta without almond flour

If almonds are not your favorite nut, then give up delicious dessert if you don’t feel like it, you can make a treat from other flour options. French pasta by simple recipe without almond flour cook housewives all over the world, preferring others, no less delicious ways. The filling and the method of kneading the dough remain the same, but the fundamental ingredient changes.

Ingredients:

• nut flour - 200 g;
• powdered sugar - 200 g;
• cold water - 80 ml;
• chicken protein -150 g;
• cane sugar - 200 g.

Cooking:

Dry the walnuts in the oven at the lowest temperature. Then we clean them from the peel, which will easily leave after baking.

Grinding main ingredient in a blender or food processor to crumbs as well as in the recipe for almond flour. The finished product is weighed after sieving, as any nuts lose weight during the cooking process. In the finished flour, sift the powder and mix everything thoroughly. Then beat half the protein and bring the dough until smooth.

We make syrup from sugar and cold water. While it is cooling, beat the protein, and then introduce the slightly cooled sweet mass into it.

When the meringue begins to form stable peaks, turn off the mixer and introduce it to the dough in small portions, kneading the dough.

We bake macaroons according to the same principle as indicated in classic recipe. Optionally, add any coloring and flavoring.

Le Macaron

For a long time I did not dare to cook desserts. I am ashamed, but I confess - I have never cooked desserts, have not baked a single cake and have no idea how to bake cupcakes and cookies. It is necessary to fill this gap, of course, with experience.
But it is difficult to do this when you do not like sweets. I am very cool about sweet dishes and sugar in general, but I really want to be able to make desserts ... I don’t know how to explain it, maybe in order to please friends and relatives, among whom there are sweet teeth.

I set myself a certain bar - to make 20 of the world's most famous desserts, one per week, I hope that at least some of them will work out.
The first decision was to make funny biscuits "macaron" or "macaroon", to be honest I don't know how to do it correctly - and they are called that way anyway.

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Let's start with the cream - ganache.
cutting floor tiles dark chocolate(50gr)

I melt it in a water bath ...

In the meantime, I'm heating up cream 33% fat content (70 ml.) almost to a boil.

I mix cream and melted chocolate, add butter(20gr.)

I leave to chill. It is necessary to put a bowl of ganache in a cool place and completely cover it with a film, it is desirable that air does not get in.

Now let's deal with the base - almond-protein cookie dough.
The ingredients for this dessert are simple, but they also need to be found. For example, where to buy almond flour I had no idea, so I decided to make it myself. At first, I naively thought that I would find this flour in the nearest confectionery departments, but in the area of ​​the city where I live, at any time of the day or night, you can only buy vodka and beer.

For the recipe you need 110 gr. almond flour. Bought gram 200 almond(it is better to let it remain, what will be missed) poured boiling water over everything.

This is done to remove the husk. We clean by hand. I agree, this is nonsense, but you need to overcome your laziness and do it. Then dry on paper towels.

After cooling a little, the nuts should be very well chopped in a blender or in a coffee grinder.

We measure out 110 grams of ground almonds.

Mix almonds with 200g. powdered sugar. I didn’t weigh it, because just a package of sugar - 200g.

The next step is to prepare the meringue, that is, you need to beat the protein. Here, it is very important to follow the recipe and weigh the exact amount of ingredients, and you also need to try so that water does not get into the protein, the devices must be dry. This is important, you will see why later.
So - you need to take 3 squirrel, weighing 90gr.

Beat the protein with a pinch of salt, gradually increasing the speed, we do everything with a blender, my hand is not trained to make meringue. Beat until thick enough to turn the bowl over and it doesn't come out. 2-3 minutes before the end, add 1st. spoon not full Sahara.

Very carefully, slowly, we introduce into the protein - almond mixture, into three or four fillings.
At this stage, if you want to color the cookies, then you need to divide the dough and add color. I expect a share of negativity here, they say food colorings - these are chemistry, E124, E133, etc. ... but, you consume them all every day, with yogurts, packaged juices, sausages and other products. Another tip: it is better to add a gel dye, not a liquid one, you will also see why.

The protein-almond mass should be laid out in small cakes on parchment. I do this with a teaspoon. You can also use a confectionery bag, probably convenient.
Look how the mass lay down without dye.

And here is how the oil with the dye lay down. Just a drop of liquid made the dough look like this - it blurred, in structure they almost do not differ from cookies without dye, but in appearance- these are flatter, and should be more airy.

Pasta should stand for 20 minutes, then touch the surface with your finger, if it doesn’t stick, then boldly set to bake - 14 minutes at 150 degrees.
Here's what happens.

French macarons are a combination of aristocratic taste, a rainbow palette of colors and a sophisticated almond flavor.

The fashion for gastronomic asceticism and the popularity of vegetarianism are increasingly being replaced by another fashionable status - the status of a connoisseur. haute cuisine. In today's culinary world, it's easy to be a gourmet, especially when it's introduced. gourmet delicacies, one view of which opens the gate to paradise. It is heavenly delight that promises the colorful appearance of the royal French dessert with the uncomplicated name "macaroni" or "macaroni".

french macaron- These are multi-colored almond-biscuit cakes with a fragile glossy crust, an airy “pelerine” and a creamy layer that melts in your mouth. A collection of flavors and a palette of colors delights the sweet tooth of the whole world. And this justifies the efforts of French confectioners, whose imagination did not stop at traditional dessert flavors. Classic chocolate, fruit and berry, coffee macaroni - for conservative gourmets. Demanding admirers of French desserts prefer pink pepper macaroni, champagne, rose petals, violet, lily of the valley, grenadine, salted caramel, drunken cherry, saffron with orange, etc. But some gourmets have gone even further in their taste preferences and fell in love with newfangled savory pasta with foie gras, olives or truffles.

Although macaron is considered a French dessert, it was still invented in medieval Italy. A refined french cuisine discovered macaroons only during the Renaissance. At that time, the dessert, although served exclusively to the royal nobility, looked unremarkable. This culinary misunderstanding was corrected in the 20th century by the famous French confectioner Pierre Defontaine, who came up with the idea of ​​gluing two parts of the biscuit with the filling. And he improved the shape, taste and color of the cake, which made it incredibly popular, another Frenchman - pastry chef Pierre Erme. This version of gourmet pasta is loved by the whole world!

TOP 5 recipes how to cook pasta cake

Recipe 1: Classic Macaroni from Pierre Herme's Macaron

For 4-5 servings:
For test:

1. 150 g almond flour, 150 g sweet powder, 55 g egg whites.
2. 150 g sweet powder, 37 g water, 55 g egg whites.

For chocolate-nut ganache: 20 g bitter chocolate 70%, 100 g white chocolate, 60 g cream 33%, 35 g butter, 25 g pistachio paste.

Prepare ganache:

1. Crush both types of chocolate bars into small pieces, add pistachio paste and pour over the cream brought to a boil.
2. After half a minute, mix the components, add soft butter to form a perfectly smooth mass.
3. Close the finished ganache with a film and rearrange in the refrigerator to thicken.

Prepare pasta:

1. Cook syrup for Italian meringue: pour 50 g of water into powdered sugar (150 g) and cook, measuring the temperature, exactly up to 118 degrees.
2. Beat whites (55 g) until stiff (should be kept in a "cap" in an inverted bowl). Without stopping the process of whipping, pour boiling syrup in a thin stream. It takes about 10 minutes to beat the sweet meringue, until the mass cools down to 50-40 degrees, and acquires a smooth, shiny texture.
3. Dilute almond flour with sweet powder, sift. Add the second serving of protein (55 g) and ready Italian meringue. Knead the dough with a spatula until it flows in a “ribbon” from the shoulder blade. The secret to kneading is to turn the bowl counterclockwise while the spatula follows the clock hand. The main thing is not to overdo it!
4. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and, holding it STRICTLY vertically, pipe the pasta onto a baking sheet. It is better to lay them out in a checkerboard pattern so that the air circulates well between the cookies, allowing them to bake perfectly. In order for the surface of the pasta to be smooth and even, the baking sheet needs to be lightly tapped on the table several times.
5. Necessarily deposited cookies must be left in a place with low humidity for an hour. During this time, its surface will take on an elastic "branded" crust. You can check it with a light touch of your finger, if the top of the dough has seized, and there are no marks left on the skin, the pasta is ready for baking.
6. Baking should be carried out at 160 ° C, it will take 9-12 minutes. At 7-10 minutes (after the formation of a “skirt”), you need to get the baking sheet, unfold the other side and continue baking until done. Transfer the parchment with the pasta to a cold surface.
7. Assemble the French biscuits by using a pastry bag to spread the filling between the biscuits. Ganache should be on a par with the "skirt".

Recipe 2: Salted Caramel Pasta

Salted caramel in dessert macaroni is also an invention of Pierre Herme. Sweet-salty delicacy promises an amazing harmony of seemingly incongruous tastes.

For 10 servings: 250 g almond flour, 225 g icing sugar, 207 g sugar, 130 g butter, 85 ml 35% cream, 100 g egg white, 3.5 g instant coffee, a small spoonful of lemon juice, 1 vanilla pod, a teaspoon of salt.

Caramel:

1. Melt granulated sugar in parts in a dry saucepan. You can't let it burn. The thermometer on the finished caramel should show 160 ° C.
2. Pour cream into half a serving of butter, heat the mixture, put the vanilla pod. When it comes to a boil, remove the vanilla.
3. In the caramel removed from the hob, add hot cream. Do not stop stirring so that the cream does not have time to curdle. In the process - salt. Return the saucepan to the fire and hold until the thermometer shows 108 ° C.
4. Cool the caramel, allowing it to thicken to a viscous state.
5. Beat the second part of the butter with a food processor. Add caramel, mix until smooth.

Macaroni:

1. In 4 ml hot water pour coffee, brew. Pour coffee liquid into a whipped mass of protein, salt and lemon juice.
2. In portions, mix a dense protein "cap" into a mixture of flour and powder. The dough cannot be “crushed” during the kneading process, otherwise air bubbles will disappear. Readiness can be determined by the shiny, smooth surface of the mass, which will fall off the shoulder blade.
3. Immediately transfer the dough to a culinary bag and squeeze out even circles with a diameter of 4-5 cm onto parchment covering a baking sheet. Lightly tap the mold with the blanks with the palm of your hand, allowing the dough to become smooth.
4. After 20 minutes, move the pasta to the oven with a temperature of 150 degrees for 12 minutes.
5. From ready-made semi-finished products and salted caramel to build French macaroni cakes.

Recipe 3: Lavender Macaroni "Macarons à la lavande"

For 8-10 servings: 80 g almond flour, 20 g wheat flour, 80 g egg whites, 125 mascarpone cheese, 240 g powdered sugar, a tablespoon of milk, 2 tbsp. spoons of honey, 2 tbsp. spoons of lavender flowers, purple food coloring.

1. Pour almond and wheat flour to 180 g of powder, and sift everything together several times so that the components are well saturated with air.
2. Pour 60 g of sweet powder into the proteins and beat until strong peaks form.
3. AT protein mass sift the mixture of dry flour and powder again, add the dye. Gently mix by moving the spatula from top to bottom.
4. Place the purple mass in a bag and deposit on a baking sheet.
5. Lightly tap the baking sheet with the blanks on the surface, achieving evenness of the tops of the pasta.
6. After half an hour or an hour, bake the “rested” and crusty cookies for 10 minutes, creating a temperature of 145 degrees in the oven.
7. Cream can be prepared in advance. Pour a tablespoon of lavender flowers with milk and set aside so that the milk is saturated with lavender smells.
8. Strain aromatic milk, pour in mascarpone, add honey. Lightly beat the cream with a whisk.
9. Apply cream to half of the pasta, cover the second and carefully fill the hermetically sealed box with ready-made cakes. French cookies should be infused in the refrigerator for a day.

Recipe 4: French lemon biscuit macarons

For 8 pasta: 45 g almond flour, 10 g sugar, 1 egg, 75 g icing sugar, 0.5 teaspoon yellow food coloring, 50 ml lemon juice, 100 g white chocolate.

1. For the lemon ganache, break the white chocolate into pieces and place in a water bath. Pour lemon juice into softened chocolate, mix, cool. Place covered in foil in the refrigerator.
2. Protein (36 g), aged at room temperature, beat with sugar. Add sweetness gradually, beat the protein - starting with low speed. Before the appearance of stable "tops" add dye.
3. Pass the almond flour and powder through a sieve 2 times. Pour the dry mixture in portions into the protein foam. Knead the dough gently, “wrapping” the flour with a spatula into a protein mass. Using this method, the consistency will turn out to be soft and viscous, smoothly falling from the spatula.
4. On a form with a baking sheet of paper, place even circles of macaron, retreating from each previous 3 cm.
5. Leave the deposited blanks for half an hour without attention, so that an even crust forms on top.
6. Place the form in a preheated oven (140 ° C) - the total baking time is 15-18 minutes. At the fifth minute, when the “pelerine” begins to appear, the baking sheet can be removed and unfolded on the other side. So the dessert will bake more evenly.
7. Transfer the finished pastry along with parchment to a cool surface, thereby stopping the baking process. Properly baked pasta, though sticky around the edges, should remain soft inside. Turn slightly chilled cakes upside down to cool completely.
8. Applying lemon ganache, collect pasta into cakes. Treat French cookies loved ones and friends are better the next day.

Recipe 5: Mint French Macaroni

For 4-5 servings: 85 g almond flour, 160 g powdered sugar, 2 servings of egg white 45 g each, 125 g sugar, green gel or dry food coloring.
Mint cream: 50 g butter, 50 ml water, 200 g sugar, fresh mint sprigs.

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, sift the almond flour in the same place. Mix the dry ingredients and pour in 45 g of protein at room temperature. Knead the almond dough with the smoothest possible texture.
2. Prepare a Swiss meringue with 45 g of protein and sugar. Combine ingredients and place on water bath. Do not stop whisking for 10 minutes. Transfer the mass to the combine and knead for another 10 minutes.
3. Add a little green dye to the finished batch to make the color mint.
4. Put the meringue in small portions into the almond dough, and with soft movements from the bottom up, combine the masses, achieving uniformity.
5. Using a nozzle and a culinary bag, squeeze out flat, even cakes.
6. After a quarter of an hour, place a baking sheet with almond blanks in a heated oven (150 degrees) for baking. Close the oven, reduce the temperature by 140 ° C - bake for 6 minutes. Open the oven and cook for another 4 minutes.
7. Transfer the pasta with paper to a wire rack and cool.
8. For mint cream: bring sugar and water to a boil. Place chopped mint leaves into boiling water. Boil caramel for ten minutes.
9. Strain the finished syrup, cool and pour 4-5 tablespoons of mint liquid into the white-blended butter. Whip everything together.
10. Combine French macaroni with mint filling and among themselves, picking up the same circles as much as possible. Garnish with sprigs of green mint when serving.

Colorful cookies with a "skirt" in the process of cooking often show a capricious disposition. To recreate an exact copy of French pasta, you must strictly adhere to the technology, the recommendations of the masters and stock up on the endurance of a Buddhist monk.

1. Proportions are the first, and perhaps the main condition! The dough does not tolerate measures "by eye". This dessert requires a kitchen scale. An inaccurate mass of ingredients can spoil the corporate identity of the cookies - a beautiful "lace" around the edges will not work.
2. It is better to get the eggs out of the cold before cooking so that they have time to reach the temperature of the room.
3. Almond flour should not contain badly broken nut particles. Only dry almond powder can be considered a quality pasta ingredient.
4. Be sure to sift the flour for the dough! French culinary schools have proven through experiments that triple sifting of dry ingredients makes pasta dough perfect.
5. To make the blanks as even as possible, you can draw circles of the same diameter on the wrong side of the parchment with a pencil.
6. Another absolute rule is to dry the blanks before baking. They need to be allowed to "rest" for an hour, before the crust hardens. If during this time it has not dried up, the air in the kitchen is too humid. Some pastry chefs leave pasta to dry overnight.
7. If the ganache for pasta filling includes white chocolate, it is better to additionally “thicken” it with butter and put it away to harden in the cold for several hours, or cook the day before the cakes are formed.

french macaron- the most modern of the classics culinary masterpieces dessert. In a short period, multi-colored almond "confetti" made a splash all over the world! And all because in a small cake under a crispy shell, in tender stuffing and the divine aroma lurks a firework of taste. Having experienced it at least once, you will also know the meaning of the French expression - "C'est tres magnifique!"

As soon as we do not call it - pasta, macaroon, macarons, macaroni ... True sweet tooth immediately understand what is at stake. About the famous french dessert based on almond meringue. And although it looks simple, cooking it according to all the canons is a whole art, which is not easy to master. Today we will reveal the main culinary tricks legendary delicacy, let's analyze original recipes, and at the same time learn the history of its occurrence.

What's with the pasta?

First of all, let's deal with the name of the dessert. It comes from the Italian maccarone, which translates as "crush". This refers us to the main ingredient - almond flour. To get it, you need to crush, or rather grind, the almond kernels into the smallest crumb. Based on the original name, it is correct to say "pasta". And "macaroon" is a completely different dessert - coconut-almond cookies in the form of a turret, especially popular in America.

What is French macaron? This is the most delicate cake-cookie made of two smooth halves, fastened with viscous fillings. The halves are made from whipped egg whites, almond flour and powdered sugar. They come in milky, yellow, pink, green, scarlet, and even black, depending on the food coloring. There are also many options for toppings. Berry confiture, creamy or custard, white or dark chocolate ganache, nut butter- at the discretion of the confectioner.

Parisian souvenir

Who came up with the almond pasta recipe first? No one will give a definite answer. But there are many legends. According to one version, the cake was invented in the 17th century by the nuns Marguerite and Marie-Elisabeth from the city of Nancy. To get around the strict monastic prohibitions, they went to the trick and began to bake lean cookies, gluing them with forbidden fillings. According to another legend, pasta cakes appeared thanks to Catherine de Medici. Especially for her wedding with Henry II, she invited eminent confectioners from Italy, who came up with an exclusive cake for the newlyweds.

In the 16th century, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette enjoyed pasta cakes. At social events, it was served on porcelain saucers with a cup of hot chocolate. The queen even named her cat in honor of her favorite dessert. It is noteworthy that in those days the cake was prepared without a layer - the halves were glued together with hot steam. In the 19th century, jams, liqueurs and spices began to be used for this. Pasta acquired its signature soft core only in the 20th century thanks to Pierre Defontaine and his Ladurée confectionery.

Filigree Precision

How to make pasta at home? Remember, by eye, such a dessert will definitely not work. You will need an electronic scale and a kitchen thermometer. Strict proportions and precisely adjusted temperature are the key to success.

Choose your almond flour carefully. It should be of high quality and the finest grinding. You can make it yourself only with a powerful food processor. But it is better not to take risks and find the right product in the store.

It is clear that the eggs should be as fresh as possible. Proteins should be separated using a separator so that there is not a drop of yolk in them. Professional confectioners "age" the proteins before whipping. To do this, they are placed in a glass container, tightened cling film, make several punctures and send to rest in the refrigerator for a couple of days. During this time, excess moisture evaporates, so the proteins are easier to beat and keep their shape. And most importantly - when baking, you will get flawlessly smooth halves.

Some recipes add syrup to the meringue. In no case should you knead it too much during cooking. A little trick - stir the syrup with a thermometer. So you definitely do not overdo it and you can control the temperature. Remember, when added to whipped proteins, it should not exceed 45 ° C.

To the desired condition

Whip egg whites for pasta until stiff, silky peaks are obtained. Then they begin to add almond and plain flour, gradually kneading the pasta - this is the name of the base of the cakes. You need to do this with smooth, confident circular movements. Keep in mind that if you beat the mass too hard, it will become watery and the characteristic “skirts” will not work. And if you do not beat enough, the pasta will crack right in the oven.

For depositing, it is most convenient to use disposable pastry bags with a nozzle with a diameter of 8-10 mm. Keep it strictly perpendicular to the surface and try to make the halves even and the same. Parchment paper will make this easier. On it, you can circle circles of the desired diameter with a pencil and carefully fill with pasta. In addition, with parchment, everything will be baked in at its best. Whereas silicone mats heat up quickly and cool down for a long time. This can disrupt the temperature regime, and the pasta will not turn out.

Another important nuance. Before being sent to the oven, the halves should be “repulsed”. To do this, the baking sheet is slightly raised above the table and slightly thrown. This will get rid of air bubbles inside. If this is not done and immediately put the pasta in the oven, they will burst. It is very important to let the blanks rest for 20-25 minutes. During this time, they will be covered with a crust that will not allow the meringue to crack.

Perfect soul mate

The temperature and time of baking pasta depends on the characteristics of your oven. Experienced housewives share this advice. The oven must be preheated to 150 °C. Once you have placed the cake pan in it, reduce the temperature to 140°C. This is necessary to grab the cherished "skirt". In this mode, pasta cakes are baked for 5-6 minutes. Then the baking sheet is carefully turned to the other side and baked for the same amount of time. It's easy to check readiness. Pry off the cake with the tip of a knife. If it is baked, it will separate without the slightest effort. Wait for all halves to cool before removing from parchment.

Straight into the heart

Layers for pasta can be devoted to a separate article. Classic variant- chocolate ganache It is done easily and quickly. Melt a bar of pure chocolate in a water bath and mix with 150-160 ml of cream with a fat content of at least 33%. To make the ganache thick and sticky, beat it with a whisk.

Do you love berries? Then make a raspberry or strawberry ganache. To do this, beat 100 g fresh berries puree and pass through a sieve. Mix it with 50-60 ml heavy cream and simmer a little over low heat.

Italian soft mascarpone cheese is perfect for the layer. It will make the most delicious fruit cream. Whip it up with powdered sugar to taste and add your favorite berries or fruits.

You can create your own layer of your choice. The best ingredients for this are jams, soft cheeses, lemon juice and zest, any nuts, mint or basil, and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg.

coffee pleasure

We propose to use all the knowledge gained and disassemble step by step recipe photo pasta. Let's start with the coffee filling.

Main Ingredients:

• egg white - 80 g
• almond flour - 80 g
• Wheat flour- 10 g
• cocoa powder - 10 g
• powdered sugar - 60 g in proteins + 180 g in flour
• espresso - 0.5 tsp

• mascarpone - 100 g
• bitter chocolate - 50 g
• espresso - 1 tbsp. l.

1. Sift 180 g of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, plain and almond flour 3 times.

2. Beat egg whites and 60 g of powdered sugar into strong peaks.

3. Continuing to beat the whites, gradually introduce the dry base along with 0.5 tsp. espresso and knead the pasta.

4. Fill a pastry bag with pasta and pipe onto a baking sheet with parchment paper beautiful smooth halves.

5. Leave the blanks at room temperature for half an hour.

6. Preheat oven to 145°C and bake pasta for 10-12 minutes.

7. Melt chocolate in a water bath, pour in espresso, cool and beat with mascarpone.

8. Fill a clean piping bag with the coffee ganache and seal the halves together.

9. Put the pasta cakes in the refrigerator for a day.

tea history

To color pasta, use natural food coloring. Matcha tea will give them a beautiful pale green hue.

Main Ingredients:

• egg white - 125 g
• almond flour - 110 g
• powdered sugar - 225 g
• fine sugar - 50 g
• matcha tea - 5 g

Interlayer:

• cream 35% - 100 ml
• white chocolate - 125 g
• vanillin - on the tip of a knife

Sift flour and powdered sugar several times, add matcha tea. Beat egg whites with fine sugar until stiff peaks form. Gradually add flour with powdered sugar and matcha, gently knead the pasta. We fill them with a pastry bag and place the round halves on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Leave them like this for 30 minutes. Then bake in the oven at 150°C for about 15 minutes.

Melt white chocolate, cool, pour in slightly warmed cream. Beat everything into a fluffy smooth cream, add vanilla. We connect the halves of the cakes, gently smearing chocolate cream. Next, you need to let the dessert harden properly.

sunny citrus

Do you prefer sour? Then try Lemon Curd Macaroni Cake.

Main Ingredients:

• egg whites - 110 g
• almond flour - 150 g
• powdered sugar - 150 g
• sugar - 150 g
• water - 40 ml
• yellow food coloring

Lemon Curd:

• egg yolks - 4 pcs.
• sugar - 50 g
• lemon juice- 50 ml
• lemon zest - 1 tsp
• butter - 75 g
• cornstarch - 1 tsp
• water - 1 tbsp. l.

This time we'll start with lemon curd. Mix the yolks, sugar, juice and lemon zest in a saucepan. Stirring constantly, slowly bring everything to a boil. In the process, pour in the starch dissolved in water. When the mass becomes homogeneous, add the butter in cubes and melt completely. Cool down lemon curd, tighten with cling film in a bowl, put in the refrigerator.

Now let's get to the pasta. First, cook a thick syrup of water and sugar. Then sift the almond flour with powdered sugar. Separately, beat egg whites with icing sugar until stiff peaks. With a silicone spatula, mix them with a dry base. In a thin stream, we introduce the syrup that has cooled to 45 ° C and yellow dye. Fill a pastry bag with macaroni, place the halves of the cakes and bake for 10-12 minutes at 150 ° C. When they have cooled, we form pasta cakes and send them to the refrigerator.

blackberry nights

The next variation of pasta will appeal to lovers of berry variations. Here we will use blackberries for the layer. You can take any other berry.