Hazelnut And Almond Macaroons With Orange Semifreddo Recipes

HAZELNUT AND ALMOND MACAROONS WITH ORANGE SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Make macaroons:
• Preheat oven to 200°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw or trace 12 (3-inch) circles 1 inch apart on parchment and turn paper over on baking sheet.
• Put egg whites in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water and gently whisk constantly until barely warm. Remove bowl from heat and beat whites with a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add 1/2 cup superfine sugar, beating until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Fold in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, then nuts.
• Transfer meringue to pastry bag and pipe 12 rounds of meringue inside drawn circles on parchment. Bake in middle of oven until dry to the touch and crisp, about 1 1/2 hours. If macaroons are not crisp after 1 1/2 hours, turn off oven and let stand in oven 30 to 40 minutes more. Peel macaroons off parchment and transfer to a rack to cool (macaroons may stick if cooled on paper).
• Make semifreddo:
• Finely grate enough zest from oranges to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons. Squeeze 2 cups juice.
• Whisk together yolks, sugar, and potato starch in a 1-quart heavy saucepan. Gradually add juice, whisking until smooth. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 6 minutes. Pour through a very fine sieve into a metal bowl and stir in zest. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir occasionally until mixture is cold.
• Freeze in ice-cream maker until soft-frozen. Spread semifreddo on flat (bottom) side of 6 macaroons and top with remaining macaroons, flat sides down. Wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve.
• Make wine syrup:
• Remove zest from orange with a vegetable peeler, then remove any white pith from zest. Julienne zest. Squeeze 1 tablespoon juice.
• Cover zest with cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Pat dry.
• Cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel.
• While caramel is cooking, bring wine and zest to a boil in a small saucepan. Tilt caramel pan and carefully pour in wine with zest (caramel will harden and steam vigorously). Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Stir in orange and lemon juices, then cool.
• Let filled macaroons soften 20 to 25 minutes at room temperature, then serve with wine syrup.

HAZELNUT SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Grease a 10-inch spring form pan and line with parchment paper.
• In a food processor grind the hazelnuts and 3/4 cup sugar together, pulsing to avoid over blending so it does not become a paste. Whip the cream using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, until fluffy, soft peaks. Transfer to the refrigerator.
• In a clean dry bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla extract and 1/4 cup sugar and continue whipping until glossy and stiff, about 30 seconds more. Fold into the whipped cream, then fold in the ground nut mixture. Spoon the mixture into the spring form pan. Smooth the top. Freeze at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Warm Glossy Chocolate Sauce: In the top half of a double boiler, combine the 2 chocolates over simmering water. Stir constantly until melted, then whisk in the corn syrup and water. Whisk until smooth and shiny.
• When ready to eat, remove the collar and serve frozen with chocolate sauce.
• *RAW EGG WARNING
• Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

ORANGE SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Pour orange juice into a saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin powder on top. Let stand until softened, about 1 minute. Place over low heat; stir constantly until granules are completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, about 1 hour.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl; beat using an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Set aside.
• Beat cream in a chilled glass or metal bowl using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold into the large bowl with the egg yolk-sugar mixture, followed by the stiff egg whites. Fold orange-gelatin mixture and orange extract into the large bowl with the egg yolk-cream mixture.
• Pour mixture into a mold and freeze 8 hours to overnight. When it's time to serve, dip mold in hot water to loosen bottom and sides; turn out onto a serving plate. Decorate with orange wedges.

FRENCH ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Whisk in almonds; set aside. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats (such as Silpats), and mark circles using a 1 1/2-inch cutter dipped in flour.
• Put egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until foamy, then beat in salt. Beat in granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, until medium-soft peaks form. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold half the almond mixture into the egg white mixture until just incorporated. Fold in vanilla and remaining almond mixture until just incorporated. Firmly tap bottom of bowl on counter to eliminate air pockets.
• Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe mixture into marked circles on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until macarons are slightly firm and can be gently lifted off parchment (bottoms will be dry), 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer macarons on parchment to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Spread 2 teaspoons buttercream on flat sides of half the macarons, then sandwich with remaining halves, keeping flat sides together. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes, before serving.

ALMOND ORANGE MACAROONS

Steps:

• Place the oven rack in the lowest position possible in your oven.
• Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the sugar, confectioners' sugar, orange zest and salt in the bowl of a food processor together with the steel knife.
• Grind the zest very find with the sugar.
• This will usually take 3 20-second whirls of the processor.
• Scrape the work bowl with a spatula in between whirls and stir up the sugar mixture.
• Scatter the diced almond paste evenly over the sugar mixture and give the processor about two more 10 seconds whirls.
• The texture should be like coarse meal.
• Again, scrape the work bowl in between whirls.
• Add the egg whites and mix with about two 5 second whirls.
• Don't forget to scrape the bowl at half-time.
• Remove the steel knife and set aside.
• Working directly from the food processor bowl, scoop up the dough in rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls and drop onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
• Space the cookies about 2 inches apart, these babies really spread as they bake.
• Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until lightly browned and crackly on top, about 20-25 minutes.
• Remove the cookies together with the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool.
• To remove the cooled cookies from the paper, loosen them carefully around the edges with a spatula, using short strokes.
• These are not brittle cookies, and you should get the hang of it soon enough.
• You can layer the macaroons between sheets of wax paper in an airtight Tupperware, and store them in a cool, dry spot.

ALMOND-AND-HAZELNUT-CHIP MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread hazelnuts across baking sheet, and bake until skins are lightly browned, about 5 minutes; do not turn off oven. Roll nuts in a clean kitchen towel. Pressing lightly on towel, roll back and forth to loosen skins of nuts. Transfer skinned nuts to a food processor. Chop until nuts are the size of chocolate chips. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Spread almonds on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Allow nuts to cool, and place in bowl of a food processor. Add sugar, and process until almonds are very finely ground, 30 to 40 seconds. Add 2 egg whites, jam and lemon zest. Pulse until blended; mixture should be thick and tacky when pressed with fingertip. If dry, add a teaspoon of remaining egg white, and pulse; repeat if necessary to reach desired consistency.
• Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add hazelnuts, and knead by hand until blended. Lightly wet hands to prevent sticking. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into 8 pieces, for a total of 16 pieces. Shape pieces into balls, and place eight balls on each of two parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Position oven racks in top and center thirds of oven. Bake macaroons until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes, reversing baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through cooking time. Store for up to one week in an airtight container, or freeze for up to one month.

HAZELNUT MACARONS

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. Place hazelnuts and confectioners' sugar in a food processor; pulse until nuts are finely ground., Add salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in hazelnut mixture., With a pastry bag, pipe 1-in.-diameter cookies 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch, 9-12 minutes. Transfer cookies on the parchment to wire racks; cool completely., For the buttercream, in a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil; cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot syrup into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in espresso powder and vanilla; cool completely., In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in cooled syrup. Beat in confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Refrigerate until mixture firms to a spreading consistency, about 10 minutes., Spread about 1-1/2 tsp buttercream onto the bottom of each of half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.