To those of you who haven't seen Up, I highly recommend you do. It's a great movie for the entire family to see.
Carl is a very dull senior citizen in the beginning. He had lost the love of his life and now he's being bombarded by a corporation who wants to destroy his house so they can build a fancy new building. He decides to blow up hundreds of balloons so he can travel to Paradise Falls and fulfill his deceased wife's dream.
Carl is a very simple person, as evidenced by his side of the family at his wedding in the beginning of the movie. His color palette is mainly filled with neutral colors: brown, black, white and grey. However, he is a complex person. He initially resists Russell's presence but gradually opens up to him. I decided his dessert would be a French macaron. Macarons look simple but they are very hard to make. I remember it took me several botched batches before I was able to come up with a recipe that yielded decent-looking macarons time after time.
I chose to do a Basic Macaron with White Chocolate Ganache.
Ingredients for Macaron Shell:
- 1 part egg white
- 1.3 parts almond meal
- 1.6 parts icing sugar
- 0.8 parts granulated sugar
Directions:
Combine the almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor. Combine until well blended. You can just sift the ingredients but this makes it a lot easier. In a bowl, mix the egg whites with a hand mixer and slowly add in the granulated sugar until the egg whites form a glossy meringue. Don't add in the granulated sugar until the egg whites get foamy. One trick to tell if the egg whites are done is if you lift the hand mixer upside down and the peaks don't dip, you're good. Incorporate 1/3 of the almond meal and icing sugar mixture into the meringue. Slowly fold because if you overfold, the macarons will be flat. Then, incorporate the rest of the almond meal and icing sugar into the meringue. A good way to tell if the batter is done is when you lift the spatula, the batter should "ribbon" and disappear in about 30 seconds. Fill a piping bag fitted with a one-inch tip. Pipe macaron shells on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The macaron shells should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and spaced apart by an inch for the macarons to grow "feet." "Feet" are the frilly things on the edges of the macaron shells once they are done baking.
Let the shells sit out for about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your city's humidity level. In San Francisco, 30 minutes is enough for the shells to form a hard shell. If the domes aren't smooth, you can wet you finger with water and gently press down to smooth out the shell. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the macaron shells for 15 minutes. Take them out and put on a cooling rack. Try to peel the shells off of the parchment paper and flip upside down for the rest of the cooling process. This allows the macaron insides to fill up the rest of the shell and you won't be left with a hollow shell. If the shells don't come off easily, wait a few more minutes before trying again.
I have found that different ovens yield different results so don't worry if your macarons don't come out perfect the first time. Practice makes perfect!
Ingredients for White Chocolate Ganache:
- 200 ml of heavy cream
- 420 grams of white chocolate, finely chopped
Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until boiling. Place the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for two minutes to allow the chocolate to soften up. Stir the ganache until smooth. Let the ganache thicken by letting it cool.
Preparing the Macarons:
Spread the ganache on one macaron shell. Top that macaron shell with another. Serve with tea or whatever suits your fancy.
Thoughts?
What did you think about my interpretation of Carl? What other dessert would suit Carl? Leave a comment below!
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