And the second week of Bake Off has now ended! This week there were a variety of sandwich cookies, fortune cookies and playable game piece showstopper cookies. Stephen was amazing yet again. I think he’s probably this year’s Candice or Ruby. But he’s almost too good, you know?
I like my baking shows to have a tiny element of surprise – a hint that anyone’s cake could go wrong at any moment and I don’t feel that with Stephen. Also, let’s talk about Flo because she is hilarious. I love her.
That last challenge still sounds a bit crazy to me, to be honest.
I decided to opt for the king of sandwich cookie – the macaron.
Long time readers will know that I adore macarons. They aren’t just a blogger cliche to me, they are a way of life. And this week, I’m going to attempt what seems to be impossible. To make vegan macarons. Vegan vanilla macarons to be precise.
I didn’t get quite the same glossy finish on my vegan macarons as I do on normal macarons. I’m not sure if that’s due to the lack of egg whites, my lack of previous experience using chickpea water or if I just didn’t whip enough air out before I piped them.
But regardless, they tasted delicious (exactly the same as non-vegan macarons) and I’d definitely make them again!
Vegan Vanilla Macaron
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
3/4 cup of water from a chickpea can
1 1/4 cup of ground almonds
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
For the frosting:
1 tablespoon of vegan butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of non-dairy milk
Instructions:
In a small saucepan, bring the chickpea water to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. (Until the liquid has reduced to 1/3 a cup.) Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Sift together your ground almonds and powdered sugar and set aside.
In a large bowl, once cooled, whip your chickpea liquid on high for about a minute and then slowly start adding the half cup of granulated sugar. Continue whipping until it holds stiff peaks. Then add in the vanilla and whip for another 10 seconds until the extract is incorporated.
Once your meringue is ready, fold in your ground almonds and powdered sugar. The key to making macarons is to knock just the right amount of air out of your batter whilst you’re folding it all together. Most recipes say that your batter is ready when it runs off your spoon like lava. I don’t really know what that means, but I mix it until you can drip a steady figure of 8 off of your spoon without the batter breaking.
Fill a piping bag with your batter and pipe them into circles of your desired size. Knock the trays vigorously against the counter to pop any air bubbles. Leave them at room temperature to form a skin. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
Preheat your oven to 140 C. Bake macarons for 13-15 minutes.
In the meantime, make your filling. Cream your butter with half your powdered sugar. Then add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. Add your vanilla extract and tablespoon of non-dairy milk. (Add another if the frosting is still too thick.)
Pipe your vanilla filling onto your macarons before topping with the other macaron shell.
Harold rated with 3 out of 5 licks. They were a bit too highfalutin for him.
So next week is bread week and I’m super excited about it. It’s notoriously hit or miss for me in previous years. (Rubbish baguette one year, glorious ciabatta the next). But I love eating bread, so bring it on.
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