White chocolate macarons for Valentine's Day

When I was a little girl, I used to look forward to Valentine's Day, hoping to receive a little anonymous letter slipped into my desk by a secret suitor. Ah, good old love letter days! Today, this holiday is all about marketing and over-consumption, and has lost some of its charm...

That said, this year I wanted to get back into the spirit of the thoughtful gesture by preparing something that would please my husband: macarons, his guilty pleasure. And since Valentine's Day is all about kitsch, I thought I'd go all out with some ultra-romantic macarons! So, if you too like to give pleasure, and the idea of spending a little time in the kitchen doesn't scare you (yes, macarons do require a little patience), let's get started!

Ingredients

For about 10 macarons:

For hulls:

65 g. almond powder

100g. powdered sugar

50g. egg white

20g. powdered sugar

red food coloring

For the ganache:

100g. white chocolate

20g. full-cream liquid

1 vanilla pod

Preparation

For hulls:

In a large bowl, sift the almond powder and powdered sugar, then mix well to obtain a homogeneous texture. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, adding the sugar in batches until you obtain a firm but supple meringue.

Gently fold the egg whites into the almond powder-icing sugar mixture until the mixture is smooth.

Fill a piping bag with the mixture, then pipe heart-shaped shells onto a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper placed on two baking sheets one on top of the other. Leave to dry for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, keeping an eye on the shells: they should not brown. Leave to dry completely before removing.

For the ganache:

Cook the cream in a saucepan over low heat. Add the white chocolate in pieces and stir constantly until it has completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

Slice the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and add to the mixture. Mix one last time, then leave to cool to room temperature.

Take 2 tablespoons of ganache and add a few drops of red coloring. Mix well, then chill.

Shaping

Using a piping bag or small spoon, fill half the shells with the ganache. Close each macaron with a second shell. Finally, draw a small heart on top if you wish. The macarons will keep for a few days in an airtight tin in the fridge. Take them out 30 minutes before eating for optimum texture.