Vanilla Bean Whipped Ganache Macarons

Mise-en-place:
1 Pre-heat oven to 300F
2 Wipe with vinegar the silicon mats, bowls and baking trays. Print templates if using.
3 Weight all the ingredients in separate bowls
4 The egg whites can be directly taken from the fridge and do not require aging.
Prepare dry ingredients:
6 Add egg white powder to the bowl containing the granulated sugar and mix well.
7 If the almond flour is not super fine, I recommend doing 2-3 pulses in a food processor. Only do this for short amounts of time.
8 Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar. Do this two times.
9 Note: keep all the containers covered with lids.
Prepare the French Meringue:
11 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip egg whites on medium speed until foamy/frothy.
12 Gradually add the granulated sugar/ powdered egg white mixture, continue whipping on medium speed until glossy stiff peaks
Macaronage:
14 Add half of the meringue to the almond flour / powdered sugar mixture.
15 Add gel food coloring
16 Fold gently with a spatula until the dry ingredients are incorporated
17 Add the remaining meringue
18 Fold gently until the batter becomes glossy and falls off the spatula like ribbons.
Piping:
20 Fit a round tip (e.g., Wilton 12) in a pastry bag, place the bag inside a tall measuring cup or a deli container, wrap the bag in the edges of the cup to keep it open
21 Pour the macaron batter into the pastry, remove from the cup
22 Pipe circles onto the tray with silicon mat or pre-printed template under a piece of parchment
Resting and baking:
24 Let the piped macarons rest on the kitchen counter until a skin is developed, you will be able to gently touch them without batter sticking to the fingers.
25 Once the skin is formed, place inside the oven, bake at 275-300F (this will depend on your location and other factors like humidity) for 15-18min.
26 Use an oven thermometer to make sure the oven is not too hot.
27 Let the macarons cool before removing from the baking surface
Vanilla bean whipped ganache
29 Bloom gelatin by placing in a bowl containing at least 6 times the weight of gelatin sheets in cold water.
30 Chop the chocolate in small pieces, place in a heatproof bowl.
31 Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise using a paring knife, remove the seeds. Place the seeds and the pod in a saucepan containing the heavy cream.
32 Heat the heavy cream to a light boil. Remove from the heat and let steep for 15-30min.
33 Remove the vanilla bean pod, add the inverted sugar and salt, heat until it begins to gently boil
34 Pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 30-60s, do not disturb.
35 Stir gently with a spatula first then emulsify with a hand blender.
36 Squeeze water from the gelatin, add to the chocolate mixture and mix with the hand blender. Avoid making too many bubbles.
37 Cover with plastic wrap, let cool to room temperature and place in the fridge for at least 8hr to set. Best to do overnight.
38 Remove from the fridge and place in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip with a whisk attachment, do this at a low setting until smooth and fluffy, be careful to no overwhip or the ganache could break.
Filling macarons:
40 Fit a small tip, I recommend tips like 4B, 1M for nice piping designs, inside a pastry bag. Place inside a tall measuring cup or deli container.
41 Pour the ganache inside the bag
42 Take 1 macaron shell, pipe the ganache in the center
43 Take another macaron shell and sandwich the filling. The best ratio of macaron to filling is 2:1