hand holding white plate full of chocolate macarons

A taste of murder: Making chocolate chilli macarons from Recipes for Love and Murder

It’s said that macarons are difficult to make. I would say that’s about half right. Making the batter is quite easy. It’s the piping that’s a nightmare. One, because it’s messy; and two, because it looks like you’re squeezing a bag of diarrhea onto your baking sheet. The messiness can be attributed to my complete and utter lack of experience with piping, while the poop part is thanks to the chocolate.

The result was not perfect, but certainly edible. More than edible – yummy, in fact. They even had the soft chewiness of macarons, but they lacked the delicacy of the classic – which can also be attributed to their Brobdingnagian proportions. Where could I have improved? Let’s dissect.

Since I’m recreating the food from Recipes for Love and Murder, the show’s recipe was my guide. It was easy to follow, the measurements are provided in two formats (something I always find very thoughtful), and the ingredients are expensive but accessible. Where could I have improved? I’ll put it down to four things.

bowl of melted chocolate over pot

Firstly, the meringue (said to be one of the trickier parts) could probably have been a bit stiffer. Secondly, the piping was a disaster. Although whether this was just messy and wasteful or actually contributed to the less-than-perfect result, I’m not sure. Thirdly, I probably could have left them to dry for a bit longer. They’re meant to form a crust before you place them in the oven, and I don’t think they’d all quite reached that level. Fourthly, I may have overbaked them slightly.

The greatest disappointment, however, was the lack of heat. I could not taste the chilli at all. The recipe calls for “mild chillies” even though in the episode they pick Carolina Reapers, which is one of the hottest chillies in the world! Unfortunately, my chillies were also old, so that did not help matters either. If I attempt this mess again, I’m definitely upping the ante on the heat. To be fair to myself, I don’t think I really did anything wrong. It’s just that making macarons is so precise it’s more of a science than an art. I can be very pedantic and precise, which is why I like baking, but when my batter starts looking like I had an accident in the bathroom instead of the kitchen, I tend to get a little impatient.

Get the recipe here.
Read about making lamb potjie here.

Views expressed are my own. All opinions are my own. The opinions expressed here belong solely to me.
Words and images: Claudia Hauter

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